106.74262400 Old Kenmore Refrigerator: dead relay, dead compressor, or both?

[Chicago Al]

Model Number

106.74262400

Brand

Sears Kenmore

Age

More than 10 years

Our old (2004) refrigerator has stopped cooling, and though the fans kept running, we didn't hear the compressor running. We pulled it out from its alcove, I opened the back, and pulled the relay and capacitor off the compressor. Using my multimeter, I got about 13 ohms between the start and run pins, and the measurements between start/common and run/common added up to 13, so I figured that was likely good.

So I tested the relay and sure enough there was nothing between the start and run sockets, so the relay seemed to be bad. The replacement part was not available locally today, and in any case the 'factory' one would be quite expensive. (I can't tell if the various generic ones offered online would work; they look right but none of them are linked to this exact model fridge or part number, but then it's a very old fridge.)

What I could find locally was a '3 in 1' 'hard start' relay and capacitor, so I hooked that up and: the compressor fan started up and the compressor itself gave a brief starting HUM but then stopped. I unplugged, waited a bit, tried again, and got the same result. Compressor starts, for a second or two, then stops. Compressor fan runs fine.

I'm fresh out of ideas and would probably have a new refrigerator tonight if I wasn't so stubborn and trying to DIY. Also, it's hard to buy appliances right now!

If anyone has a further suggestion, I'd welcome it! Always get good advice here.

 

[Jake]

Your compressor is shot Al, seen this many times on my service calls.

Jake

 

[Chicago Al]

Thanks for the confirmation, Jake! I gave it my best effort, but noticed that I'd posted here in 2018 about the fridge needing a new thermostat, and I said then that I'd be happy if I got a couple more years out of it. So I got three!

We just bought a new Whirlpool top-freezer which will be delivered Monday (two days) which took a lot of doing as it had to be a certain size (66" tall max) and white to match.

 

[Jake]

noticed that I'd posted here in 2018 about the fridge needing a new thermostat, and I said then that I'd be happy if I got a couple more years out of it. So I got three!

Yes Al, you sure did.

We just bought a new Whirlpool top-freezer which will be delivered Monday (two days) which took a lot of doing as it had to be a certain size (66" tall max) and white to match.

Excellent Choice!

Jake