Yep, buy an ez start or quick start. It is just a big capacitor that
attaches to the start circuit. Costs about $15 at an appliance parts
store and takes about 1/2 hour to fix including moving the frig out,
removing lower back pannel, figuring out how to connect it and making
the connection. Should solve your problem. If not, it's probably
time for a replacement frig.

You could replace the start switch but it will probably cost more and
give out in another few years. I went throught this problem, as the
original start switch was poorly designed or manufactured. First I
(actually a frig repairman) replaced the original with a new super
duper solid state start switch which went bad after a few years, so I
got smart and got an ez start, which has been working flawlessly for
many years.

Chris wrote:

Hi,

We have a GE refrigerator/freezer which is about 5 years old. I woke up
this morning and noticed the refrigerator was off, so I checked the breaker
and found out it was tripped. I reset it and the refrigerator started to
run. Later in the day, I checked to see if the contents of the refrigerator
were being cooled, but discovered they were actually warmer than they were
in the morning. The fan was running, but the compressor wasn't. The next
think I tried was to turn off the refrigerator from the control inside the
refrigerator and then turn it back on. This tripped the breaker.

I suspect the compressor is bad. I have previously cleaned the dust out of
the coils, so I don't think it was running an excessive amount of time due
to poor heat exchange.

Any ideas on what I might try before having it repaired?

Thanks,

Chris