1956 Fridgidaire Imperial Cold Pantry

[rp2813]

Give it some time.  I don't know if there are system design quirks on these refrigerators that may cause them to operate differently from other makes.    For sure if yours is working at bringing the cabinet temperature down to the 37-40 range, it could run for a while.

 

Do you have the cold control on the warmest setting?  That would be a good way to determine whether there's another problem, although I can't imagine what else would cause the compressor to keep running if both the thermostat and relay have been replaced.   Do you hear a click when you adjust the cold control lower or higher?   That would indicate that the contacts are opening and closing properly. 

 

Perhaps it's a wiring issue.  Do you know whether anyone has messed with the relay or thermostat before?

 

[rp2813]

Just bumping this one with hopes for an update.

 

[lombardo]

I have switched a couple wires at the relay thinking they were wrong and it had no change other than the light not coming on inside unless the cold control was switched on. So that wasn’t right. I now have switched wires at the cold control and I have no change it still runs constantly and gets well below freezing even on the warmest setting. I’m stumped same results no matter the wire changes.

 

[rp2813]

I'm stumped too.  Hard to say if it's the thermostat or the relay.  What we need is a wiring diagram that's color coded.

 

[goatfarmer]

Wires on the control shouldn't matter, just 2 of them I believe. It still sounds like a control problem, the one you're using is known good?

 

[lombardo]

Update I talked to a refrigeration repair guy. He asked if frost was on the cold plate. There isn’t any frost so he says the system is low on Freon. He is coming out to recharge it tomorrow with Freon 12 replacement. He says that’s what will fix the problem.

 

[rp2813]

Interesting that it can still get below freezing inside and yet the evaporator accumulates no frost, but it does make sense that with the evaporator not getting cold enough, the thermostat registers that the machine needs to keep running.

 

Let us know how it goes after the recharge, and let's hope the refrigerant leak is a very slow one.  Freon is not cheap, nor is it good for the planet to release it into the atmosphere at any rate.

 

[goatfarmer]

Fingers crossed.

 

[ken]

If the leak is very small it could take years for it to leak enough after the recharge to cause the problem to surface again. But if its larger it may be a good idea to add dye to the Freon so the leak can be easily seen. That's done often to find leaks in auto a/c systems. Id run this idea by the refrigeration guy when he comes to recharge it.

 

[rp2813]

Ken, I agree.  Stan's monitor/box top seems to need a recharge every dozen or so years.  Let's hope the Cold Pantry's leak is as slow or slower.

 

[kenwashesmonday]

If it doesn't freeze to the end of the evaporator(s), it's either low on gas or has a weak compressor.  The tech will know which is the problem the moment he breaks into the low-side and puts a gauge on it.

 

[estesguy]

Metermiser

Fridgidaire refrigerators had the Metermiser compressors that were bulletproof. If a Fridgidaire quit cooling it was usually because of an evaporator leak. My friend would pull out the smallest HP compressor and use them as a cheap mans vacuum pump, with their rotary design.

 

[combo52]

Refrigerator fan running all the time

The fan on this model is supposed to run whenever it’s plugged into the wall thermostat the relay etc. do not control the fan motor operation.

The real question here is whether the refrigerator is keeping the proper temperatures in each compartment, and the compressor should shut off periodically, you may not see frost on the evaporator especially the humidity is fairly low.

What are the temperatures in the refrigerator and freezer section currently.

John L.