I think thermal cameras are overrated for diagnosing fridge issues - here's my proof

I know everyone in here swears by their FLIR for finding bad defrost heaters, but I've been doing this 8 years without one and I honestly think they cause more confusion than they solve. Last Tuesday in Austin, I spent 45 minutes chasing a cold spot on a Whirlpool side-by-side with my meter, and the thermal camera would have pointed me at the wrong thermistor entirely. The camera picked up a 12 degree difference at the back wall, but the actual problem was a failed main board sending intermittent voltage. I replaced that board and it ran fine for 2 weeks now. Has anyone else found that thermal cameras miss electrical issues that a multimeter catches fast?

2 comments

2 Comments

angela4314d ago

That 45 minutes on a cold spot sounds brutal... I agree thermal cameras can lead you down the wrong path sometimes.

aaron70814d ago

I actually watched a YouTube breakdown last month from a guy who tested this exact thing side by side. He had a fridge with a similar intermittent issue and the thermal camera showed a perfectly normal pattern while the multimeter caught the voltage drops right away. It really made me wonder how many people are out there replacing defrost heaters and thermistors when the boards are actually the problem. The thermal cam is great for catching obvious stuff like a blown heater that's completely dead, but for those partial failures or intermittent electrical problems it seems like it just adds noise to the picture. I mean, what's the point of a tool that sends you on a wild goose chase half the time?