Maytag refrigerator MTF2142MES00 compressor not starting

[zenparker]

Happy Thursday, all.  

Followed warm fridge troubleshooting flowchart.

Both compartments warm.

Both fans running like champs.

Condenser clean.  

Compressor not running.  My digital multimeter has an iffy probe at the moment -- borrowing a better one to confirm -- but even with mine I do get resistance between the various prong combos, (with a higher reading between the two bottom ones); and I don't get resistance between any of the prongs and the compressor body (ie not shorted to ground)

Voltage 123.5 at connector plug that goes into start relay/overload/capacitor assembly.

Replaced relay/overload assembly -- no change in performance.

What now?

Cheers, M

 

Background info:

This fridge was struggling in July 2021 when we had a prolonged period of hot humid weather.  Was still making ice but fridge was too warm.

I located a tech bulletin with instructions on how to cut a resistor out of the circuit board because their intelligent defrost cycling apparently doesn't always do well in that kind of weather; however before I resorted to that, I noticed that, SOMETIMES, I would hear a click without the compressor going on.  I thought perhaps the relay was beginning to fail...I dithered about the cost of the part to my dad and he rather impulsively bought me a $15 aftermarket replacement as a way to check whether this solved the problem without investing in the OEM version.  I installed that part...no longer heard the unfruitful clicking...and within 24 hours the fridge was staying properly cold, and continued to work very nicely from then until a couple of days ago.   So this go round, I kind of assumed the cheap part had failed...but replacing it has done nothing that I can discern.

Another piece of possibly relevant, possibly red herring information:  on October 5th, something at the electrical substation near my house literally went up in flames -- I heard the whoosh, saw the flames from my window, called 911, the whole bit.  An entire section of my city lost power, though they must have had redundancy built in because it was restored within a couple of hours.  I don't know whether that event could have generated a surge that affected the fridge -- have not had issues with other appliances that I can tell.  

 

[Vance R]

If you hear a buzz - hum then a click then about 5 minutes later the process repeats you have a start issue with the compressor. Since you have replaced the start group and the issue continues most likely the compressor is  locked. No way to know if the power outage had anything to do with your issue.

[zenparker]

Thanks Vance. I did get the distinct sense the compressor has given up the ghost, though I don’t have the equipment I’d need to confirm it.  Appreciate your helping me move on.