1959 Frigidaire Will Not Stop Running

[vtgbabydress]

I just acquired a 1959 Frigidaire Refrigerator. It keeps really cold (just under 40 degrees) but it won’t stop running. Well, it stops here and there, but mostly just runs. The dial has A, B and 1,2,3. I only see one dial.
Does anyone have any suggestions?

 

[goatfarmer]

Quite possibly the control is bad.

 

 

[vtgbabydress]

I was kind of confused as to how to set the control. There is A, B and 1,2,3. I understand the “1,2,3” part, but what are A & B for? What setting should it be for normal operation?
Is there a way to test the control to see if it is faulty?

Also, the seal is dirty, but it looks intact if that makes a difference.

 

[cspetros]

My Frigidaire is from 1959 also (the D-13–59 model, I think yours is the FI-122-59, the next better up model), and has a similar dial. The letters come first, and are the higher temp settings (i.e. runs less, warmer in the fridge) and then the numbers (3 is the coldest setting). If you have it set on 3, it will run quite a bit.

I keep my control between 1 and 2, which keeps the fridge compartment at 34 degrees and the freezer compartment near zero. It doesn’t run nearly as often as our 1991 Whirlpool fridge in the utility room. When defrosting, I unplug the whole fridge rather than rotating the control to defrost, as the control is original.

The service manual suggests starting at A, but for mine, I used two thermometers with the fridge full, and adjusted as necessary. 3 will begin to freeze a gallon of milk in the fridge compartment.

Do you have stuff in the fridge? If not, this will extend how often it runs.

I had to repaint mine a couple years ago, and wound up removing the paint from the “lace trim” panels and polishing them.

Hope this helps. They’re good refrigerators. [this post was last edited: 11/6/2024-22:31]

 

[combo52]

1959 Frigidaire refrigerator won’t stop running

Unfortunately, you likely have a weak sealed system, if the control were bad, it would be freezing everything in the refrigerator, but like Christopher suggested it should be in the 34 to 37° range in the refrigerator no higher, in the freezer should be getting close to zero if you’re not getting these temperatures with the amount of time it’s running there’s a serious problem.

Usually these refrigerators, you would run it around number one on the control, but that’s not an exact number. It varies depending on many other conditions which setting is gonna work for you?

John

 

[vtgbabydress]

Hi everyone! Thank you for your help.

@cspetros
thank you for the explanation of the dial. I was confused and couldn’t find any info on the dial anywhere. Your 59 is beautiful! Mine needs a bit of paint and porcelain touch up.
I have a good bit in the fridge, but it isn’t full.

John,
I checked the temp in the freezer and it is 0 degrees.
The fridge section stays around 38 degrees.
I just brought it to my 125 yo new house and made sure to level it because the area where the fridge goes has some settling. I also pulled it away from the wall to make sure it is getting enough air behind it.

 

[vtgbabydress]

John-
If there were a leak in the system what would be the next step?
And I keep reading about keeping a gallon of water in the freezer and lots of drinks in the fridge. Does that help at all?

 

[combo52]

It sounds like it’s keeping good temperatures, but it must have a slightly weak system if it has to run that much but there’s really nothing you can do about it, Frigidaire refrigerators tended to have undersized compressors that would run a lot as they got older.

It could be a little low on refrigerant. If only half the evaporator in the back of the refrigerator section is icing otherwise if it’s all frosting and then defrost each time it shuts off there’s not much you can do short of a more powerful compressor.

John

 

[vtgbabydress]

Hi John!
Is there a replacement or more modern compressor that we could replace it with? I heard of Embraco brand change outs, would that be possible?

Is there a way to check whether the evaporator is icing on both sides?

Should I purchase the “tech-talk” for this model?

And one last question… would it be possible to put a timer on say 10 minute increments to give the compressor a rest while we figure it out? I feel like I am going to blow it up lol and I am terrified of the electric bill. Just bought a house and money is tighter than ever.
I do have a mini fridge as a back up if it goes out.
I unplugged it briefly to check the level on it and when I plugged it back in it cycled on and off a bit, but then went back to all the time. It does occasionally shut off, but very seldom.

 

[vtgbabydress]

One more thing I forgot to mention, I was cleaning and found this.
What is this defrost knob and is it set properly?
Did maybe the person who gifted it to me have it set wrong?
The freezer is cold, but there was a little water under when I moved it.

 

[combo52]

1959 Frigidaire refrigerator running too much

Hi, I don’t think your model has a timer. Is it a completely frost free freezer with a fan inside it?

If that is a timer control, there is nothing that has to ever be set and it cannot be sent wrong.

You might be able to get a rough idea of the refrigerant level by looking at the evaporator in the back of the refrigerator if it has frost on it. Evenly probably is not low on charge. You can also feel the coils on the back of the refrigerator if they’re reasonably warm all the way down to the bottom, it’s Probably not a low charge.

It’s pretty normal for these Frigidaire refrigerators to run almost all the time and they use a lot of electricity compared to a new refrigerator. This refrigerator would use at least twice the electricity an 18 ft.³ frost free refrigerator today maybe three times as much.

I love old appliances as much or more than anybody here but I long ago gave up on the idea of a vintage refrigerator or freezer for that matter because of the amount of power they use. Unless you’re gonna get just a simple single door refrigerator with a tiny freezer most two door or combination or frost free models use a lot of power before about 2000.

 

[vtgbabydress]

John,
I have a 1949 GE Spacemaker also. Much smaller, but we pinched off the cord when moving to our previous house and it has been in my shed waiting for attention. I was going to concentrate on it, but then the opportunity to get the Frigidaire came up and I jumped on it.
I do not know how safe it is, but I put it on a timer at 30 on/ 30 off for now just to give the compressor a break until we finish our move. I have checked the temp and I am able to keep it around 40 degrees.
There is no longer any water leaking, I do not know if that has any significance or if it was from when I was tinkering with it. I also turned the defrost knob a full clockwise turn until I heard a “click”. I don’t know if we should check the defrost timer?
It is the model with a single door and bottom freezer. I do not see a fan in the freezer at all. The compartment is completely enclosed with large air holes. It looks like the fan would be built in behind it.
I felt the back and it all feels warm. I moved it a good distance from the wall to give it some air flow.
I also purchased the “tech talk” to see if that helps at all.
I hate to give up on it, but I see your point and I do not need high bills. I will see what my bill looks like, but I guess there might be one of those new retro style fridges here eventually. I just can’t see putting a new fridge in this old house

 

[combo52]

1959 Frigidaire refrigerator

Hi, what does the refrigerator say on it? Is this a frostproof model or a cyclematic model , If it’s a frost proof model, it has to have a fan in the freezer that should be running. and it would have a defrost timer which it looks like it does, in any event it doesn’t hurt the refrigerator to run 100% of the time not so good for your power bill but the refrigerator compressor will not get tired running 100% of the time for the next 10 years but if it’s running 100% of the time in a normal temperature room if your house gets hotter in the summer it won’t keep food properly cold at that point.

John

 

[vtgbabydress]

Hi John,
It is the Frost Proof model. FP-124-59. I did hear a fan kick on. I was wondering if maybe the defrost timer is not functioning since the compressor is supposed to shut off 2 x a day when the heater comes on? (unless I just happen to have missed it) I purchased the tech talk and it tells how to replace.
My main fear has been worrying I might blow it up lol. Thank you for reassuring me. I am pretty scared of the power bill. I have been trying to conserve in other areas to make up for it until we can repair.
Anne

 

[combo52]

Refrigerator running Time

Hi Anne, it sounds like your refrigerator is running as normally as possible, given its age, etc.

I remember customers 40 and more years ago complaining about how much they're Frigidaire refrigerators ran. Many customer said they literally ran all summer around here.

Frigidaire tended to use a less powerful compressor than other major brands And they tended to have very long running times, especially as things aged a little bit, the larger refrigerators and the frostproof ones were especially bad usually the basic manual defrost ones didn't have this problem.

GE by comparison often had 1/3 hp compressors and they tended not to run near as much but they used more power when they did run, so power consumption is similar overall. If you're curious, get one of those little kilowatt devices and plug the refrigerator into it and see how much power is really using in a week or a month time. Your 1959 refrigerator is only the second year of a frost proof refrigerator from Frigidaire and the early ones tended to be a little over built, but they also used a lot of power.

I have a 1967 Frigidaire 19 ft.³ bottom freezer refrigerator. It was Frigidaire's top-of-the-line refrigerator that year they called it. The food life preserver, the thing has eight motors in it between the icemaker and the automatic door opener and three different controlled temperature areas. I love the refrigerator for it's cool engineering and looks and I would plug it in when we have big parties and things for extra storage space But I have finally given up on the thing it literally seems to add about $30 or more to the electric bill if I let it run for a month it's just too much to use it any longer I'm giving it to a fellow collector.

There's not much you can do about how much it's running you could buy a dozen solar panels to offset the use of this refrigerator if you like.

John

 

[vtgbabydress]

John,
I think the solar panels might be a good idea! I guess I got spoiled by my old GE!
At the house we are moving from we have a Frigidaire we bought less than two years ago. It also runs a lot and the switch on the ice/water already broke off. We aren’t rough with things at all. The eco plastic they use these days is the worst!
I guess we will have to change the “swear jar” to the “fridge bill fund”

 

[sudsomatic]

I know this is a serious question, and this post wasn't made to be disrespectful in any way.

But, when I saw your subject line it reminded me of that old prank telephone call standard "Is you're refrigerator running?"

And with that in my head as a lead in, I kind of wanted to just post a simple response to this thread of

"well you better catch it then!"

 

 

In all seriousness though, good luck with the fix, I know I've found a mountain of resources from this community for fixes with my own older appliances. Definitely in the right place.

 

[circlew]

"how much their Frigidaire refrigerators ran"

John, I have a 1947 Frigidaire refrigerator, and when it was being used it didn't seem to run excessively, despite a less than perfect door seal. It is also very quiet. Was it later models that ran a lot?

 

[vtgbabydress]

@sudsomatic Good one!
@circlew Mine is “Frost Proof”. I have this annoying life habit where I always seem to end up with the more problematic or 1st/2nd year issue before the kinks are worked out. This happens to me with cars and electronics too!
I just had a fire in my 1969 Sansui Amplifier (brought back from Vietnam)… known problem with just that year.