Preventive Maintenance on Old Fridge? Or don't fix it if it ain't broken?

IO have a great old GE Hotpoint side by side, from 1986. The relay had been clicking when going on or off for a decade, maybe longer.
It has been getting louder as time goes on (the click) , which has me worrying about it.

I can't get the original relay anywhere, but I was thinking of getting one of those '3 in 1' generic relay/capacitor/overload units.

I Fridge model num is CSX20EHB. I think my relay number is wr7x222.

The relay in it now is the original. 37 years old.

I watched some Youtube videos about replacing the original relay with the generic and it looks doable to me.

I am a bit afraid of the universal relay harming my fridge somehow, even if I install it correctly.

Thoughts ? Thanks !

 

The starting device is a thermally controlled start relay on the side of the compressor.
It's supposed to click every time the compressor starts.
Do you mean it keeps clicking and the compressor won't start ?

Where did you get wr7x222 ?
It's very possible it's a replacement but its not listed as one.

WR7X188 start relay
WR7X185 start relay
WR87X208 compressor

My opinion is if ain't broke and the fridge is working.... leave it.
My Whirlpool is almost as old as your GE. My start relay is no longer sold either.

 

Thanks. I have wr7x222 in my notes, for the relay, but I wasn't clear whether it was the exact one. When I googled 'wrx188 relay'
and 'wrx185 relay', it came up with nothing.

The fridge works normally. Comes on for 10 minutes or so, goes off for a while. It only clicks once when coming on, and once when going off.
But it's changing from a click to a 'bunk' sound, in the last few years. Maybe I am overthinking the whole thing.

I keep the coils vacuumed off every year or so. Had to replace the washer-like thing on the bottom of the door hinge twice. Not expensive.

An interesting thing about this fridge is that GE phoned me a few years after I bought it, and said they wanted to come out and replace
the compressor, for free. I thought it was a scam, but it was legit. They were doing a recall on the original compressor. So I got
a brand new compressor for free.

Did you get wrx185 and wrx188 from your database? It must be right, then, so thanks for that update to my notes.

 

More than likely they installed a "new improved" subbed compressor.
Good chance it's not the original part number either.
You'd need to base the start device on the current compressor model number.

 

Good point! I didn't think of that.

By the way, I also have a Whirlpool Mark IV fridge in the basement. Bought it used, in the Nineties. Still works, but I only use it once in a while.
Most of the time it is unplugged. I'm thinking the Whirlpool is even older than the GE.

 

You can not beat the old appliances.
That are not necessarily energy efficient but they will last indefinitely.