Jenn-Air JCD2389GES - Intermittent cooling

[borisgoodenough]

Refrigerator works (sometimes) and doesn't (sometimes). A typical cycle: it cools and turns off when it reaches proper temp. As refrigerator warms, it starts up again as it should, but almost instantly turns off, after 2 seconds or so. It doesn't start again as refrigerator continues to warm. If I manually turn it off via the cold control and then slide it back up, or unplug it and plug it back in, it will usually (but not always) start back up and cool properly. Then the cycle repeats.

Bad cold control (it sometimes doesn't "click" when I slide it down and back up)?  Compressor start relay with an intermittent short (though I don't hear any clicking / humming)? Other possibilities?

Thanks in advance.

[Hiroshi]

when it is in this stage:

35 minutes ago, borisgoodenough said:

it starts up again as it should, but almost instantly turns off, after 2 seconds or so. It doesn't start again as refrigerator continues to warm

During this phase- give the ceiling near the where the cold control is mounted a knock- if the machine kicks on, it is the cold control for certain...

A ptc start relay with a weird short is possible, but that wouldn't last long as the ptc arcing will torch itself or blow into smaller chunks in subsequent cycles. (in fact, this generation of Maytag and J.A. fridges had a discrete relay recall i believe).

[borisgoodenough]

Bingo! Gave it the "knock test"; it started right up and cooled it right down. Repeated a couple of hours later, with identical results.

Will be ordering a new cold control later today. Does anyone know of a video / instruction sheet on this replacement? I've worked inside the control box before, but never changed a thermostat.

Hiroshi -- good remembery on this model. We had the relay changed under this recall a number of years back.

BTW -- love this method of diagnostics. Meters? We don't need no stinking meters.

 

[Richard Demint]

2 hours ago, borisgoodenough said:

Bingo! Gave it the "knock test"; it started right up and cooled it right down. Repeated a couple of hours later, with identical results.

Will be ordering a new cold control later today. Does anyone know of a video / instruction sheet on this replacement? I've worked inside the control box before, but never changed a thermostat.

Hiroshi -- good remembery on this model. We had the relay changed under this recall a number of years back.

BTW -- love this method of diagnostics. Meters? We don't need no stinking meters.

 

lol good testing brother! If you have been in the control before it`s pretty straight forward, if it helps take pictures before you start work and refer back to them if you have a case of crs like me.

[borisgoodenough]

Update: purchased the new cold control, installed it. refrigerator now works perfectly. Only glitch: got the gearing for the temperature slider out of position when putting the new control in, so refrigerator didn't turn off when control slid all the way left, something that (of course) didn't show up until everything was back together. But an easy fix.

Thanks much to Hiroshi (and Richard) for the advice.

[MoTeD]

Late to the party, but, thanks for the fixed update.