1951 Westinghouse Fridge Wiring Question?

[volvoguy87]

I'm taking advantage of the nice weather today and I am working on the 1951 Westinghouse Refrigerator I posted in an earlier thread. Upon close examination, it is likely that the reason the compressor won't run is electrical. The wiring between the the main wiring junction and the compressor is the worst I have ever seen. I touched it and the big 3-conductor cord shattered almost like glass. I have made careful notes of what wires go where so I can put it all back together but I have a question.

There are 3 terminals on the motor. 1 black, 1 red, and 1 white. The white one is attached to "Device X" before it attaches to the motor. "Device X" is bolted to the motor and I am uncertain whether it is a capacitor or a thermal overload protection switch. It is round, about he diameter of a quarter, and almost 3/4 of an inch tall, not including the wiring terminals. The body is made of plastic and the bottom, which touches the shell of the motor, is open. Looking at the bottom, there is a copper disk/diaphragm about 1/4 of an inch inside. It appears to be held in place with 2 ears, one on each side, and there is a small round thing (a nipple?) in the middle.

My question is: What is "Device X" and should I replace it?

I will post pictures in a few minutes after I set up my camera.

Thank you all,
Dave
Better make it quick, the beer is getting dangerously warm!

 

[volvoguy87]

Here's a pic.

It also says "Klixon" on te top.

 

[volvoguy87]

Hrer's the bottom.

Any thoughts as to what it is?

I apologize for the spots, I really need to clean my lens.

Thank you,
Dave

 

[danemodsandy]

Dave:

Klixon make start relays and overload protection, so it's probably one of those two things. If you can find a number on it anywhere, you could Google "klixon" plus the number to possibly find out more. They're still very much in business.

 

[volvoguy87]

Thank you so much!

It looks like a thermal overload protection switch. I don't think these necessarily go bad over time like capacitors do, so I might see if this puppy still works. Time to get out the multimeter!

Today the fridge, tomorrow the 240! (I hope)
Dave

 

[danemodsandy]

Dave:

Glad I could help. Wish I could do the work needed on my own 245!

 

[classiccaprice]

It's amazing it lasted 57 years without any maintenance. Good luck Dave.

 

[goatfarmer]

Sandy has it right, that's the overload. The usually don't go bad.

 

[volvoguy87]

Dud this evening.

A rant...

Well, I am calling it quits for the evening because of Westinghouse quality! The wiring was all put together with ring terminals. It stayed put and could not detach. Westinghouse, however, used high-quality ring terminals and nice big terminal screws. Unfortunately, the rest of the industry hasn't kept up in the past 50+ years. I cannot find ring terminals at Home Depot that I can use. (Why do I still go there? They so rarely have what I need or anyone who knows what I'm talking about!) Modern ring terminals, for the gauge of wire used, have a smaller ring which will not fit onto Westinghouse's terminals. I tried drilling slightly larger holes in the ring terminals, but the metal is too soft and they just bend. I think tomorrow I might try spade terminals.

The guy working in the electrical department said they did not even sell ring terminals and that I would need to go to a motor specialty shop! I can't believe this person was hired to work in electrical and not properly trained!

I hate you, Home Depot!
Dave

 

[danemodsandy]

Grainger?

Dave:

I'd give Grainger a try: www.grainger.com

They have some of the damndest stuff. Here's their search result page for "ring terminals"; note that the results returned show the bolt hole size. If the link does not work, try going to the Grainger site and searching on "ring terminals".

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/ww...ryString=ring+terminals&submit.x=0&submit.y=0