I finally gave up on using a multimeter for every fridge compressor check

For years I would pull out the multimeter and test windings on every single fridge compressor that came in. It was my go to move, took about ten minutes each time. Then last month I had a Samsung RF28R that was not cooling right, and I did the whole test. Readings looked fine, so I started chasing other issues. My buddy who runs a shop in Toledo told me to just listen to the compressor with a mechanic's stethoscope first. I tried it, and you could hear the internal valves clicking like crazy even though the windings were good. Saved me an hour of work. Now I start with the stethoscope on every compressor job. Anyone else skip the meter and go straight for the sound check on certain brands?

3 comments

3 Comments

ryan_stone451mo ago

That stethoscope trick is solid. My buddy had the same thing with a GE unit, windings perfect but it sounded like a bag of marbles inside.

danieljenkins1mo ago

My meter caught a bad start winding last week though.

matthew_morgan28d ago

Had a Carrier 38TDB do that last year, the start winding ohmed out fine but it would trip on overload after about ten seconds. The real trick is checking for a short to ground under load with a megohmmeter, that's what finally showed the breakdown. A lot of meters won't catch that intermittent fault when the motor is cold.