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Posted by problemchild on May 24, 2007, 4:13 pm
We just received a used Amana refrigerator about 5-10 years old that
was working fine prior to transporting it to our home. After moving,
cleaning and plugging it in the lights turn on when we open the door,
but as soon as we turn the dial to 'on' the breaker trips. We've let
it sit 48 hours and still the same problem. It's plugged into a 20amp
gfi circuit but we've tried it in other 20amp circuits. Same thing. We
tested the cord and found very low resistance between ground and hot,
and also between ground and neutral. When we pulled the back of the
unit off and removed the cord, the same thing was found when testing
from the refrigerator's ground to the hot wire attachment, so we
assume the cord is fine and we messed something up internally during
the move? Any thoughts about how to proceed from here would be very
much appreciated.
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Posted by Pop` on May 24, 2007, 7:38 pm
problemchild wrote:
> We just received a used Amana refrigerator about 5-10 years old that
> was working fine prior to transporting it to our home. After moving,
> cleaning and plugging it in the lights turn on when we open the door,
> but as soon as we turn the dial to 'on' the breaker trips. We've let
> it sit 48 hours and still the same problem. It's plugged into a 20amp
> gfi circuit but we've tried it in other 20amp circuits. Same thing. We
> tested the cord and found very low resistance between ground and hot,
> and also between ground and neutral. When we pulled the back of the
> unit off and removed the cord, the same thing was found when testing
> from the refrigerator's ground to the hot wire attachment, so we
> assume the cord is fine and we messed something up internally during
> the move? Any thoughts about how to proceed from here would be very
> much appreciated.
There should be very very high resistance (definitely NOT zero ohms) between
the Hot and Earth wires with the refrigerator UNPLUGGED. That indicates
there is a dead short someplace inside the unit.
Check for loose, broken or cracked light switches on the doors. Check the
cable to the fan; it is connected properly? Follow all wiring you can see
and look for something pinched or melted.
Start disconnecting things until the short measured from the plug goes
away; that will get you closer to the problem; then go from there.
I'd be surprised if not, but look at the plate and be sure it's capable
of being connected to a 20A breaker. If it requires a 30A or a time delay
breaker, it would do that too. DO NOT switch to a 30A breaker to "test" it;
you could start a fire!! Find the specs on the plate somewhere on the unit.
Possibly on the compressor.
Even if it suddenly starts to work, do not trust this machine unless/until
you find the reason for it popping the breakers.
HTH
Pop`
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Posted by problemchild on May 25, 2007, 11:26 am
Sorry - I wasn't able to read this until this morning.
As of last evening the machine suddenly started working. I have left
it on to watch but
following your advice today I'm going to take a closer look.
I have checked the obvious wiring for any signs of pinching or slices,
etc and didn't see anything.
I did check about the 20A question with the old owner who say it was
on a 20Amp circuit at his
house but I have not checked the unit itself.
Anyways, I will be back at it later today.
THANK YOU for responding. I'm sorry for not writing back sooner - I'm
not what you
would call a computer/internet person.
:-) THANKS
> Check for loose, broken or cracked light switches on the doors. Check the
> cable to the fan; it is connected properly? Follow all wiring you can see
> and look for something pinched or melted.
> Start disconnecting things until the short measured from the plug goes
> away; that will get you closer to the problem; then go from there.
> I'd be surprised if not, but look at the plate and be sure it's capable
> of being connected to a 20A breaker. If it requires a 30A or a time delay
> breaker, it would do that too. DO NOT switch to a 30A breaker to "test" it;
> you could start a fire!! Find the specs on the plate somewhere on the unit.
> Possibly on the compressor.
>
> Even if it suddenly starts to work, do not trust this machine unless/until
> you find the reason for it popping the breakers.
>
> HTH
> Pop`
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Posted by Chris Lewis on May 25, 2007, 12:33 pm
> Sorry - I wasn't able to read this until this morning.
> As of last evening the machine suddenly started working. I have left
> it on to watch but
> following your advice today I'm going to take a closer look.
> I have checked the obvious wiring for any signs of pinching or slices,
> etc and didn't see anything.
> I did check about the 20A question with the old owner who say it was
> on a 20Amp circuit at his
> house but I have not checked the unit itself.
> Anyways, I will be back at it later today.
> THANK YOU for responding. I'm sorry for not writing back sooner - I'm
> not what you
> would call a computer/internet person.
If it had been lying on its side for a long time, the compressor
might have had difficulty starting up with the refrigerant "not where
it's supposed to be", and that could cause the compressor to stall which
increases current, and the breaker would eventually trip.
[Did the breaker trip very fast, or take its time? Anything happen
in the fridge _before_ the breaker tripped? Lights? Fan?]
Leaving it alone for a while could eventually unlock the compressor
as the refrigerant shifts.
However, a low resistance between hot and ground implies a wiring
problem. Likely a hot-case short. Tho, it could be a neutral-case
short. Potentially dangerous. Hence, "getting back" to it is
a really good idea...
If the fridge had been shaken/dropped/shocked during moving, something
might have broken, or even a wire terminal knocked/fallen off and
contacting something else.
I had a dishwasher that abruptly started behaving as if the timer
motor was broken. It'd stay in whatever cycle you set the knob
in ... forever.
Durn. Nice dishwasher too, but repair/replacement is very expensive.
Opened it up expecting to find a smoked motor or control unit and
found that one of the cable connectors had simply vibrated off the
control box.
Repair cost? One elastic band. ;-)
--
Chris Lewis,
Age and Treachery will Triumph over Youth and Skill
It's not just anyone who gets a Starship Cruiser class named after them.
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Posted by problemchild on May 26, 2007, 10:33 am
Well, it appears that everything is fine after 72 hours. Taking
everyone's advice I completely removed the protective casing around
the bottom and scoured everything (at least as much as I could,
following the schematic as much as I could) and found nothing cut,
sliced, disconnected, marred or anything. Also, when I now test the
plug everything looks fine. I hooked up the water inlet and it started
making ice early this morning.
A friend who helped with the move suggested that perhaps we had gotten
something inside wet and that this was the cause of the short. I don't
know how plausible that is or isn't but I do know that from everything
I can see the machine is in great working order.
As one who only rarely uses these newsgroups I want to say how much I
appreciate everyone responding. Especially just in feeling calmer
about the whole frustrating situation, your responses helped a lot.
Instead of receiving a new refrigerator I was looking at having to get
rid of one after lugging it home and cleaning it! I'll keep watching
it but I'm assuming (?) that at this point it will continue working.
Thanks a lot!
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