AnswerID: 483874 Submitted: Sunday, Apr 22, 2012 at 22:19
Ron N
replied:
Tass - QUOTE - "Is it worth fixing in a 20 year old unit?" END QUOTE
Of course it is! This is an Engel you're talking about! Mine's still purring happily, even though it was 35 yrs old, last month!
Is it a green or a grey Engel? What's the model number?
I've never had any switch problems with my old green one - but if I were you, I'd be getting onto your local sparky mate, and see if he's prepared to look at it
The Engels use a fancy circuit board to supply 20 volts AC power to the compressor, regardless on input voltage. If there's a constant 20 - 25V AC to the compressor cables, but still no go, then the compressor is shot.
The old green fridge circuit boards are much less complex, and more fixable than the newer fully electronic models.
Engel will want to sell you a complete new circuit board if that's the problem area. These are pretty expensive. The old circuit boards can be repaired as I understand, because they use simple components that can be sourced and soldered in. The newer ones suffer from the "no user serviceable parts inside" syndrome. [:-(
If the compressor is shot (rare, but has been known to happen), then you're up for a new one, they aren't fixable. Not sure on what a new compressor is worth nowadays, but I understand it's economic to replace a compressor, particularly if the rest of the fridge is O.K.
If you price a new Engel, you might get the idea, it could be worth fixing the old one!
Cheers - Ron.
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