Vinotemp VT32 - Help Troubleshooting Wine Fridge

[ATXist]

Model Number

VT32

Brand

-major brand-

Age

More than 10 years

Hey all,

I bought a wine fridge off CL for $30 that has some issues (thus the $30). The seller said it "may need some freon added", but I have no idea. I thought it'd be a cool project to get it up and running since these things are pretty pricey normally.

The fridge is a Vinotemp VT32, and it's old (the serial number has 2007 in it, not sure if that's a reference to the year, but I wouldn't be surprised). All service manuals online appear to reference different variations of this fridge, making me think this is a loooong outdated model.

So here's what's happening:
When I plug the fridge in, everything appears to run smoothly - I can hear the fan kick on, the coolant working its way through the system, etc. I put the temp down to 45 (the lowest it goes), and after an hour or two the fridge drops to around that temp, and holds. The problem is, after a few hours (typically overnight) the cooling seems to stop, and the fridge gets up to room temp. The controller-unit is still set to 45, and the led display is lit up indicating room temp (mid 70s or so), indicating the fridge isn't losing power, but the cooling mechanism just isn't kicking on. Any ideas what would be causing this? My google searches don't seem to turn up anything relevant.

Thanks for your help!

 

[Dan O.]

after a few hours (typically overnight) the cooling seems to stop, and the fridge gets up to room temp.

Is the compressor running at that time?

Is the fan working at that time?

the cooling mechanism just isn't kicking on.

If the whole cooling system just isn't coming on, the problem may be in the controller... whatever type is used on it.


Dan O.

 

[ATXist]

Thanks for the quick reply Dan.

When the fridge shuts off and gets up to room temp, neither the fan or the compressor are working - everything is idle, but the controller appears to still be set to the correct temp.

I just did a test and ran the unit last night, it got down to the correct 45 degrees, but when I came out this morning to check on it the temp had gone up to mid 70s. The controller was still set at 45, the cooling system just wasn't turning on. I then unplugged the fridge, and plugged it back in, and it immediately turned on and began cooling again. Any idea what the cause of this could be?

Thanks for your help,

 

[Dan O.]

It sounds like the control is not switching properly. One of its relays might be 'sticking'. The control unit likely needs to be replaced.

There looks to be at least several different versions of the VT32 model. All had more to the model number than just that. Post the complete model number from the appliane's model and serial number tag (or post a picture of the ID tag) and I'll see if I can find a parts listing for it.


Dan O.