Danby DKC645BLS will no longer cool

[cpferris]

I have had my Danby for about 4 years now. I have made the resistor mod to the thermostat and added a tower cooler. Have ran with no issues until now. I was gone this past week for work and when I got home, I noticed the unit said 59 degrees on the display. I reach up to drop the temp only to find that it is still set at 37. I unplugged the unit and re-plugged in and the compressor doesnt seem to be starting.

The plate in the back is not cold at all. All frost that was on the plate has melted and drained out of the unit.

The compressor seems very warm to the touch.

Any ideas for troubleshooting?

[pvs6]

Do you hear a click for the compressor start up? If the compressor is warm it would seem to indicate it is starting and running at least for a short time. If that is the case I would first suspect coolant lost. Perhaps Iceman will see this thread and reply he is the best resource we have on this site for these types of trouble shooting.

[psychodad]

When you say the compressor is warm, do you mean room temperature or hot? In addition to the warmth of a running compressor, you should be able to tell it is running by the vibration.

If it turns out that the compressor is not getting power, time to jump around the Danby controls and go external.

[cpferris]

When you say the compressor is warm, do you mean room temperature or hot? In addition to the warmth of a running compressor, you should be able to tell it is running by the vibration.

If it turns out that the compressor is not getting power, time to jump around the Danby controls and go external.

It was hot to the touch. I left it unplugged overnight and tried again this morning. I can hear the clicking sound which makes me think the compressor is trying to engage, but the is no cooling whatsoever.

The little fan thing on the center top of the right hand wall is running but that is it.

[pvs6]

If it's hot, not room temp. warm after being unplugged then the compressor is starting and running at least for a minute or more. The next thing to try to determine is how long is the compressor running. Move the unit out to have easy access to the compressor. Unplug it long enough for the compressor to cool back down to room temp. Then plug it back in and listen for the starter click and put your hand on the compressor body, as psychodad said you feel the vibration of a running compressor. The basic cycles for an (on run) are 10 to 20 mins. but since yours is close to if not at room temp now after not cooling for 2 days it should start and not shut down for several hours mim. Note if the compressor continues to run or if it shuts back off. If it shuts off post how long it ran for. If it keeps running every other min. touch the compressor with your palm. A steady running compress can reach 150 F. or about the temp your car roof gets in the 90 degree summer sun. The compressor should be hot but you should be able to hold you hand on it for at least 5 sec. before you let go. If at any point you can't hold for 5 sec. unplug the unit right away, if it's ran for 10 mins. straight then you can stop the test at that point. If you went the 10 mins open the door and see if the plate has any signs of being chilled. Post the results.

[cpferris]

Ok, so I retried this tonight. Everything started at room temperature. I plug the unit it, and within 20 seconds the compressor turns on and runs for about 7 seconds then kicks off. Then the about one minute later, this cycle repeats. Basically it runs for about 7 seconds, then kicks off. Restarts a minute later, runs for 7 sec, then stops.

I let it go for about 10 minutes, and this was all that happened.

Any other ideas? I looked on Danby's website and found the name of local service agent. I would maybe spend $200 to get it working again, but not much more. If it's gonna cost more that that, I might have to build a keezer or see if I can find a used True or Beverage Air.

[pvs6]

The heat over load switch is the cause of this symptom. It senses the current load on the compressor and shut it off if its to high, like your circuit breaker in your home fuse box. If your lucky their not to expensive and easy to replace. But they seldom fail. Most likely the compressor is either totally shot or low on freon.

At the end of that 10 mins. could you put your palm on the compressor and keep it there for 5 sec.?

I suspect you have a leak of Freon and if so I'd call it totaled, too much $ to fix it.

The next step is to by pass the heat kill breaker. Unplug the 2 wire terminals connected to it and connect them to each other. Then plug the unit in again. The compressor will now run non stop. Vigilance is the key if you want to salvage this unit. The palm test is in 1 minute mode if it gets to hot stop by unplugging it. If it starts cooling then your lucky and only need to replace the thermal switch ($20-$40) and can do it yourself. If not you have a coolant leak that drained the system, it could be fixed but it won't be cost effective, your plan B makes sense at this point to me.

One man opinion. The keezer seems the better bet over a used unit.

[cpferris]

The heat over load switch is the cause of this symptom. It senses the current load on the compressor and shut it off if its to high, like your circuit breaker in your home fuse box. If your lucky their not to expensive and easy to replace. But they seldom fail. Most likely the compressor is either totally shot or low on freon.

At the end of that 10 mins. could you put your palm on the compressor and keep it there for 5 sec.?

I suspect you have a leak of Freon and if so I'd call it totaled, too much $ to fix it.

The next step is to by pass the heat kill breaker. Unplug the 2 wire terminals connected to it and connect them to each other. Then plug the unit in again. The compressor will now run non stop. Vigilance is the key if you want to salvage this unit. The palm test is in 1 minute mode if it gets to hot stop by unplugging it. If it starts cooling then your lucky and only need to replace the thermal switch ($20-$40) and can do it yourself. If not you have a coolant leak that drained the system, it could be fixed but it won't be cost effective, your plan B makes sense at this point to me.

One man opinion. The keezer seems the better bet over a used unit.

Thanks for the further insight....I will try this. Today was crazy...hoping to give this a shot tomorrow or Wednesday. i will report back with my findings.

[cpferris]

So the problem ended up being a blown start relay. When I bypassed that, it ran fine. I got the new part and slapped it in there and that fixed the problem.

The part was $19.87. If any one needs the part number, it was 10.645.46.

Thanks for the guidance boys, we are back in business.

Chad

[pvs6]

Chad Thanks for the update It's good to learn the final outcome in these things especially when it turns out well. Sometime when people get the solution they are either to happy or bummed out to post again but learning the results can help future people with the same type of problem. Sorry you had a couple of days down time but you earned the satisfaction of finding and repairing it yourself while saving a lot of money. With in a day or 2 your beer will be fine just get the Psi matched back up with the temp. Phil