SMC Discussion Areas

Got a westinghouse select-o-matic 60 model.  When I got it home I plugged it in and the compressor kicks on,  the fan blows but it doesnt get cool.  Where should I start in troubleshooting this?  Its in pretty rough shape so I'm sure theres a leak in the system.

Thanks!
justin

depends if the compressor is really running, or it's just the compressors cooling fan ( called the condenser fan), so if unplug the machine, then you temporarily block the fan from spinning by stuffing a rag around it, wait a couple of minutes , then plug the machine back in & carefully feel if the compressor itself to confirm that it's really running, it's hard to tell just by listening to it sometimes as the condensers cooling fan makes quite a bit of noise.

The fan near the compressor is not running. The fan inside the machine is.  The compressor is definitley on, I put my hand on it and felt it kick on and vibrating.

let it run a while, sometimes older systems that have been ideal fro a while have a minor blockage in the capillary tube feeding the evaporator coils ( up in the soda section) it may clear itself once the compressors run  a bit & develops enough pressure to overcome the blockage,   or it may indeed by low on freon & it needs a recharge, not an easy thing for a beginner.

That a flashlight & look along the right side of the evaporator coil up in the cold section, look to where the thin spaghetti-like capillary tube enters the large tubing of the evaporator itself, if you see any minor frosting at all at this point, then there is some freon in the system, but not enough to doe the job, if it just looks "dry" then it may have a larger leak & the system is discharged, no way to tell without putting a gauge set on it.

OK great I will try that tomorrow and post again.  With pictures  :biggrin:

And There is no problem running the compressor if its discharged?  I was worried about running it too long and creating more problems.

it shouldn't take more than five minutes at the most to frost the line. If the leak is in the suction (larger) tubing then you may draw in air into the system, but it probably already has some in it at this point,  but don't leave it plugged in unattended/over night, etc. until the system is repaired. common sense applies here.

Well I let it run a few minutes and the copper tubing going to the top, condensor?, seemed to get cool for a few minutes then warmed back up.  The bottom fan finally kicked on though!

Whats my next step? clean it up and take it to get serviced?

Yes, it sounds like your system has low freon & that means it's time to have it serviced at this point.