I need to know how to fix a locked up refrigerator compressor.

The compressor is what makes it cold to begin with.

I know that. I just don’t know how to fix that.

Remember that you can have a refrigerator make mechanical noises for a lot of reasons, but the locked compressor will sound like it is running with a continuous humming but doesn’t actually cool.

Yes, and it gets hot in that case, whereas it is normally just warm. What if it is a start relay and not the compressor?

If the compressor isn’t running but you hear clicking every few minutes, that’s the start relay trying to start the compressor but failing. In that case, you’d replace the start relay and then it can run.

I haven’t heard the clicking sound you described. What can you do to get a locked up compressor running?

I’ve heard of people running an HVAC system backwards to unlock it.

I don’t think this has a reverse switch on it.

If it locked up because of overheating, that is a temporary step to take after it cools off anyway. The long term step is adding refrigerant and fixing the leak so it doesn’t overheat and lock up again.

If a compressor is overheating, that’s a sign of some other major problems.

Lack of refrigerant is one, parts rubbing against each other is another. If you’re lucky, it only froze because a wire came loose.

And hopefully that’s fixed by merely putting it back.

Wiring is rarely the cause but I wanted to mention it. In others, the wiring harness is frayed or loose or shorting out and causing problems – and heating due to shorts can cause the compressor to get hot too.

Shorts that bad are a reason to turn off the fridge, if only so it doesn’t catch fire.

If you have electrical shorts like that, you’ll want to have a professional look at it anyway to find out if there are other problems.

Aside from a fridge that won’t run?

Yes, and there may be other root causes, too, that prevent the compressor from running. For example, if the sensor on it says I’m too hot, it will shut down as soon as it starts as a safety mechanism.

One, I don’t think my fridge is that smart. Two, I’d hear it cycling if that were the cause.

Constant cycling on and off can cause it to lock up.

Then I’d know why it locked up in the first place. It just doesn’t tell me how to fix it.

Constant cycling in response to a refrigerant leak, running hard to cool things down before it overheats and shuts down, can stress it to the point it locks up.

Then it needs refrigerant added after being run backward. Both of which require a professional’s touch.

In reality, many of the times it is locked up, reversing it and adding refrigerant if necessary is a delay before it locks up again. Then you have to replace the compressor.

At which point I have to call a pro, and depending on their bill, decide whether or not the best solution is a new fridge.

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