ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade Non-US Electrical Systems & Trades Fixing vintage French refrigerator?

I ran it for a few hours but didn't have a thermometer to test. It ran for some time, then the thermostat switched off and when I opened it it felt cool inside. The top (light-duty freezer compartment) was covered with a solid layer of ice, so I guess it works ok. Then I unplugged it overnight.
There's an "household appliance magician" around who should be able to get me a new thermal cutout, but maybe it'll be cheaper if I go to a normal repair guy (the "magician" is known to fix _anything_ but he charges quite a lot. Fitting a new switch to a 1960ies mixer took him 3 weeks and cost nearly 50 Euros). Maybe Conrad electronics has something like that.

Forgot to mention that, it has a three-wire cord and a Schuko plug, still the original molded angle plug with the Frimatic company logo on it.
As I already mentioned, the color coding is weird. Two blacks and a white ground wire.
All refrigerators I've seen, regardless of age and price are class I. The only double-insulated refrigerator I've ever seen was a Thailand-imported one with NEMA 1-15 cord set.

Same in the U.K. -- I don't recall ever seeing a double-insulated fridge with no ground connection.

Glad to hear you've got an old appliance up and working again! One less item for the landfill.

Good on you Ragnar!.
Glad to hear it works OK.
Most people would have tossed this elderly appliance on the scrap heap.

Howdy Texas- glad 2 hear that you got it to spin. If the thermal overload is a round device that has two wires and sits against the dome, perhaps there are clip(s) that hold it in a semi-socket type of prong setup. In the US and US made-for-world market, it would be a round 1 inch diameter X 3/4 inch height device with a terminal(screw) and a wire lead to connect to common. Failure of this is related to repeated high heat operation(caused by high current/motor issues, or just insufficient cooling for compressor and condenser. the fact that it started and ran to cool would indicate that the unit probably ran in a close space or a dirty condition. there are one-siz-fitzall types of overloads that use current as limiter and clip on the terminal box, and generally these will do an adequate job with proper maintenance to fridge. If the overload is klixon type as described above, there should be numbers on the side that can be cross ref'd to newer style numbers. If this is a french product, do you see a brand name for the compressor?

Hey - here's a list of possible numbers for a tecumseh product if that is the case- otherwise, if it is a manoir or aspera brand compressor-those are available too.
http://www.tpc-nacg.com/ref-espol.htm

And here's another info link 4 U regarding refrigeration- http://www.tecumseh-europe.com/M4/UK/p41.htm

Good luck and keep us posted- I *waste* more time doing things like you are doing just for fun-very rarely do I get a $$ return on that sort of "turd-polishing" but the personal satisfaction is great! I was wondering if you were going to continue.

[This message has been edited by chi spark (edited 04-18-2004).]

Thanks for the links. I have no idea about the compressor (as far as I've seen not even the terminals are marked), but the OC is a Klixon M(or maybe N)RA 2969 and looks just as you described. maybe 1" in dia., a screw and a wire to the compressor.
Only problem: it sits flush in the dome. Gonna have a look at it soon. Spent the last 2 days at a flea market (local scouts sold lots of old stuff, real fun to dig around), so I didn't have much time to spend on the fridge.
IIRC it operated for several (close to 10) years built into the kitchen cabinets, then it sat in a corner of the kitchen butting up against 2 walls. When I ran it w/o the OC it sat in the middle of the workshop with lots of air around.

Hi Texas, idle time today, I was able to find a cross-reference for klixon, but the number you have may be obsoleted and subbed. here is a link to the cross reference page: http://shop.marsm-a.com/images/mars/images/00%20COMP%20X-Ref.pdf
this shows MRA2964 then jumps to MRA2972. I guess you can confirm 2969, if it is so then I'll check when I go to supply hse next. Is that the boy scouts that held the flea market? That's a great idea for fund$raising.

No such fuss made here - boys and girls all together - lots of cute girls my age
Actually it was a cool flea market 'cause they just piled up everything without any system and you really had to dig for the treasures. I had fun, even though a freaking old record player gave me a nice 230V buzz (power cord seems to have a few strands sticking out at the device side even though I haven't been able to find the fault). Finally got lots of stuff for free (they dumped everything they didn't sell and I offered to take somke stuff, just courtesy, so their car wouldn't be that full
It's a portable player, just about the size of a 33 disc, mains or battery powered.
Ok, getting a bit off-topic.

It's actually MRA 2959, still can't find it in the cross-reference.
I managed to find out how the OC is attached... but one of the 2 screws is stuck and worn. I'll try some kind of spray, maybe that'll loosen it.
There's no name plate on the compressor itself (at least not easily visible), the unit'S name plate shows a pretty cryptic compressor number.
The entire back of the unit is covered in a solid layer of dust, and it's hard to make out details. Before I try to use it I'll give it a good cleaning.