How I re-wired my CK
Feb 22, 2016 18:16:06 GMT
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ChrisJ, timeswelding, and 1 more like this
Post by ckfan on Feb 22, 2016 18:16:06 GMT
After a lot of thought I have decided to revise this thread so that future people looking for help with Re Wiring their CK unit can be better informed. I will be peppering in pictures and paragraphs from Coldspaces post on how he did the Re Wire on his CK. He did an outstanding job on a unit that was sent in to him. Enjoy!
So I was thinking this weekend about how I might tackle a rewire of my monitor top. After thinking for a while I decided that I would just be better off not disturbing the internal wiring and just replace the line cord. Big mistake. Once I pulled the start relay up from in between the back fins I noticed that the cord going underneath the compressor was beyond dangerous. Seriously, there were several areas with bare wire.
Ever since I got this fridge I just thought that as long as I didn't disturb the wiring it would be safe. Nothing could be further from the truth. All of the wiring was unsafe, see the pictures. Here is how I replaced it all. This is by no means the "correct" way to do it (that is why I am including Coldspaces more professional methods). It was very hard to make the connections to the bottom of the compressor, but it can be done. Please fell free to add any info or make any corrections to this.
First step, you need to decide whether or not you want to replace the original start relay on your fridge. These relays are around 80 years old now. They are extremely robust and reliable but as with anything this old it may as well just be a good idea to replace it. If you want to use the original relay as I did, read on. Otherwise, see the next paragraph on how Coldspaces retrofitted a new relay into a CK. Pull the relay from the back fins of the fridge. It is either just sitting in place held in by the spring clip or it is screwed into the rear of the condenser plate. Then undo the spring clip and take off the back cover. Then take a picture or draw a diagram, see attached photo, of the connections on the relay, my relay was replaced at some point, it is a "Type R" relay. Yours may have a "Type E" if it is original, again just make sure to take note of which wires go where. Make triple sure that you do this right on RE assembly. Take all wires off only after you have a good understanding...and a photo of where they all belong. Next, pull the power cord out of the way and set it aside. Then, go to the front of the unit where the control is.
If using new relay...
If you are wanting to replace your relay or you need to replace your relay, read on. This is an excerpt from Coldspaces re wiring job where he uses a Supco RO81 solid state relay.
You can find one of those here: www.amazon.com/Supco-RO81-Relay-Overload/dp/B00DZUAT2G Don't worry, they are cheap!
"Since I had no proper mount for the correct style relay housing and no extra housings without robbing from a working one I didn't try to stay original. Also I don't fell comfortable with putting an R081 inside a box that heat could build up in so I wanted a metal box to help dissipate heat. As you can see I had a few vents so I added two for good measure. Also I wasn't just going to hang an RO81 in there and have the wiring connections just hanging in space. The sheet of neoprene should help keep the box in place and keep it from wearing on the coil. I welded in the stud so it can't spin when I tighten the nut." So basically since the RO81 relay doesn't have its own way to mount to the back, he put it inside a metal outlet box. To make sure that heat wouldn't build up inside he knocked out a few of the tab holes and put screen in them so that it won't let dust inside. You then feed the line cord into the box and then feed the wires coming from the relay to a cord that will go to the compressor. He also welded a threaded rod on the box so that he could mount it to the existing hole in the back of the condenser plate. Do not attempt to drill any new holes into the surrounding plate! If you hit one of the refrigerant channels you will loose all of the refrigerant and your fridge will be rendered useless! You should never have to drill any holes. If you absolutely want to ground the fridge you can do so by connecting the ground wire to the same existing hole that the threaded rod will go through. See the attached photo which shows how to wire the RO81 relay. It is quite simple. Just hook up the wires going from the relay to the new cord that will go to the compressor.
The escutcheon plate simply pries off with a flat blade screwdriver, this is the "name plate" that has the GE logo and holes for the control knobs on it. Be careful to not bend it and pry from both sides equally. Then, take off the two screws holding the control on. Next, go inside the cabinet, unscrew the temp sensing probe from the evaporator. Being very careful not to break the line, bend the tube straight. Then pull the control up slowly. Then, unscrew the terminal cover from the control and disconnect the wires. The position of the wires shouldn't matter.
You will have to lift the unit off of the cabinet one way or another. I simply used blocks of wood to partially lift the unit up. This made the process much harder since there was not much space to work with. If at all possible you will want to completely take the unit off of the cabinet to do this process. This is best accomplished with an engine hoist or electric hoist (if you are lucky enough to have one). You will see holes in the fins where you can attach hooks. Be extremely careful when lifting the unit off or putting it back on the cabinet. You need to always be aware of where the refrigerant lines are at. You will see them behind the evaporator or (the part that gets cold). Just make sure you don't drop the unit onto the cabinet and bend the lines, they are fragile.
Next comes the careful process of lowering the evaporator plate. I will let Coldspaces explain.
"I then removed all the front and left side bolts plus the front right side bolts. The remaining bolts I loosened but left in to hold up the deck and coil. I latter found that the deck and coil do not relay stress anything that easily. I was able to remove all the deck screws but the back two and it hung there just fine without must strain on the tubes. The tubes all run from bottom to top near the back from what I could see so they didn't have to flex much at all." So basically you will need to Carefully lower the evaporator plate by removing some of the screws and loosening others. Once you take a look at your unit you will see what he is talking about. You just want to make sure that you don't put any undue strain on the refrigerant lines.
Next, you will have to remove some of the staples that hold the cardboard surround on. I would only remove the left side facing the front since this is where you are going to need access. Take the cardboard off and set it aside. You can staple it back on when you are done. Next, take out excess insulation and set it aside using gloves. Guess what? You will need to put that back too once you are done.
Next, take a look at the wires. I was surprised to find that my wires were in very bad shape and were wrapped around each other. Not good. The red wire is the start wire. The black wire coming from the front control is the common wire. It is also tied to the back relay to get the "neutral" side of the circuit. You should see this when you look at it. The white wire coming from the relay is the run wire. If at all possible you will need to take a soldering iron and remove the wires on the compressor one by one. One of the members, ChrisJ, told me why I had so much trouble with my wimpy soldering iron. "Jeez, 15 watt iron?
Both of my Wellers are 60W regulated, I highly recommend getting one if you do any amount of soldering. Get a spool of 37 / 63 rosin core solder as well. Trust me, night and day difference between that and a typical 15W or even 25W pencil iron. You'll never go back and chances are you'll do a lot more soldering as well." Wise words, don't try and use a wimpy iron for this. A 30W iron is bare minimum. Touch the iron tip to the wire connection while using needle nose pliers to pull down on the wire. It will take a bit but it will eventually work loose. Then re solder the correct wire onto that terminal.
If you are not comfortable with soldering you can follow the steps that I did but please follow my instructions so that it will be safe. Since the space I had was so limited I decided to do this a little differently. I clipped the wires back as far as I could. Then I took the new wires and tied them in, taped them, and melted the tape over the wires. You need to be sure that every bit of the old wire is covered so that there is no possibility of future shock or fire hazards.
Speaking of wire, I used 3 wire 14 gauge stuff. It worked great and made a tight fit in the grommets. I then cut two sections of wire a little longer than the relay wire and the control wire. I then taped the new wire snug to the old wire. I then gently pulled them under the compressor plate. Next, with the help of a friend tied the old leads from the compressor to the new wires. I taped the wires all the way up to the terminals and then melted the tape to make it secure.
Again, the three wire connection from the relay had black, white, and green wires. I used the white as the run wire.
I used the green as the "red" start wire.
I tied the black wire to the white wire of the control bundle and then hooked up the black wire of the control bundle to the middle "common" terminal.
Then just make the proper connections to the control and the relay with the wire you already put in place. Hook up a new line cord to the relay. That is super easy.
Put the insulation and cardboard back in place around the edge of the opening that you were working in.
Then screw the evaporator plate to the compressor plate. It will be hard to line them up and it is easier to start at the back where it isn't spread open as much. Work your way around with a little help from a friend as they hold the plate up while you turn the screws.
Then lower the top onto the cabinet slowly.
Next, push the relay and control back into their positions. Carefully bend the sensing tube of the control back into place and hook it up to the evaporator. Ensure that the sensing tube goes back in the exact same spot. Ask me why it matters!
Go over everything once more in your head, cross your fingers, plug it in. No sparks or magic smoke? Good! Turn it on and hopefully you will be greeted with a lovely compressor starting up! Now you can breathe easy knowing that your unit will be reliable and safe!
I hope that this will help anyone who needs to do a RE wire. Mine definitely needed it so I'm sure all original units need it. Please feel free to tell me how I'm wrong or to add steps and suggestions.
So I was thinking this weekend about how I might tackle a rewire of my monitor top. After thinking for a while I decided that I would just be better off not disturbing the internal wiring and just replace the line cord. Big mistake. Once I pulled the start relay up from in between the back fins I noticed that the cord going underneath the compressor was beyond dangerous. Seriously, there were several areas with bare wire.
Ever since I got this fridge I just thought that as long as I didn't disturb the wiring it would be safe. Nothing could be further from the truth. All of the wiring was unsafe, see the pictures. Here is how I replaced it all. This is by no means the "correct" way to do it (that is why I am including Coldspaces more professional methods). It was very hard to make the connections to the bottom of the compressor, but it can be done. Please fell free to add any info or make any corrections to this.
First step, you need to decide whether or not you want to replace the original start relay on your fridge. These relays are around 80 years old now. They are extremely robust and reliable but as with anything this old it may as well just be a good idea to replace it. If you want to use the original relay as I did, read on. Otherwise, see the next paragraph on how Coldspaces retrofitted a new relay into a CK. Pull the relay from the back fins of the fridge. It is either just sitting in place held in by the spring clip or it is screwed into the rear of the condenser plate. Then undo the spring clip and take off the back cover. Then take a picture or draw a diagram, see attached photo, of the connections on the relay, my relay was replaced at some point, it is a "Type R" relay. Yours may have a "Type E" if it is original, again just make sure to take note of which wires go where. Make triple sure that you do this right on RE assembly. Take all wires off only after you have a good understanding...and a photo of where they all belong. Next, pull the power cord out of the way and set it aside. Then, go to the front of the unit where the control is.
If using new relay...
If you are wanting to replace your relay or you need to replace your relay, read on. This is an excerpt from Coldspaces re wiring job where he uses a Supco RO81 solid state relay.
You can find one of those here: www.amazon.com/Supco-RO81-Relay-Overload/dp/B00DZUAT2G Don't worry, they are cheap!
"Since I had no proper mount for the correct style relay housing and no extra housings without robbing from a working one I didn't try to stay original. Also I don't fell comfortable with putting an R081 inside a box that heat could build up in so I wanted a metal box to help dissipate heat. As you can see I had a few vents so I added two for good measure. Also I wasn't just going to hang an RO81 in there and have the wiring connections just hanging in space. The sheet of neoprene should help keep the box in place and keep it from wearing on the coil. I welded in the stud so it can't spin when I tighten the nut." So basically since the RO81 relay doesn't have its own way to mount to the back, he put it inside a metal outlet box. To make sure that heat wouldn't build up inside he knocked out a few of the tab holes and put screen in them so that it won't let dust inside. You then feed the line cord into the box and then feed the wires coming from the relay to a cord that will go to the compressor. He also welded a threaded rod on the box so that he could mount it to the existing hole in the back of the condenser plate. Do not attempt to drill any new holes into the surrounding plate! If you hit one of the refrigerant channels you will loose all of the refrigerant and your fridge will be rendered useless! You should never have to drill any holes. If you absolutely want to ground the fridge you can do so by connecting the ground wire to the same existing hole that the threaded rod will go through. See the attached photo which shows how to wire the RO81 relay. It is quite simple. Just hook up the wires going from the relay to the new cord that will go to the compressor.
The escutcheon plate simply pries off with a flat blade screwdriver, this is the "name plate" that has the GE logo and holes for the control knobs on it. Be careful to not bend it and pry from both sides equally. Then, take off the two screws holding the control on. Next, go inside the cabinet, unscrew the temp sensing probe from the evaporator. Being very careful not to break the line, bend the tube straight. Then pull the control up slowly. Then, unscrew the terminal cover from the control and disconnect the wires. The position of the wires shouldn't matter.
You will have to lift the unit off of the cabinet one way or another. I simply used blocks of wood to partially lift the unit up. This made the process much harder since there was not much space to work with. If at all possible you will want to completely take the unit off of the cabinet to do this process. This is best accomplished with an engine hoist or electric hoist (if you are lucky enough to have one). You will see holes in the fins where you can attach hooks. Be extremely careful when lifting the unit off or putting it back on the cabinet. You need to always be aware of where the refrigerant lines are at. You will see them behind the evaporator or (the part that gets cold). Just make sure you don't drop the unit onto the cabinet and bend the lines, they are fragile.
Next comes the careful process of lowering the evaporator plate. I will let Coldspaces explain.
"I then removed all the front and left side bolts plus the front right side bolts. The remaining bolts I loosened but left in to hold up the deck and coil. I latter found that the deck and coil do not relay stress anything that easily. I was able to remove all the deck screws but the back two and it hung there just fine without must strain on the tubes. The tubes all run from bottom to top near the back from what I could see so they didn't have to flex much at all." So basically you will need to Carefully lower the evaporator plate by removing some of the screws and loosening others. Once you take a look at your unit you will see what he is talking about. You just want to make sure that you don't put any undue strain on the refrigerant lines.
Next, you will have to remove some of the staples that hold the cardboard surround on. I would only remove the left side facing the front since this is where you are going to need access. Take the cardboard off and set it aside. You can staple it back on when you are done. Next, take out excess insulation and set it aside using gloves. Guess what? You will need to put that back too once you are done.
Next, take a look at the wires. I was surprised to find that my wires were in very bad shape and were wrapped around each other. Not good. The red wire is the start wire. The black wire coming from the front control is the common wire. It is also tied to the back relay to get the "neutral" side of the circuit. You should see this when you look at it. The white wire coming from the relay is the run wire. If at all possible you will need to take a soldering iron and remove the wires on the compressor one by one. One of the members, ChrisJ, told me why I had so much trouble with my wimpy soldering iron. "Jeez, 15 watt iron?
Both of my Wellers are 60W regulated, I highly recommend getting one if you do any amount of soldering. Get a spool of 37 / 63 rosin core solder as well. Trust me, night and day difference between that and a typical 15W or even 25W pencil iron. You'll never go back and chances are you'll do a lot more soldering as well." Wise words, don't try and use a wimpy iron for this. A 30W iron is bare minimum. Touch the iron tip to the wire connection while using needle nose pliers to pull down on the wire. It will take a bit but it will eventually work loose. Then re solder the correct wire onto that terminal.
If you are not comfortable with soldering you can follow the steps that I did but please follow my instructions so that it will be safe. Since the space I had was so limited I decided to do this a little differently. I clipped the wires back as far as I could. Then I took the new wires and tied them in, taped them, and melted the tape over the wires. You need to be sure that every bit of the old wire is covered so that there is no possibility of future shock or fire hazards.
Speaking of wire, I used 3 wire 14 gauge stuff. It worked great and made a tight fit in the grommets. I then cut two sections of wire a little longer than the relay wire and the control wire. I then taped the new wire snug to the old wire. I then gently pulled them under the compressor plate. Next, with the help of a friend tied the old leads from the compressor to the new wires. I taped the wires all the way up to the terminals and then melted the tape to make it secure.
Again, the three wire connection from the relay had black, white, and green wires. I used the white as the run wire.
I used the green as the "red" start wire.
I tied the black wire to the white wire of the control bundle and then hooked up the black wire of the control bundle to the middle "common" terminal.
Then just make the proper connections to the control and the relay with the wire you already put in place. Hook up a new line cord to the relay. That is super easy.
Put the insulation and cardboard back in place around the edge of the opening that you were working in.
Then screw the evaporator plate to the compressor plate. It will be hard to line them up and it is easier to start at the back where it isn't spread open as much. Work your way around with a little help from a friend as they hold the plate up while you turn the screws.
Then lower the top onto the cabinet slowly.
Next, push the relay and control back into their positions. Carefully bend the sensing tube of the control back into place and hook it up to the evaporator. Ensure that the sensing tube goes back in the exact same spot. Ask me why it matters!
Go over everything once more in your head, cross your fingers, plug it in. No sparks or magic smoke? Good! Turn it on and hopefully you will be greeted with a lovely compressor starting up! Now you can breathe easy knowing that your unit will be reliable and safe!
I hope that this will help anyone who needs to do a RE wire. Mine definitely needed it so I'm sure all original units need it. Please feel free to tell me how I'm wrong or to add steps and suggestions.