Faced with a $220 board or a $35 relay on a 2019 Whirlpool fridge, I gambled on the relay

Paul Kelly · 2026-09-16T21:00:08.544076+00:00

Customer in Mesa called saying her fridge was warm but the freezer still worked, so I pulled the tech sheet and saw the compressor relay was fried. The board was on backorder for 10 days and she had a house full of food, so I swapped in a $35 start relay I had on the truck instead of waiting. It fired right up and held temp for two weeks, then she called back saying it was warm again and now the compressor was locked up. I ate the cost of the compressor and learned a hard lesson about cheaping out on a sealed system call. Anyone got a rule for when to gamble on the relay versus just telling the customer to buy a new fridge?

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Faced with a $220 board or a $35 relay on a 2019 Whirlpool fridge, I gambled on the relay | Appliance Repairers - Discusd