Update on My GE Chest Freezer

Let's see, its been not even a full month since you said this and now I am already eating crow...

That's right everyone. The freezer died last night. Not only did it die but it died a smoky death at that. The whole house smells like burnt rubber now. Fortunately I was home. This could have ended much worse.

Now before any of you grab pitchforks let me reassure you. The freezer will live again. I am making sure of that. It is going to be a long road to recovery though. So, what happened?

Well, the "contact filling" that I did only worked for a few weeks. It then started sticking on again. I would tap the thermostat housing and it would shudder off. It did this a few times and it did it yesterday. I had enough and tried something to fix it. I filled the contacts again and then sprayed some lubricant on all of the moving parts. I plugged it in and it worked...for a few hours.  While I was showering I saw the lights flicker and I thought I heard the compressor shake like a bowl of jello but the sound and flickering went away. I was a little worried but just thought it was my nerves. Then halfway through my shower, hair still soaking with conditioner, I caught a whiff of "hot electrical smell". I panicked, put on a towel and went to the freezer. Sure enough, that was the problem, the room was filling with smoke. I unplugged it and then opened the window. God what an awful smell. I then finished my shower, dejected.

Upon further inspection, the cold control was indeed the problem. Even after my shower the top of it was still warm. Now I'm not entirely sure how this happened but...one of the screw terminals underneath the control box failed and the wire was arcing on the other wire. That would explain why for a second that the compressor shaked like a bowl of jello and I heard it in the bathroom. The wires got so hot that it started melting the rubber (that god awful smell). It also shot hot rubber through a hole in the contact box onto the side of the freezer making a nice black streak. At this point I thought the compressor might be damaged. I peeled the two wires back until I got to good conductor and tied them together. I carefully plugged it in and it fired right up no problem.  Thank goodness! It still has life in it yet!

So, the cold control is officially dead, kaput, it has ceased to exist. One of the terminals is melted off and the plastic around it is deformed. It even got so hot inside the box that it vaporized and carbonized the lubricant that I had sprayed in there. I'm going to have to order the cold control that Gill suggested and hope that it will work. I'm also going to have to re wire EVERYTHING. I'm not taking any more chances with this old and dangerous wiring. I have learned my lesson.  I just thought "well as long as you don't disturb it, it will be fine". No, heck no. I love these old machines but their weak point is the wiring. It needs to be replaced if you can replace it at all. Problem is that I can think of several areas, the compressor and fan mostly where I am going to have a lot of trouble getting to the wiring to actually replace it. I believe the wires on the fan are actually soldered on.  Anywho, if anyone has attempted to re wire one of these units (they are like the second form of FEA) please share any tips that you might have. For now I am going to just relax with a nice cold bourbon from the fridge that has new wiring and actually works...the reliable CK.