I think i overclocked my refrigerator... now it's fried.

[andylawcc]

I was installing some light switches (swapping dimmer switches back to regular ones). I popped the circuit breaker on the rooms with switches that need to swapped but accidentally opened up one light switch box that wasn't turned off. Then i heard a pop and the frig (which is right next to me) started to crank and make louder-than-normal noises. I opened the door and saw the light inside the frig to be MUCH brighter than normal and noises up a few notches. After a moment the lights went back to normal brightness and loud noises went away. Thinking it was okay, I paid no mind until a day later and realize it is not cooling anymore. There is no fan noise of any sort, but the inside light IS STILL ON.
the Fridge is a Whirlpool, it doesn't have a mechanical Defrost Timer, but rather a electric defrost module.

what could be the possible cause? and can i still fix the fridge?

[edit 1, 2/9 12:48am]
okay, pulled the plug for about an hour, replugged it and hear some noises (not sure which part is engaging), but after a while it went back to quiet mode. Will wait till morning to see if it is working again, but at this point it sounded too quiet.

[edit 2, 2/10 1:00am]
wait wait wait, the stuff in the freezer is still ice cold. Does it means the freezer is still working? If so, is the Capacitor and Relay still in working order? Also, as my roommate just pointed out, both the condenser fan and the evap fan are both not spinning. Will take evap fan out for testing.


[edit, final]
turns out, it was the "motherboard" / ECU / JAZZ control circuit board. Even though with the old ECU, I can still read 110v from the plug that connects to the Evap Fan, the fan still won't spin up. So swap a new ECU and everything is back to normal. The Compressor did not fry so the capacitor and relay are okay.

 

[Red Squirrel]

It almost sounds like you created a floating neutral situation. Was this on a double pole breaker by chance? Not that it would determine for sure but it would help understand if we're dealing with a split circuit here.

It could also be that you created rapid on/off switching with the loose wire, this can be very hard on electronics and you probably blew the electronics in the fridge.

Question is, does the light stay on when you close the door?

 

[andylawcc]

It almost sounds like you created a floating neutral situation. Was this on a double pole breaker by chance? Not that it would determine for sure but it would help understand if we're dealing with a split circuit here.

that light switch is accompanied with the outlet. will upload pics soon

Question is, does the light stay on when you close the door?

no, the light will turn off, I pressed on the door switch and the light does go off

 

[andylawcc]

 

[Fenixgoon]

FDIV fridge bug

 

[andylawcc]

okay, pulled the plug for about an hour, replugged it and hear some noises (not sure which part is engaging), but after a while it went back to quiet mode. Will wait till morning to see if it is working again, but at this point it sounded too quiet.

 

[Puppies04]

Does the lightbulb look like this? http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2420191

My guess is the fridge no longer uses electricity. Unplug it from the wall and leave it for a week or so, no need to take the food out it will be fine.

 

[skull]

Red Squierrls right sounds like you pulled a neutral on a multi wire branch circuit. Which is two seperate circuits sharing a neutral. They become one circuit if you yank the neutral that goes back to the panel. Your fridge probably saw close to 240 volts. I got lucky couple weeks ago changing a light out for a customer shut off the breaker to the light got a nice tingle when I touched the neutrals. MWBC son of a bitch luckily the one circuit was off and I didn't fry anything.

 

[skull]

Get a non contact tester it can save your life. Stupid me I broke my own rules of not triple checking and still treating it like its live.

 

[disappoint]

Always test to see if a circuit is live before working on it.

You should hire an electrician before you cause some real damage like burn down your house, but if you insist on DIY I'll give you some pointers.

Get a non contact AC voltage detector like this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Fluke-1AC-A1-I.../dp/B000EJ332O

Make sure a switch or outlet really is off before working on it. You should also have a multimeter. You can check using that as well. Double and triple checking is recommended.

If your refrigerator is damaged you might have to have it professionally repaired or buy a new one. That's the price of learning hands on when you DIY without the proper training first.

Also get an AC line tester that will tell you if your outlet is wired correctly, or use the multimeter to test it before plugging anything into an outlet that is on the same circuit as the one you're working on so that you don't damage anything else (including the new fridge should you need one)

Simple AC line tester:

http://www.amazon.com/ELECTRICAL-REC.../dp/B002Q3R7HI

 

[rudeguy]

Your thread title is the best thing to happen to me in weeks. Good job OP!



Also: did the magic smoke come out?

 

[rudeguy]

Get a non contact tester it can save your life. Stupid me I broke my own rules of not triple checking and still treating it like its live.

Yep.

I work on low power electronics all day. I short this stuff out all the time and just have fun watching capacitors pop. I have zero fear. But put me in front of a wall outlet and I turn paranoid. That's life of death stuff and you can do a ton of damage to every single thing on that circuit if you mess up. With that kind of power you have to be beyond safe and 500% sure that you are safe.

 

[silicon]

I was installing some light switches (swapping dimmer switches back to regular ones). I popped the circuit breaker on the rooms with switches that need to swapped but accidentally opened up one light switch box that wasn't turned off. Then i heard a pop and the frig (which is right next to me) started to crank and make louder-than-normal noises. I opened the door and saw the light inside the frig to be MUCH brighter than normal and noises up a few notches. After a moment the lights went back to normal brightness and loud noises went away. Thinking it was okay, I paid no mind until a day later and realize it is not cooling anymore. There is no fan noise of any sort, but the inside light IS STILL ON.
the Fridge is a Whirlpool, it doesn't have a mechanical Defrost Timer, but rather a electric defrost module.

what could be the possible cause?

[edit 1, 2/9 12:48am]
okay, pulled the plug for about an hour, replugged it and hear some noises (not sure which part is engaging), but after a while it went back to quiet mode. Will wait till morning to see if it is working again, but at this point it sounded too quiet.

normally a fridge is on its own circuit back to the electrical panel. maybe not the case for you but it does sound like it saw a much higher voltage.

 

[NoTine42]

normally a fridge is on its own circuit back to the electrical panel. maybe not the case for you but it does sound like it saw a much higher voltage.

Or you wonder why your living room and hallway circuit keep shutting off, only to discover your refrigerator wire is also in the same breaker

(The referigerator now, finally has its own wire and breaker)

 

[Greenman]

Red Squierrls right sounds like you pulled a neutral on a multi wire branch circuit. Which is two seperate circuits sharing a neutral. They become one circuit if you yank the neutral that goes back to the panel. Your fridge probably saw close to 240 volts. I got lucky couple weeks ago changing a light out for a customer shut off the breaker to the light got a nice tingle when I touched the neutrals. MWBC son of a bitch luckily the one circuit was off and I didn't fry anything.

How does that work with just a hot and a neutral at the outlet? Even if the neutral is part of an Edison circuit, there is still only one hot leg available to the refer. I would think he'd have to energize the neutral for that to happen.

 

[andylawcc]

so, two things, if I "pulled a neutral", did I damage the circuit permamently? or just the fridge?

and for the fridge, is it beyond repair?

 

[NoTine42]

How does that work with just a hot and a neutral at the outlet? Even if the neutral is part of an Edison circuit, there is still only one hot leg available to the refer. I would think he'd have to energize the neutral for that to happen.

http://www.thecircuitdetective.com/twocircuit.htm

The black and red wires have a 240v difference that you experience when the electricity follows the yellow "line"

 

[NoTine42]

so, two things, if I "pulled a neutral", did I damage the circuit permamently? or just the fridge?

and for the fridge, is it beyond repair?

It seems you discovered a occasionally severe safety condition caused by your wiring. While the wiring may not be damaged, you don't want to keep blowing refrigerators or other stuff, I think it's time to have it properly corrected.

All electronics are "repairable." (Until all boards/devices melt.)

It just depends if your refrigerator was designed to blow a few, cheap parts like fuses, relays, replaceable capacitors.. in an over voltage or if it actually sent 240 to your compressor motor.

 

[andylawcc]

okay, thanks, i will pick up a relay and capacitor today and see.

 

[andylawcc]

wait wait wait, the stuff in the freezer is still ice cold. Does it means the freezer is still working? If so, is the Capacitor and Relay still in working order?

 

[NoTine42]

It really depends on the exact symptoms and make/model of referigerator

Here is a list (but may not be a full list) of several different problems that can cause the symptom you are describing:
http://www.repairclinic.com/RepairH...ator-freezer-is-cold-but-refrigerator-is-warm

It is often helpful to google your appliance model and symptom, as there are a few appliance repair forums, and someone probably had the same thing happen.
(And don't stop at the first one, try to find a few to get more familiar with your appliance)

 

[andylawcc]

thanks for the link!

 

[Greenman]

http://www.thecircuitdetective.com/twocircuit.htm

The black and red wires have a 240v difference that you experience when the electricity follows the yellow "line"

Thanks for the link. I completely misunderstood what you fellows were saying.