Really torn on what to do... (Page 2/2)
maryjane DEC 28, 12:53 PM
Often, on refrigerators, the compressor is not the problem.
It's a little capacitor/relay assembly that plugs in right at the compressor.
On a Sears/Kenmore/Frigidaire unit t's a 2 part assembly, consisting of a start/run capacitor and a start/overload relay. They plug in to each other and a wiring harness plugs in to the relay.
Looks like this tho some models are different. The 2 parts are usually sold together and at Sears run around $100, but elsewhere, less than $20, which is a lot cheaper than letting a repair guy replace a compressor needlessly.


[This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 12-28-2021).]

cvxjet DEC 28, 01:48 PM
I have a (Approx') 1970 washer...have used it for 25 years...the timer died so I bought a new timer and it has been working great for 3 years. My ex-GF had a really fancy washing machine with all sorts of different settings...It's main bearing at the bottom of the tub started making noises- $4-500 to replace the bearing! She finally bought a much cheaper (And simpler) washing machine. She only used one setting on the old one; Cold water, full load, regular cycle.

My washing machine is built like a tank- every part is obviously over-built so will last a long time (Of course, now that I said this it will exploded into a bunch of metal shards the next time I use it)
82-T/A [At Work] DEC 28, 02:08 PM

quote
Originally posted by maryjane:

Often, on refrigerators, the compressor is not the problem.
It's a little capacitor/relay assembly that plugs in right at the compressor.
On a Sears/Kenmore/Frigidaire unit t's a 2 part assembly, consisting of a start/run capacitor and a start/overload relay. They plug in to each other and a wiring harness plugs in to the relay.
Looks like this tho some models are different. The 2 parts are usually sold together and at Sears run around $100, but elsewhere, less than $20, which is a lot cheaper than letting a repair guy replace a compressor needlessly.




I had to replace this very same part on my Frigidaire in my South Florida home. I bought that fridge back in 2003 when I bought the home, and it's still in the house now. It just stopped getting cool completely back in 2016, and it turned out to be that part. The capacitor was still good, but the relay (white part) was totally fried. It looked burnt by the connectors, and broke apart in two pieces. I took the opportunity to completely vacuum out the underside of the coils, spray them down with degreaser, and replaced the part... I think it was like $30 bucks shipped from the same place I just bought the parts for my washer.

It's still working. The home is now a rental, and I haven't gotten any complaints about it... other than the ice machine. But I'm not living there, so had to pay someone to replace that.


Really seems like the newer stuff is total crap. We bought a brand new Samsung fridge when we bought the house in San Antonio... and the ice maker stopped working, and all the plastic shelves cracked. It was under warranty so they fixed it, but totally lame. This house we bought here in Tampa also had a Samsung fridge, and it spurts water out of the top of the fridge (just behind the hinge) maybe once a month. No rhyme or reason. Only lasts for like a minute or two, and then it's back to normal. Crappy new stuff, I swear...
Jake_Dragon DEC 28, 04:31 PM
This is normally how it works with me

Starts making a noise and is not obvious what is wrong.
Looks up what a new replacement cost and read the reviews.
Cuss and yell about how appliances are a scam.
Pull the appliance out where I can work on it and take it apart so I can see where noise is coming from.
Cuss because it looks expensive.
Order the $30 part and put it back together.

Brag on the Fiero Forum that I fixed said appliance.
RWDPLZ DEC 28, 07:19 PM
I was forced to repair mine last summer when the pandemic started and the apartment complex refused to fix it since it 'wasn't an emergency'. Replaced the transmission, after tearing the entire machine down to nothing. Once the apartment complex started doing housecalls again, I re-installed the old broken transmission and called them and said it stopped working again, and they replaced the entire machine with another one in better shape.

The older stuff is better anyway, and the parts are cheap. The new stuff is hot garbage, especially Samsung/LG.
ray b DEC 29, 12:45 PM
I just swap one used unit for another

moving sales are the place to get appliances

hate the new computer controlled stuff anyway
I love clockwork timers most will cleanup with a spray or are cheap to replace

for washers the older maytags are the best by far
but they are also sold under trade names like sears Kenmore [some years]

euro stuff high end is better miele is the best you can buy even better then Bosch
nuts priced new but they stock older parts and worth the hunt used
Raydar DEC 30, 09:16 AM
Another vote for repairing the old stuff.
We still have the original washer and dryer that we bought after we moved into our first house in 1997.
In the washer, I have replaced the agitator dogs (little one-way clutch pieces) twice, and a three-fingered coupler affair (don't remember what it's called) once.
In the dryer, I have replaced the thermal fuse at least once, and the rollers once or twice. It's also been disassembled and vacuumed out several times. (Lint and dog hair. Gotta love it.)

New stuff is (IMHO) designed to die in short order. Especially the Korean stuff. If I can avoid it, I won't buy anything with electronic controls. As rayb said, give me a clockwork timer any day.

FWIW... if you are buying American dryers, (Whirlpool, Kenmore, GE, Maytag) there are basically two designs. One with the filter in the top, and one with the filter under the door.
Among dryers of the same design, all the bits and pieces are basically identical, across different brands.

Pretty much off-topic, but flat screen TVs are a whole different story.
Our first flatscreen TV was a 720P Vizio, that was purchased when 1080P was the latest thing. (I never buy "bleeding edge" technology. Usually just last year's. )
It's still going strong. We gave it to a friend, after her (nearly identical) Vizio quit working.