Old Holiday chest freezer not working

[pliney]

I'm trying to determine if it's worth trying to fix my old freezer that just stopped working. It is making a clicking sound every minute or so, but the motor doesn't come on.
A friend said he could check if it was the capacitor if I could figure out where it was on this freezer.
The information on the back said model: C 25N Revco
I haven't been able to come up with any information with this model number. The tag on the front of the freezer handle said Holiday (I think, it fell off a year or so ago and that is what both my husband and I remember).
It is quite large and would be hard to come across a replacement but I understand if it is the compressor, it's likely not worth it.
I would be glad for any input, either on the likely hood that it will be worth fixing or how to find a parts diagram for this freezer. Thank you.

 

[combo52]

Non Running Chest Freezer

It is either a bad relay-overload or a bad compressor, if there is a capacitor on this freezer it is a run capacitor and it would still run.

 

Take the relay off the compressor and take them to an appliance parts store and buy a replacement and see if it works OR call a repair person and get them to check it out.

 

 

You are correct that it is usually too costly to replace a bad compressor and not worth it on a plain freezer.

 

John L.

 

[pliney]

Thank you John. I'll see if I can figure out what the relay overload part is and look into that. It would be great if that were the issue! Thanks.

 

[pliney]

I was able to take the lid off the metal box attached to the compressor (on the left). Inside of this box, there seems to be a plastic box that that wires attach to. I can't get it to pull out though. Should it? Any tricks? Is this the relay overload?
There is the freezer wall on the left, so I have some room to work but not much. Should I try to take the compressor off the base to pull it out to give me more room to work? Thanks!

 

[rp2813]

If you can get a new relay, it will not match perfectly to the current one and very likely won't mount the same way.  You might just need to tuck it somewhere secure instead.  So if you need to compromise the mounting system on the current relay in order to get it out of there, it won't likely matter.

 

I would try not to disturb the compressor on a system as old as that one. 

 

[pliney]

Update: When I got the relay off I realized one of the wire connectors was really weak and corroded. So I spliced in a new one and put it all back together and plugged it back in. It started right up! So I'm quite thankful it was a wiring problem.
I cut back about an inch on the old wire and it was green around the copper wires, though the wires looked fine. Is this fine? A sign of corrosion? Should I replace more of the wire? I'm not sure how far up the green goes. It's running so maybe no worries?!
The wire with the issue is the one on the right.

 

[combo52]

Non Running Chest Freezer

Yay you got it off, A new relay will plug on the same way but it may look different.

 

I think you still need a new relay, the burned wire would not cause the problem you were having.

 

Your old relay was sticking and by removing it it unstuck, you can try soaking it with a silicone lubricant etc which might keep it going but it would be better to replace it as it will probably stick again when you have the freezer full of food.

 

John L.

 

[pliney]

Thank you all so much for your encouragement. John, you're probably right that I should go ahead and swap out the relay. I'm wondering how to find one, though. I haven't been able to find this old model on-line to figure out parts. Is there a universal unit I could use that would work? Here is a picture of the one I pulled off. Thanks!

 

[turbokinetic]

"Handled" the relay and it started working...

Seen this before many times. 

The first vintage Frigidaire I got was sold non-working and seemed stuck at the seller's place. When I got it home (rough trailer ride) it worked perfectly for about 2 weeks then stopped again. I pulled it out away from the wall and then plugged it in again to troubleshoot..... and it started working.  Each time it stopped working, all I had to do was move the unit or touch the relay and it would start again and work for a certain amount of time.

In the end, it was a worn-out relay causing all the headaches.  Repaired that issue, and it's still working to this day.

The plug-in Ranco relay on your Holliday freezer is likely in need of cleaning internally, and possibly the start contacts might need to be replaced. You can install a new aftermarket relay to save time and cost; but for the older antiques I work on; I prefer to replace the contacts and keep the sound of the original. Nothing like the sharp, crisp click of these relays!

 

[pliney]

Freezer repair update

I am finally getting around to further work on the freezer. I bought a 3 in one relay (see picture) and got it all hooked up. Hum, click. So I was wondering if maybe I didn't get the right horse power size one for my freezer.
So I decided to hook up the old relay to make sure that still worked. Hum, click. I fiddled around with the wiring, tightened the wire nuts - it started to run. Put the lid cap on the old relay box so it was all proper, tried again, hum, click.
I'm now thinking I have bad wiring, which as you can see from the picture is green. I cut up further, about 5 more inches and the wire is still green. Could this be causing the problem? If so, how does one go about rewiring? I have replacement wire and wire nuts. The issue becomes where it goes up in the freezer (see last picture, though I see it might be a worthless picture to show anything). I'm not sure how to get to that. At at some point someone wired in a different plug it looks like so things get a little confusing. Call a professional cause the compressor still seems to be fine or replace as much wire as I can and see if that helps. Or am I somehow making bad wire connections? Thanks as always for your help.

 

[pliney]

Also, to the suggestion to clean out the old relay, I can't seem to figure out how to get it open to do that. It seems like a sealed plastic box.