Vinotemp wine cooler diagnosis in San Ramon
Problem: A customer in San Ramon sent us a service request for their Vinotemp wine cooler, bought in 2016. It had power but wasn’t cooling, and the compressor felt room temperature. They’d already worked on it. The control panel board was replaced five years ago, when the cooler had no power, and it ran fine after that. The week before our visit they replaced two relays on the board. The compressor started again, then stopped cooling after about ten hours.
Diagnostics: The rating plate confirmed the model, VT-155VCM-C, and the refrigerant, R600a. Our technician went through the compressor and the board that runs it. The compressor was locked. A locked compressor is seized inside and can’t start, so nothing in the cabinet gets cold. The control board wasn’t sending power to the compressor either. Our technician’s read is that the locked compressor most likely took the board down with it.
Solution: We didn’t recommend the repair. Fixing this cooler would mean a new compressor, which is a sealed-system job, plus a new control board. The expected cost was too high to make sense, so our advice was to replace the wine cooler.
Result: With a compressor and control board both involved, the repair cost was too high to recommend. The customer replaced the wine cooler. Have the compressor tested before spending money on board parts when a wine cooler has power but will not cool. We repair wine coolers in San Ramon and across the Tri-Valley.