Miele K855 iD-1 fridge not cooling unless Super button pressed

[chilland04]

Hi
First posting so sorry if wrong forum/incorrect..

I have a Miele K855iD-1 fridge purchased July 2006.
Last week it stopped working properly - opened door to find temperature up at 9C so thought door had been left ajar, hit super, ice on condenser plate at back, temp came down etc. Then it did it again. Hit super again.

Now I have realised that
1. Fridge not working at all unless super button (overriding the thermostat) is pressed.
2. It's meant to stay on for 6 hours but it doesn't.. starts off at about an hour or so then switches off again
3. Display still shows that Super is on and temp is at 2C when it's not
4. The super button works for less and less time but doesn't click off until the 6hr window is up

Had an engineer out who said compressor was tired and needed replacing. £295 form Miele. Never heard of something being tired in the electronic world before... it either works or it doesn't!!

Seems to me that it is working but something is making it click off. If fridge is turned off and then on after a while, it still does not kick in.

Any advice please or thoughts or suggestions?

Many thanks

 

[davelx]

Compressor is not electronic - it's electro-mechanical. I could be that the seals are worn and it is losing/has lost some refrigerant - did the engineer check an/or re-gas it?

 

[chilland04]

Point taken.. Stand corrected!
Nope engineer basically looked at the fridge, pressed the "super" button a few times and concluded that because the compressor didn't stay on for long it was tired and needed replacing... Interestingly I pointed out a "stain" underneath the fridge on the wood where it is built in, directly beneath the compressor and asked it it had been leaking. He said no it must have come from overflow inside the fridge.........

 

[Iggifer]

Was it an oily substance? Or just a dirty mark? If it's oil it could be from the compressor but you would likely see other signs.

Does the compressor sound like a tractor when it does kick in? A compressor is essentially just a motor.

Is £295 the price for him to fit a new compressor or just the part price? If it's the latter, scrap the fridge and buy a new one (don't know how much it cost new, but you can probably add another £200 for him to reclaim the refrigerant, replace the compressor and regas.

 

[chilland04]

Thanks Iggifer
No it doesn't sound like a tractor just like a quiet motor, but it is built in and backs onto a solid wall. Mark when I touched wasn't oily but had stained the wood. Don't know what it was. Can a compressor only partly function? I mean - if it is kicking in when I override thermostat using super, then how can it be the compressor??

Have elected to get BG over. They charge £75 to mend inc parts and if they can't mend then there is no charge and I'll just get myself a new fridge. It is 9 years old and works hard. Seems a sensible option. Didn't have a warm fuzzy feeling from Tuesday's engineer and couldn't quite see where the price cap was going to be!
tx

 

[Iggifer]

A compressor SHOULD work regardless of whether it's via the thermostat or the boost button. It could be something as simple as the stat has failed and using the boost button to override the stat actually signals the compressor to kick in.

Liquid could just have been rusty condensate then I guess

How quickly does it cool down once the compressor does kick in? A slow cool down cycle is indicative of a failed/failing compressor or gas loss.

If the BG deal is fix it or free for £75 you're quids in if it is the compressor, you might loose out if it's the stat, but better than having to buy a new fridge if they do fix it.

 

[chilland04]

Cools down quite quickly - in about half an hour from "high reading" and you can hear the motor star and liquid (for want of a better sound description). Not sure if that is slow Why would the super/boost button then only stay on for short time? I find it weird that you can hit override and cooling kicks in but then, after initially half an hour or so but then ever decreasing time span, the "motor" stops even tho the boot light is on and temp shows 2C. The boost button deluminates after 6 hours (the correct boost time period).

I thought that the stat was integrated in the circuit board in the K855. Am I wrong? If it is the CB to be replaced then £75 is good. If it's not integrated, if the stat something accessible that I can change. Quite happy to do a fair bit.. but changing a compressor is a step too far!

many thanks

 

[Iggifer]

You're right, changing a compressor is something for an F-Gas engineer. Acquiring the tools required alone would make it economically unviable, never mind the law!

I'm not familiar with your fridge, but a quick google shows a separate stat for your fridge, but it's more than £75.

30 mins is a reasonable cool down period. Would expect it to be much longer if it was low on frige