1965 GE Fridge Stopped Cooling...Thoughts?

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cadman

cadman

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Well, it looks like our '65 GE non-frost free fridge may have finally given up the ghost. We returned last night from a week's vacation and found the fridge section warm and most of the ice in the freezer melted. I had noticed significant frost build up in the freezer (always this time of year despite a good gasket) and a portion of the evap before leaving but figured I'd defrost when we got back.

After letting it sit all night empty and off, I switched it on this morning. It ran for half an hour, the freezer section starting to cool, then the compressor stopped as though it were switched off. Thermal trip?

Thoughts on troubleshooting? Would a weak charge result in such a situation, or am I looking at compressor replacement?

cadman-2019070711002006076_1.jpg
 
Yes, if the compressor kicked in and managed to start cooling, it sounds like the forced draft condenser fan may have failed.  Replacements are readily available on ebay if not at a parts store. 

 

I hope that's all it is, because that is a beautiful refrigerator.
 
Confirm fans first.  Then consider charge.  Air guy I worked with (not trying to sell me anything) told me, bad news to open a sealed system (non-ported).  Smallest contaminant can block expansion orifice.
 
Thanks guys, I think you might be on to something. I didn't notice whether the fan was running or not during the short time it tried to cool, but after the advice above, I pulled the toe-kick and placed a fan blowing inward yesterday. I checked a short time later and the fridge was once again running. Came in from outside a couple hours later and still running, interior cooling, and warm air discharging from the condenser fan. (intermittent?)

I'll check today after work to see if all is well. Probably a good idea to replace that fan and give it a good cleaning, though pulling the fridge will be a bear given the upper cabs are supported by legs that rest on it. I'll cross my fingers that's all it needs!
 
Okay...after 24 hours of running, looks like 23F in the freezer and mid 40's for the fridge. Next step is to support the cabinets so I can pull the fridge out and see what's going on in back. Hopefully it's just a tired fan is keeping it from its full potential.
 
Update

I managed to get the fridge pulled out last night and went over it. Condenser fan is running fine now, no major dust build up, but that poor compressor is working overtime. The best it can do is mid-20F's in the freezer and mid-40's in the fridge section. Freezer walls are ice cold.

But, look at the evaporator. Right half iced, left half 'warm'. Is this indicative of low charge?

cadman-2019070908062802398_1.jpg
 
It could also be the compressor itself, Cory. That poor ol' 64 Frost-Guard I had suffered from a weak one - it was not uncommon with GE's of this vintage, alas.

Yours is the style and colour I dream of finding one day. Working, of course... LOL
 
Hey Paul, yeah, you could be right. I guess there's only one way to find out.... I've got enough HVAC equipment here to be dangerous, and a spare can of R-12. Just need to order a line tap valve. Hmm.
 
BPV-31

Not to keep everyone in the dark, but I picked up a piercing valve after work yesterday and started my investigation. Despite my recovery machine running, and running, and running, I only managed to extract half a pound of freon out of the poor GE. Obviously a leak somewhere, but I suspect it's been going on for years and things reached the tipping point with summer temps and frosted (insulated) coils.

So, 2 new cans of genuine R-12 are on the way (had one on hand which I used last night). Stay tuned to this station for updates!
 
1965 GE Combination Refergerator

Hi Cory, Unfortunately it looks like you have a sealed system problem. 

 

The evaporator coil in the FF section should frost all the way across, but if it was just low on R-12 the freezer would be well below zero probably -10 or colder if the compressor was OK.

 

Note : check the service manuel for this fridge as it should only have about 12 Oz of R-12 in it, you can not go by the model tag on GEs of this era for charge amount of refrigerant, all their tags say something like ; Not more Than 3 Lbs R-12, this does not mean that it was supposed to use anyway near this amount.

 

This fridge has a charge port built on the compressor, if you don't have the proper charging adaptor for GEs you should braze an access valve on the suction line near the compressor, NEVER use a clamp-on valve on a home style Fridge, they leak and the fridge wont work long.

 

John L.
 
John, thanks for the heads-up on the nameplate charge. I'm flying blind on this one. There's a '58 manual in the Ephemera library, think that'd be close enough for this '65 manual-defrost fridge? https://www.automatice.org/cgi-bin/index.cgi?showdoc~1104~General%20Electric~

I currently have 12oz of charge in it and the compressor is cutting out on thermal overload after a few minutes. So either 12oz is too much, or the compressor is just worn out.
 
check start relay

start relay might not be dropping out start winding after startup every time-causing the overload to trip after a short run.Check the current draw if you have an ammeter-IIRC,my '80 GE fridge(with similar compressor and fan) pulls ~2.4 amps typically.I had a small fridge once,~1/10 hp compressor,that had shorted motor winding:would start to cool then trip off-was pulling ~6A instead of the normal ~1.5..
 
Looks like the start function is working correctly...was worth a shot.
But just for kicks I downloaded the '58 GE manual and found a model quite similar to this one. Looks like tripping thermal overload isn't unusual in some conditions, like starting from ambient in a warm environment, so I set up a small fan to assist and crossed my fingers.

It did eventually settle down (no more trips). And current draw was close to nameplate (~4.3A). I suspect 14 oz is where this fridge should be for charge (based on the '58 manual for comparable size), and I've got 12oz in there.

Bottom Line: Charge made no difference. Fridge cools to ~45F, freezer in low 20's as before. Compressor runs continuously to maintain it. Pretty sure it's shot. Damn.
 
current draw...

...seems quite high too me-but I am not real familiar with 60s GEs-all my slightly later GEs are typically under 3amps,even my big '77 kelvy is 4 amps(rated 6 max) and it is a powerful fridge.Fridges that I have had that were low on charge sounded like they were running unloaded with a hissing sound from evap.
 
1974 similar

I have a junk(interior rusted out,grabbed for parts and sheetmetal salvage) 1974 GE fridge with the same evaporator and 4.3A rating and it says 6.25 oz charge used on that one.I might see if it runs and note current draw :)
 
Unfortunately, no easy to way measure the high side without another piercing tap, so it's anyone's guess.

What I'm wondering, has anyone successfully substituted a modern compressor in an old fridge like this, and how did you go about selecting one?

Of course, I could try to find another fridge of this vintage but that's still a gamble (and tougher still with RH hinge and turquoise). I also had the thought of buying a 'late model' basic fridge of this size off Craigslist and trying to swap the sealed-system parts over, but that's not ideal with this evaporator layout.

Service info is scant to say the least on this one: Model: TB14(SACG)

cadman-2019071511555809783_1.jpg
 

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