Westinghouse BJ513V / BJ514V / BJ515V Questions & Answers

Not sure. Is it the same beep tone as when the door is left open?

I doubt there is a problem with the gas, leaks are uncommon unless the fridge has been moved recently and knocked around.

I think it’s most likely sensor/ electrical. If one of the wires has been cooked over time it might be tripping up the sensor to show a fault.

Also with recent heat refrigerators had to work extra hard to keep the temperature steady as well as we have had sudden temperature drops of 20 degrees. There could be a form of condensation that is playing the part. I wonder where the fridge is situated and if it is exposed to the weather outside (eg, standing next to open window or door).

I would empty it, clean and dry it, switch off the power and leave it off for half a day or a day, however it’s impractical to do that with the fridge.

The refrigerator has been running for a number of years in the same physical location, cant recall how many years. I am just thinking whether it is more practical to get a new refrigerator or get it repair. I got a first quote for $110 call out fee, then $55 per 30 minutes plus spare parts, so easily $400+ and a new one cost $1400 !!

Check the door is sealing when you close it. Check the seal is still fully functional. Check the temperature is set correctly. If all these are functional, then I suggest contacting the dealer for further investigation. Good luck!

HI Sue B
Your beeping freezer issue sounds very frustrating. Occasionally, I had alarm/beeping issues with my freezer but all I did was adjust the temperature on the front panel (either up or down) and hit the reset and that usually fixed it. I sometimes had to do this a few times over the course of a few days but it only took a few seconds and that stopped the beeping. It appeared to me the beeping was just letting me know things were getting either too cold or too warm in the freezer and adjusting the temp. Of course the other issue would be the fridge was left open and that started the beep (like when I was loading it up after a trip to the grocery store). With that in mind, perhaps your freezer seal needs cleaning (use a warm slightly soapy damp soft cloth) or replacing? check for cracks or tears in the freezer seal around door - this is a relatively common problem and easy fix with a quick call to a freezer seal replacement company.
Good luck!
Cheers,
Maggie

I noticed a similar problem but only after fridge was about >10 years old. Noticed it because the pressure caused the small plastic bits near hinge to break off. Still functioned well and stayed sealed but could see it was breaking down a bit.
I would ask Westinghouse to address this issue (and no, we did not 'hang' off nor lean on door).

Hi Evan. My similar BJ 515V has a circular lamp cover with a little push tab on the front. push that tab in gently and the lamp cover front drops down. The back of the cover has a couple of tangs which locate into a couple of holes at the back of the lamp recess. The globe is a normal screw in globe but a lowish wattage. Hope this helps.

My guess is that the compressor motor on the back of the fridge has come loose. If you don't get it repaired and bolted down again it may break a coolant pipe. Pull the fridge out and see what is moving. It may be just a loose screw.

Blinkybill here.
sorry i cannot help on this one, just a couple of suggestions.
Does the light work when you open the door and does it shut off when the door is shut.. Check at night when it is dark switch off the room lights and close the door slowly and try to look past the door seal to see the light coming from the fridge .Placing a pencil between the seal and the fridge frame might make it a bit easier to see.If it dosnt or the door is nearly closed when the light goes out could be the problem.

Thanks but I'm talking about the LED display fitted on the outside of the fridge door...any ideas there?

Hello, did you ever get this promblem worked out. I have the same fridge and same problem. It is driving us crazy, we press the button all the time to stop it, we have completely emptied the fridge and freezer and turned it off over night, on restarting it we thought problem solved (and that we were complete geniuses) however 5 hours later the beeping has started again, we are on day 3 of it. At present we can't afford 100's of $ to get someone out to look / fix it. I'm hoping for a DIY job. Any help / advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you, Tracey

Hi Ben. I don't have experience of this fault. However since the fridge is chilled by the air blown up from the freezer compartment. This air flow is controlled by the speed of the fan but the temperature of the air is controlled by the thermostat in the freezer. It could be one of several problems. Perhaps your freezer temperature is too low (is your freezer freezing things really hard?). This could be a setting you have in the freezer, check the set temperature and put a thermometer in the freezer to make sure it is running at the set temperature (If the freezer temp is much lower than the set point it could be a problem with the freezer thermostat). It could also be the fridge fan running too long or constantly. This could be the fridge thermostat, or the control board. These are unlikely as you have changed them both recently. As I say I am no expert and have no experience of the fault. But these are the things I would check/try. Hope this helps.

Hi Lisa
In my experience and reading of blogs the faults that can occur with these fridges the control box is most likely to be the problem. But it may also be the fridge fan or the thermocouple. The following just describes my personal opinion of how to diagnose and fix the control box problem. I am not a specialist.

First check that there is some (even a little) air blowing into the fridge compartment from the vents in the top of the fridge. If there is even a little air flow then the fan is working and the problem is most likely in the freezer section.
If the compressor is running 24h per day then it is probably the control box in the bottom rear of the fridge. Westinghouse PART NUMBER probably 808893501.
Order one from ebay [link removed] (probably half the price the repair man will charge).
To fix this temporarily while you are waiting for the part to arrive:
1. Switch off and unplug the fridge freezer.
2. Empty the freezer section and keep the fridge door closed.
3. Get a blunt knife and remove the two screw covers from the screw holes at the top rear of the freezer compartment.
4. Get a Philips screwdriver and remove the two screws revealed by the covers just removed.
5. Remove the freezer back panel by getting two blunt knives and levering it out with the knives in the upper vent of the back panel. If it doesn't come easily then don't force it and jump to 6 for 30 mins and then come back to 5. Once removed it should reveal the cooling pipes of the freezer covered in ice.
6. Get a hair dryer and use the lowest heat setting and blow hot air at the back of the freezer section until ALL the ice is melted. Do not use high heat.
7. Once the ice is removed, replace the freezer back panel, screws and covers. Plug in and reload the freezer.
You should be good for about 5 days. If you still don't have the part just repeat the process.
8. When the part has arrived, if you are handy you can replace it yourself or you can call the repair man. It will be an easy job for him so will probably only charge a callout fee.
Hope this helps.

Hello Andrew,
Have you checked to see if the fan is iced or seized up? switch off the fridge and see if you can spin the fan with your finger. If it spins easily you may have a problem with the fan itself the wiring or the control panel ( box at rear of fridge with wiring coming into and out of ). If it is not iced up and is hard to turn the fan will be seized up and will require a new one or the old one to be unseized and lubricated. In my case the fan was running but the freezer coils were iced up preventing cold air to be blown into the refrigerator compartment. this was due to a faulty control panel not putting the fridge into defrost mode. The heater, the defrost thermostat and wiring tested ok. A new control panel fixed the problem. I defrosted the freezer coils with a paint stripper gun but you could use a hair drier as well . with the coil free of ice the fridge would work ok until it iced up again ( 3- 4 days depending on the humidity) BE CAREFUL WATER AND ELECTRICITY DO NOT MIX Note the fan was working ok in my case. Note: when the fridge is in defrost mode the fan doesn't run.
Regards Blinkybill

Thanks blinkybill. The coils froze up bot not the fan. The fan spins easily when flicked with the finger but does not spin when power is on. Even after defrosting the unit and then turning it back on there is no cold air or any air coming into the fridge. Is it worth investing in a new control panel at this stage or should I try a process of elimination? Don't really want to call a sparky in and pay them for a 2 minute call out.

hello Andrew, blinky bill here
re the above reply I think that you need to check that the fan is OK electrically before you invest in a new control panel. At this stage you haven't eliminated the problem to a particular piece of equipment ie fan or control panel. i think that the fan has its own connection plug at the back of the fridge . turn the power off and disconnect the fan plug and check the continuity of the fan with a multimeter. you should get a resistance reading. If you are not ok with this maybe you can take the fan to an electrician to test . Otherwise get a service man to look at it. remember electricity can be LETHAL if you don't know what you are doing.

Hi Cely
In my experience and reading of blogs the faults that can occur with these fridges the control box is most likely to be the problem. But it may also be the fridge fan or the thermocouple. The following just describes my personal opinion of how to diagnose and fix the control box problem. I am not a specialist.

First check that there is some (even a little) air blowing into the fridge compartment from the vents in the top of the fridge. If there is even a little air flow then the fan is working and the problem is most likely in the freezer section.
If the compressor is running 24h per day then it is probably the control box in the bottom rear of the fridge. Westinghouse PART NUMBER probably 1448797.
Order one from ebay (See http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/231430606674?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT) (half the price the repair man will charge)
To fix this temporarily while you are waiting for the part to arrive:
1. Switch off and unplug the fridge freezer.
2. Empty the freezer section and keep the fridge door closed.
3. Get a blunt knife and remove the two screw covers from the screw holes at the top rear of the freezer compartment.
4. Get a Philips screwdriver and remove the two screws revealed by 3.
5. Remove the freezer back panel by getting two blunt knives and levering it out with the knives in the upper vent of the back panel. If it doesn't come easily then don't force it and jump to 6. for 30mins and then come back to 5.. Once removed it should reveal the cooling pipes of the freezer covered in ice.
6. Get a hair dryer and USE THE LOWEST HEAT SETTING and blow hot air at the back of the freezer section until ALL the ice is melted. DO NOT USE HIGH HEAT.
7. Once the ice is removed, replace the freezer back panel, screws and covers. Plug in and reload the freezer.
You should be good for about 5days to a week. If you still don't have the part just repeat the process.
8. When the part has arrived if you are handy you can replace it yourself or you can call the repair man. It will be an easy job for him so will probably only charge a callout fee.
Hope this helps.
PS those cakes in your profile pic look yummy!

Most likely your fridge isn't doing the auto-defrost. Same as mine. You can defrost it yourself and save your food in the fridge by removing the drawers and shelf from the freezer. Unscrewing the two screws in the back and removing the back panel. (Two dinner knives in the slots will help pull it out. Switch off the fridge and use your wife's hair dryer on max blow minimum heat (more heat will possibly damage the compressor) to melt all the ice. Once all ice and water is gone reassemble and refill the freezer and switch on. This should keep your fridge cold for a week or so in my experience. Then buy main board P/N 1448797 from ebay and replace it yourself or call a repair man to get him to do it. (Don't break any seals or open the box or he won't guarantee his work).

Most likely your fridge isn't doing the auto-defrost. Same as mine. You can defrost it yourself and save your food in the fridge by removing the drawers and shelf from the freezer. Unscrewing the two screws in the back and removing the back panel. (Two dinner knives in the slots will help pull it out. Switch off the fridge and use your wife's hair dryer on max blow minimum heat (more heat will possibly damage the compressor) to melt all the ice. Once all ice and water is gone reassemble and refill the freezer and switch on. This should keep your fridge cold for a week or so in my experience. Then buy main board P/N 1448797 from ebay and replace it yourself or call a repair man to get him to do it. (Don't break any seals or open the box or he won't want to use it).