peppers
5 Cubic Foot
Hello I am a new member as i just picked up a super clean 1933 GE CA-2-A16 Monitor Top!
Posts: 56
|
Post by peppers on Apr 1, 2021 1:50:03 GMT
i was pre bleeding on and off with the machine not running Thanks for mentioning that. Sounds like there's a lot of NCG if the pressure is positive with it not running. Anyway, seeing as it does run, albeit with a high power draw, it's worth trying to purge with it running. My experience has been that the power should start to drop off fairly quickly once purging is underway. If it doesn't drop below 400W within a few minutes, it might be wise to let the motor cool down for a bit and then start again. At the normal purging rate there shouldn't be any need to worry about losing oil, since most of it collects at the bottom of the float chamber, away from the charge valve.
Sounds good, I will try to bleed it running and keep and eye on the watts.. thanks
|
|
peppers
5 Cubic Foot
Hello I am a new member as i just picked up a super clean 1933 GE CA-2-A16 Monitor Top!
Posts: 56
|
Post by peppers on Apr 3, 2021 14:09:20 GMT
Update...Ok now i am confused. I went ahead with doing a normal bleed on the machine per Cablehack & Turbo's recommendations since the unit was running and without the heater on this time. the temp was about 65 anyway. Below is the link to the latest video, the good thing is that the machine ran for 4min & 15 seconds before i turned it off to eat dinner. The watts were lower than the previous test so i think the bleeding of the NCG's is working. I also noticed that the temp of the lower portion of the evaporator was about 5 degrees colder than the rest of it. Problem is after i returned to fire it back up and continue with the bleed it did not turn on or do anything. I did notice that when i turned it off i actually set it to defrost by mistake because i could not see which way i turned the knob. Not sure if that had anything to do with it but thought it was worth mentioning. This morning i went out tried the same process and nothing. The heater is still working and the unit has power so i am guessing it could be an issue with the thermostat, compressor wiring or worst case a bad motor? I will have to open it back up and so some tests... really bummed but am hoping for the best. Any suggestions or thoughts as to what it could be. Thanks Dean. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozieVvnzN1Q
|
|
|
Post by cablehack on Apr 3, 2021 22:51:35 GMT
The power draw around 350W is about right for the first part of the purging process. Looks like it’s all going to plan. As for the unit not running, my guess is something to do with the thermostat. The thermostats for the form A and form B machines are slightly different, with regards to the defrost and overload indication. However, a simple test you can try will tell you if this is where the problem is. Bridge the connections in the locking plug at the back of the thermostat, and see if the motor starts. Bear in mind that the fridge should never be run like this unattended, since there will be no overload protection if the motor stalls. The overload protection in CA’s is part of the thermostat.
|
|
peppers
5 Cubic Foot
Hello I am a new member as i just picked up a super clean 1933 GE CA-2-A16 Monitor Top!
Posts: 56
|
Post by peppers on Apr 3, 2021 23:12:15 GMT
The power draw around 350W is about right for the first part of the purging process. Looks like it’s all going to plan. As for the unit not running, my guess is something to do with the thermostat. The thermostats for the form A and form B machines are slightly different, with regards to the defrost and overload indication. However, a simple test you can try will tell you if this is where the problem is. Bridge the connections in the locking plug at the back of the thermostat, and see if the motor starts. Bear in mind that the fridge should never be run like this unattended, since there will be no overload protection if the motor stalls. The overload protection in CA’s is part of the thermostat. Thanks for the advice, I was also reading the manual about what could be the cause and it I think it did trip the overload as the red indicator is showing. My gut is telling me it is a thermostat problem so I will try to bypass it temporarily like you mentioned and report back..
|
|
peppers
5 Cubic Foot
Hello I am a new member as i just picked up a super clean 1933 GE CA-2-A16 Monitor Top!
Posts: 56
|
Post by peppers on Apr 5, 2021 2:58:05 GMT
The power draw around 350W is about right for the first part of the purging process. Looks like it’s all going to plan. As for the unit not running, my guess is something to do with the thermostat. The thermostats for the form A and form B machines are slightly different, with regards to the defrost and overload indication. However, a simple test you can try will tell you if this is where the problem is. Bridge the connections in the locking plug at the back of the thermostat, and see if the motor starts. Bear in mind that the fridge should never be run like this unattended, since there will be no overload protection if the motor stalls. The overload protection in CA’s is part of the thermostat. Thanks for the advice, I was also reading the manual about what could be the cause and it I think it did trip the overload as the red indicator is showing. My gut is telling me it is a thermostat problem so I will try to bypass it temporarily like you mentioned and report back.. For the heck of it wanted to see if it would start today so I got the warm trays ready and switched the on/off back a forth a few times and it started! the watts went from 16 to 250 for split second then they jumped up to over a 1100 then around 1050 and i scrambled to release some pressure to start the bleeding process but it tripped the overload and shut off after 40 seconds. I'm not sure what is going on with this machine. The volts were at 118. Could the problem with the thermostat be contributing to such high watts. It seemed like I was on track but now I dont know what to do. I am afraid to try and run it again with such a high draw. I guess the thing to do would be to flip it back over and open it up and test the wiring and try to jump the thermostat?
|
|
|
Post by turbokinetic on Apr 5, 2021 23:07:55 GMT
Thanks for the advice, I was also reading the manual about what could be the cause and it I think it did trip the overload as the red indicator is showing. My gut is telling me it is a thermostat problem so I will try to bypass it temporarily like you mentioned and report back.. For the heck of it wanted to see if it would start today so I got the warm trays ready and switched the on/off back a forth a few times and it started! the watts went from 16 to 250 for split second then they jumped up to over a 1100 then around 1050 and i scrambled to release some pressure to start the bleeding process but it tripped the overload and shut off after 40 seconds. I'm not sure what is going on with this machine. The volts were at 118. Could the problem with the thermostat be contributing to such high watts. It seemed like I was on track but now I dont know what to do. I am afraid to try and run it again with such a high draw. I guess the thing to do would be to flip it back over and open it up and test the wiring and try to jump the thermostat? Definitely don't try to jumper the thermostat because that's where your overload breaker is. I've had several CA's do this. They have some scuffing or seizure damage on the moving parts. The way I have got them to work is to keep trying. Just let it cool off between tries. Once oil and refrigerant starts to circulate, a new stable wear pattern will develop and it will run smoother. The very high watts might be a stuck start-relay, though. Be sure that relay is dropping out once the motor is up to speed.
|
|
|
Post by cablehack on Apr 6, 2021 6:32:14 GMT
The thermostat is just a switch in series with the motor. It won’t have anything to do with the high current consumption. As David has mentioned, make sure the start relay disconnects as soon as the motor has come up to speed. While bridging the thermostat is a useful test if the motor doesn’t start at all, the fact that yours does indicates it’s ok. Certainly, in its present state, I wouldn’t want to run it without the overload protection - the power draw is sometimes too high for comfort. The only time I run my CA-2 with the thermostat bridged is during a very long purge session, when the evaporator gets cold enough to shut off the compressor, even at #9. I’m always watching the power meter during this time, and if anything untoward happened, I can disconnect it immediately.
|
|
peppers
5 Cubic Foot
Hello I am a new member as i just picked up a super clean 1933 GE CA-2-A16 Monitor Top!
Posts: 56
|
Post by peppers on Apr 6, 2021 20:52:53 GMT
Thanks for the advice guys. I will try to restart it and keep an eye on the relay and watts. I have not had it running long enough to do a proper bleed or gain any frost yet so hopefully i can get i going. I wasnt sure if i should pre-heat it and use the heater or just go with it the way it is. My heated barn in about 62 degrees and when i preheat the unit it goes to about 71 degrees. I wasn't sure if best to try and start it without the heater since it could be contributing to the NCG's. Whenever i do start it i have warm trays ready to go and the bristol key in place. Its just been so erratic...i wish the other night i didn't turn it off to go eat dinner!! sure are finicky machines but love them at the same time!
|
|
|
Post by ckfan on Apr 6, 2021 23:14:23 GMT
Definitely leave the heater on for several hours before you decide to purge it. The less refrigerant that collects in the sump, the better.
|
|
peppers
5 Cubic Foot
Hello I am a new member as i just picked up a super clean 1933 GE CA-2-A16 Monitor Top!
Posts: 56
|
Post by peppers on Apr 7, 2021 0:00:41 GMT
Definitely leave the heater on for several hours before you decide to purge it. The less refrigerant that collects in the sump, the better. will do... I did plug it back in earlier. Thanks!
|
|
peppers
5 Cubic Foot
Hello I am a new member as i just picked up a super clean 1933 GE CA-2-A16 Monitor Top!
Posts: 56
|
Post by peppers on Apr 7, 2021 23:09:35 GMT
|
|
|
Post by ChrisJ on Apr 10, 2021 11:53:01 GMT
I would assume the relay isn't dropping out due to the excessive current the run winding is pulling in this case.
As long is it's opening when you turn the machine off it's doing it's job.
|
|
peppers
5 Cubic Foot
Hello I am a new member as i just picked up a super clean 1933 GE CA-2-A16 Monitor Top!
Posts: 56
|
Post by peppers on Apr 11, 2021 18:10:40 GMT
I would assume the relay isn't dropping out due to the excessive current the run winding is pulling in this case. As long is it's opening when you turn the machine off it's doing it's job. Thanks Chris, it will turn on and pull about 1000 watts but the relay still does not drop out. It does disengage when the power is off. Any thoughts on what is causing the high watts? Is it that the relay contacts are still making contact or something else that is causing them not to break free?
|
|
|
Post by ChrisJ on Apr 12, 2021 1:23:50 GMT
I would assume the relay isn't dropping out due to the excessive current the run winding is pulling in this case. As long is it's opening when you turn the machine off it's doing it's job. Thanks Chris, it will turn on and pull about 1000 watts but the relay still does not drop out. It does disengage when the power is off. Any thoughts on what is causing the high watts? Is it that the relay contacts are still making contact or something else that is causing them not to break free? That's David's wheel house more than anyone I know. But it does sound like the relay is doing it's job.
|
|
peppers
5 Cubic Foot
Hello I am a new member as i just picked up a super clean 1933 GE CA-2-A16 Monitor Top!
Posts: 56
|
Post by peppers on Apr 13, 2021 13:26:57 GMT
Update... I got a points file and lightly sanded the relay contacts again to smooth them out then tried to restart the fridge and it did start up and the relay dropped out after a few seconds as it should. The watts were in the 350-400 range and seemed to stay there. I am assuming a formal bleed will help with that but as before it shut off after about two and a half minutes and I could not get it to restart when turning the controls on/off or to defrost to off and back on. Not sure why it shut down it, has ran for longer periods of time although not much longer... I am guessing it still needs to be bleed or could there be some other problem. For the few minutes it did run the dome started to get warm, the condenser coils and float were the same temps. This thing sure is finicky and not really sure what to do? Bubbles are still coming out of the oil when it is running, not running, heater off or heater on. I may just try to do ANOTHER pre-running purge? I really have not smelled any large amout of methal formate. The bubbles either have no smell at all or once in a while after a minute or so I can catch of whiff of that kinda sweet smell and I close the valve. I hope the CK I have to get running next is not this challenging! Any ideas fellas. Thanks in advance Dean
|
|