Another Dead Danby - with mod

[oceanguy]

After 3 years of service - [calls to Danby - repair men that never showed up within the first year of service], my Danby is now Dead. The compressor wire practically melted (Red) at the compressor. I had bypassed the themostat with a Dayton installed modified as the Danby Mod 2 shows. I don't know where to start. Any suggestions? Is it the control board? Did I burn out the compressor? Warm beer is not very tasty... Do I have to get the boards direct from Danby? I figured I would replace the control board as well as the touch board as that stopped working almost immediately which lead me to this site and the mod that seemed to work for 3 years. I had suspected the compressor going into thermal protection but could never confirm???

[oceanguy]

I am of the belief that a new board will not solve any problem here - I am bypassing the temperature control with the Dayton - My thinking is it is the overload protector? Is that the "plug" that attaches to the compressor? I have just a basic Multi-meter and quite frankly know what I am checking for. I do get 120v to it when on - the plug gets super hot but the compressor never kicks on. I can provide pictures if required... DKC644BLS

[psychodad]

It sounds like the compressor is shot to me. Another board is not going to help. If it is wired correctly, the overload should be opening to kill the 120 volts to the compressor when it overheats due to too much current not allowing the wire to melt and start a fire. If you are in doubt of it being wired correctly, I'd unplug it.

Also if it is the compressor, this is likely not worth fixing at this point. Iceman would be more able to give an idea of what is involved in replacing this and if it is worth the effort.

Either a new kegerator is in your future or you will want to salvage the tower, tap, faucet and whatnot to do a conversion on another small fridge or freezer.

[oceanguy]

I had originally thought of the wiring being done improperly but this was a simple 2 wire bypass with the Dayton control - I was over thinking it. It has been unplugged for some time now - when I saw the temperature kept rising on the display. I would hear the fan come on but never the compressor. The cover that hides the plug to the compressor was extremely brittle when I took it off - which is a sign of it getting hot (if memory serves me right). I took off the starter relay and was searching for a replacement but I am not sure where to find one. While this looks like what I need Appliance Zone - Product: Refrigerator PTC Relay - WR07X10094, I was hoping to find a way to confirm if the compressor was shot... I am thinking the compressor is shot as well and will look out for a new beermeister...

[psychodad]

I misread your OP, I took it that the wire was brittle from overheating. The cheap plastic used to cover innnards being brittle is no real red flag. As far as determining the health of the compressor, Iceman will have more ideas on this than I do.

[oceanguy]

Thanks for your insight.