Wiring time delay for a short cycling compressor

[R600a]

Did you see a little round glass ... like in the copper piping in compressor area

Thats for watching the freon go by ...

I like that. I might add it to my signature.

[ryantomaz]

No glass window.

This unit is cooling a freezer set to -3. When it reaches temp at the end of each cooling cycle the compressor turns off. Then after a few seconds it flips back on again for about a second and turns off and then sometimes does it once more. For the entire 2 years I have owned it I have lived with this 1 to 2 short cycles. For the last couple weeks though it has gotten progressively worse, sometimes cycling on and off over a dozen times in quick succession. I'll be calling every refrigeration guy in town tomorrow to see if there is someone left in this city that is willing to do honest work at a fair price despite the fact that my desperate situation makes me ripe for extortion.

[R600a]

No glass window.

This unit is cooling a freezer set to -3. When it reaches temp at the end of each cooling cycle the compressor turns off. Then after a few seconds it flips back on again for about a second and turns off and then sometimes does it once more. For the entire 2 years I have owned it I have lived with this 1 to 2 short cycles. For the last couple weeks though it has gotten progressively worse, sometimes cycling on and off over a dozen times in quick succession. I'll be calling every refrigeration guy in town tomorrow to see if there is someone left in this city that is willing to do honest work at a fair price despite the fact that my desperate situation makes me ripe for extortion.

Have you checked the contractor locator map on this site?

[Snapperhead]

No glass window.

This unit is cooling a freezer set to -3. When it reaches temp at the end of each cooling cycle the compressor turns off. Then after a few seconds it flips back on again for about a second and turns off and then sometimes does it once more. For the entire 2 years I have owned it I have lived with this 1 to 2 short cycles. For the last couple weeks though it has gotten progressively worse.

Uhh hello ... Did you look at post number 13 ? ?

[Snapperhead]

This unit is cooling a freezer set to -3

This is why the installer put in R404

Im thinking you don't need to change Refrigerants

[TechmanTerry]

OP, post #6 & #15 both mention that burnt yellow wire.

Short cycling of the comp does damage the comp. The windings inside the comp "flex" and move and rub against each other, possibly leading to a shorted (dead) comp.

Why would an evacuation process need to be done?

Is that timer in the photo set for 240 seconds ?

How does a delay on make timer cause a problem ,other than maybe a very slight temp rise of the box?

[pecmsg]

The kicker here is that I am actually only 2 years into a 4 year warranty from Russell. I have already brought this issue to their attention and they say it only covers the cost of a new unit

Russell isn't going to warranty anything except defects in material and workmanship on there end, all your issues is caused by the installing contractor. Refrigerant leaks are not covered by the factory.

You need to find a contractor that knows what there doing.

[Snapperhead]

I dont think it has a leak ....

How did the last guy determine it has a leak .... when .... the Box pulls down to -3 .... and ... there isnt even a SG to look at

He didnt mention the Non English speaking Tech - torching the receiver either

P.S. ... the next time someone shows up who cant speak english , send him packing lol , those guys mess up more crap than they fix !

[Snapperhead]

Ryan ... hook up the Delay for heavens sake

[droopylee95]

Thank you Restaurant mech! You have provided much needed perspective. For the last 2 years I have constantly stressed about the 1-2 short cycles but as you suggest that might not be a huge problem by itself.

Of course as of late it has begun short cycling upwards of a dozen times in quick succession which suggests that something has begun to slip.

I believe the suction line is well insulated.

Would the fact that this unit wasn't vacuumed prior to being charged up be a potential contributing factor?

Assuming a professional will be servicing this unit asap would it not be preferable to use the time delay to prevent hundreds of unnecessary startups each day in the mean time?

If you want to kill the compressor it will be a excellent idea.

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk

[VTP99]

If it's a scroll there's a good chance the discharge check valve is bypassing.
There was just another thread on this and I had one last week.
On shut off the high side will leak to the low and cause rapid short cycling of off then on.

[Snapperhead]

If you want to kill the compressor it will be a excellent idea.

Can you go into detail exactly how this will happen .... because I dont agree ... like at all

Take a good look at the Delay he has https://www.icmcontrols.com/product/icm203/ its whole purpose is for Short Cycling

He should hook up that delay until a Professional comes out

This will buy him a few days until that happens

[trippintl0]

Its also very likely due to it being summer time that the DTC valve to keep compressor cool is continuing to feed some refrigerant from liquid line back into compressor shell, which adds to the short cycling. A lot of mfg's dont use a solenoid on the liquid injector valve because "once compressor shuts off the valve should cool off and stop injecting." Which sounds great, but reality is every summer we see units short cycling from this.

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[TPARSONS64]

If the compressor is shortcycling on temp, then you have either a bad compressor with bad suction valves or a leaky liquid line solenoid. ***************

DIY assistance is not allowed in the "OPEN" forums. Your comment on rewiring the TDR have been removed.

[ryantomaz]

Sorry for the delay but I have updates to share. I finally found someone who sounded like he really knew what he was talking about. He quickly found that a leaky valve in the evaporator was a likely reason for the short cycling. He felt that a coolant leak was unlikely and that with the unit reaching the desired temps that messing with the coolant was unnecessary. Instead he opted to switch some wiring around so as to disable the compressor completely during defrost cycles. I am sure I didn't explain that correctly but I shot a video of him explaining it but I am not allowed to post links until I make two more posts which I will attempt to do after this post.

That was done several days ago but unfortunately I just observed the unit kick on and off 20 times in 30 seconds during a defrost cycle. I checked the control panel and I can see that two small capacitors on the defrost timer board are yellowing and the previously identified yellow wire running to the potential relay below is doing okay but the potential relay itself near the contact point is now blackening. Clearly there is an electrical problem here. It predated this latest guys tinkering which appears to have not helped the situation.

The tech who made the modification is now saying that he thinks this is residual electrical damage and that if I swap the defrost timer, potential relay and starting capacitors that I should be okay. I am skeptical, disappointed and torn between wanting to cry and wanting to take a baseball bat to this compressor.

[ryantomaz]

Still not allowed to post links

[pecmsg]

Find a different tech.

[ryantomaz]

I should be able to post links but am still not allowed to for some reason.

[ryantomaz]

Okay, I can finally post links. This is the video explaining what the most recent tech did to the electrical.

https://youtu.be/z2tO8v3s1Aw

[Snapperhead]

Post # 13 my friend ....