KIC Fridge not cooling

[Nethesh]

Model Number

.

Brand

-brand-

Age

1-5 years

I have an upright KIC fridge with bottom mounted freezer. Its about 5yrs old. Over the last 2 years I have had to re-gas it at least once a year. NB. I'm aware the fridge shouldn't have to be re-gassed that often....but the cost to have a proper tech come and sort the leak out is almost half the cost of a new fridge which is just not in the budget.

Yesterday I arrived home from work and found the fridge not cooling (it was already warm in the fridge so meant it stopped cooling early in the day). And the freezer at the bottom was almost thawed out. I had a quick look at the back and could tell the compressor was still running. So I turned down the thermostat (knob inside the fridge) all the way down. This switched of the compressor (I heard it stop running). I switched off at the wall plug, waited a few minutes then switched ON and turned the thermostat back up. I could hear the compressor running again.
Before going to bed (about 3hrs later) I checked and the fridge was cooling again.

But this morning I woke up to find its not cooling now. The compressor is still running (although I think its sounding very soft - it was louder when I was going to bed and the fridge was cooling).

Any help on what the problem may be? Faulty compressor? Or just time for a re-gas again this year?

 

[Nethesh]

Update:

Got home and fridge is still not cooling. Took a closer look tonight. Seems like the compressor is not starting up. Fridge makes a clicking sound and compressor give a little shudder but doesn't kick in. Happens every few minutes.

I've read this could be a problem with the relay.
Is there a way to know for sure if it's the relay or the compressor that's faulty.

 

[Dan O.]

Is there a way to know for sure if it's the relay or the compressor that's faulty.

No, only by deduction. There's a way to test the compressor and if i worked it would point to the other as the likely culprit. Unfortunately a specialized compressor test cord is needed to bypass the starting device to try to direct wire the compressor to see if it worked. Most homeowners wouldn't have access to such a test cord.

Dan O.