PBF1951HEW Maytag Refrigerator - Overview

Hi Richie, Thank you for your question. To verify if the compressor is working correctly, you will need to use a multi-meter set to the ohms function. To test the compressor, you will need to unplug the refrigerator from the electrical outlet and then unplug the start relay from it. Most refrigerators use solid state start relays, which can be identified by the two wires connecting to it. The three pins will be marked S, C and R. These letters stand for run, common and start winding pins. If the pins are not marked, you will need to set your multi-meter to the R x 1 scale, and locate the two pins that give the highest reading. These pins are the run and start winding pins, and the remaining pin is the common pin. If the meter displays OL when checking between any two of the pins, the compressor will need to be replaced. You should also check for shorted motor windings. The motor may experience either a turn to turn short or a winding to frame short. The readings should be taken between the run and common pins and the start and common pins. The readings should be within 0.5 ohms of each other. If you do not get these readings, the winding would have a turn to turn short and the compressor will need to be replaced. To verify if you have a winding to the motor frame short, you will need to take a reading between each of the pins and the compressor housing. The multi-meter should display OL. If it does not, you will need to replace the compressor. If the motor checks out fine, you will need to check the thermostatic control. You will need to set the multi-meter between 4 and 5 and check for continuity between the plug and the wires attached to the start relay. You should get a reading of zero. If you get a reading of OL you will need to replace the thermostatic control. If the reading is zero, then you will need to replace the start relay. We hope this helps. Thank you and have a great day!

Hello, Thank you for writing! The first part to look into is the Run Capacitor: To test this part, The part needs to be removed from the compressor to be tested. To test the capacitor with a multimeter, set the meter to read in the high ohms range, somewhere above 10k and 1m ohms. Touch the meter leads to the corresponding leads on the capacitor, red to positive and black to negative. The meter should start at zero and then moving slowly toward infinity. If that checks out, you will then need to look into the start device. We hope this helps, good luck with this repair.