My stand alone dehumidifier is about 15 years old. My memory says it used
to work this way...

First I'd hear a click as the humidity sensor told it to turn on.
Then the fan would come on and it would hum for a short time.
Next, there would be a loud click and the hum would get much deeper. I
guess that would be the compressor kicking in.


Now--
First I hear a click as the humidity sensor tells it to turn on.
Then the fan comes on and it hums for a short time.
Next, there are some loud relay clicks about 15 seconds apart but nothing
changes.
Finally, the compressor starts, but there isn't the deeper sound I
remember.


Some water is collected, but it's been winter and the basement is not very
humid now so it's hard to tell.

Any ideas on what is going on? Is it time to buy a new unit?

Thanks very much for your comments.

Ted