If you want to know why your refrigerator’s compressor gets heated you are in the right place.
The compressor is a major part of your refrigerator, it is responsible for keeping the inside of your refrigerator cool.
Keeping the refrigerator cold, the compressor sometimes gets overheated and it starts to make concerning noises.
Commonly there are five reasons why your compressor is hot. These reasons are: the cooling system does not have refrigerant, the condenser fan has stopped working, the compressor is old, or you have placed your refrigerator in a place where there is way too much sunlight.
Refrigerator Compressor Hot or Refrigerator Compressor Overheating?
In this article, we will discuss all five of these reasons in detail and we will also talk about how you can fix your hot refrigerator compressor or refrigerator compressor overheating
Faulty thermostat:
This is one of the reasons that cause your refrigerator to have a hot compressor or refrigerator compressor overheating.
Now you may wonder what is a thermostat. A thermostat is basically the part of the fridge that activates the compressor.
When the thermostat figures that the fridge is way too warm inside, it activates the compressor so that it can maintain the temperature by generating cold air.
Now when the temperature on the inside of the fridge is maintained the thermostat will shut off the compressor until the fridge is warm again.
If your fridge has a faulty thermostat, it will not know when to stop the compressor and hence the compressor will keep working even when it does not have to.
Since the compressor works all the time, it will eventually start heating up. Your fridge will have a mechanical thermostat or an electric one.
Electric thermostats are used more commonly these days.
If you know what type of thermostat your fridge has, you can find out the problem and the solution.
A faulty thermostat is one of the main reasons why your compressor is heated. If you know the exact type of thermostat that is used in your fridge you can easily find a replacement.
Why is your thermostat not working?
There are many reasons why your fridge’s thermostat may not work. The most common reason why the thermostat is not working is that it has become faulty due to old age.
If you have not changed your thermostat in a while and you have been using your fridge for a long time there is a huge chance that your temperature thermostat is faulty because of old age. If you have not maintained your fridge you might also want to look out for other faulty components.
When it comes to electronics like fridges you must keep in mind that the inside will expand and contract repeatedly. Hence the temperature will rise and fall throughout the day.
During the constant rise and fall of the temperature, your thermostat might break slightly causing moisture to seep inside. The moisture can be very harmful to the thermostat itself.
Fixing the problem:
If your fridge’s thermostat is the reason why your compressor is overheating. Then you can use one of these methods to fix it.
Method 1
If you know what type of thermostat your fridge has, you can easily replace it with an electronic or a mechanical thermostat. If you don’t know what type of thermostat your fridge as you can ask a professional for help.
Method 2:
Now you can also call a fridge company to repair your thermostat but if you have good DIY skills you can also replace it yourself. If you decide to fix it yourself make sure to take necessary precautions and only work with electric appliances if you are sure of every step of the procedure
Faulty condenser fan:
The fridge has a compressor and all types of piping but the cooling system of the fridge also has a condenser fan. The condenser fan is a very simple but very important part of the cooling system.
It plays a very crucial role. It helps the compressor maintain the temperature of the fridge and it also helps in removing heat from the fridge so that the inside remains cool.
Now if a condenser fan stops working, the compressor won’t cool down and hence it will start to get overheated even though it is working properly. The fridge will also start becoming hot between its doors hence you can easily tell when the fan is not working properly.
Why is your condenser fan not working?
The most common reason why a condenser fan stops working is dust, since the fan keeps working all of the time, dust and dirt particles can easily settle around the fan.
If this continues for a long time the fan will eventually stop working. If this is not the case, then the motor of the fan might be faulty.
If you know that your fan has stopped working then you can easily identify the problem as well. Make sure to turn off the fridge before manually moving the fan. If the fan is stuck you can know that it is due to the dirt. If the fan is not stuck then it is due to the motor
How to fix a faulty condenser fan:
A faulty condenser fan is very easy to fix, depending upon the problem you will have to use one of the below-mentioned steps.
Method 1: Fan is stuck
If the fan is stuck, you can easily clean out the debris and dust by vacuuming. Once you have removed everything the fan will start working again. This will prevent your refrigerator to have a hot compressor and refrigerator compressor overheating.
Method 2: Problem with the motor
If the problem is related to the fan’s motor you will have to ask a professional to help you. In this case, you will have to replace the motor by asking a professional.
The sealed system does not have enough refrigerant:
The inside cooling of your refrigerator depends on the closed system/ loop that circulates the refrigerant through the entire fridge.
The compressor is used to pressurize the refrigerant so that it keeps circulating through the closed-loop and hence it keeps the fridges cool.
Now the compressor can only perform its job if the correct amount of refrigerant is present in the sealed system.
Why is the refrigerant not enough?
If the fridge even has a small leak it can cause the refrigerant to leak out and hence this will stop the fridge from maintaining and cooling down its temperature.
Since there is a lack of refrigerant in the sealed system. The compressor will have to work extra hard to maintain the temperature of the fridge and hence it will become overheated as time passes.
Small leaks in the closed-loop will cause the refrigerant to leak. Mostly these leaks are caused by heavy impact usually when a part of the fridge hits a wall or when your moving the fridge and it faces some heavy impact. These leaks can also occur as side effects of rust. It can also happen due to the old age of the fridge.
How to fix the sealed system:
Now in order to fix your sealed system, you will have to follow the below-mentioned steps:
Step 1:
The first step of the method is very easy all you have to do is find the spot where the refrigerant is leaking. The leak might be a singular leak or there might be a lot of places where the refrigerant is escaping from in the closed-loop system.
Step 2:
It’s very important to fix these leaks first, you can fix these leaks either by soldering them shut or you can replace the piping entirely. Once you have fixed all of the leaks you can move on to step 2.
Step 3:
If you have performed both of the steps, you can recharge the closed loop with the correct amount of refrigerant.
NOTE: It is best that you call a professional for help. Since refrigerant gas can be very harmful you should not try to work with them
The compressor is faulty:
Like we talked about, the compressor is responsible for maintaining the temperature of your refrigerator by compressing the refrigerant and helping it circulate. Now if your compressing is worn out or it is old, it will start working harder to do its job properly.
If your compressor is not working properly it will consume way more energy than it is supposed to and it will generate extra heat in order to do its job properly.
The extra heat and the excess energy will cause the compressor to overheat and it will start making buzzing sounds.
To be more specific our experts have written a detailed guide on frigidaire refrigerator not cooling.
Why is your compressor not working?
A compressor may become faulty if there is too much or too little refrigerant in a sealed system. If there is too little or too much gas in the closed system, it will put too much pressure on the compressor. Hence the compressor will be strained and it will break down.
Frozen or dirty coils in the fridge can also cause compressor failure. If the coils are dirty or frozen they will cause blockage in the closed-loop and hence put more pressure on the compressor.
On the other hand if you are a user of Samsung, you might want to check this article on Samsung refrigerator leaking water.
How to fix a faulty compressor?
The solution to a faulty compressor entirely depends on the cause of the problem. Depending on the problem you can use one of the below-mentioned methods to fix the compressor:
Method 1:
If there is a problem with the refrigerant, you should call a professional for help. A technician will balance out the refrigerant by adding or removing gas from the closed-loop.
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Method 2:
The technician will also help you clean or repair dirty and frozen coils. This will get the system working smoothly again.
refrigerator compressor hot AND refrigerator compressor overheating
The sunny side:
Sometimes, the fridge is placed in a location that experiences too much direct sunlight. Placement of this sort can cause the compressor of the fridge to heat up in hot weather.
If there is too much sunlight then the compressor might become hot because the sunlight heats the compressor directly or because the compressor has to work extra hard to cool the fridge down.
Now as we talked about a compressor is supposed to help the fridge cool down and remove heat. The compressor’s job becomes difficult when there is too much sunlight near the fridge. Hence the compressor has to work extra hard to maintain the temperature.
How to solve this problem?
The solution to do this is very straightforward and you can easily solve this problem. To solve the problem all you have to do is move the fridge to a place that is away from direct sunlight.
You can place your fridge in a place where there is plenty of airflows. This will help the compressor maintain the fridge’s temperature.
Conclusion:
As we have discussed, the compressor is a major and very important part of the fridge but there are many factors that can cause the compressor to heat up.
In this article, we talked about the most common problems that can cause your compressor to heat up. We explained the causes in detail and we also talked about how you can fix these problems.
Even though you can fix the compressor yourself we highly recommend that you ask a professional for help.
Contents
As we have discussed, the compressor is a major and very important part of the fridge but there are many factors that can cause the compressor to heat up.
In this article, we talked about the most common problems that can cause your compressor to heat up. We explained the causes in detail and we also talked about how you can fix these problems.
Even though you can fix the compressor yourself we highly recommend that you ask a professional for help.
Contents
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