Sub-Zero Repair Redmond · WA (425) 905-2822

Seen on: 500 Series

The 500 Series Has No Display: Diagnosing Without Codes

A Sub-Zero 500 Series has no display and stores no codes: each section has a lit dial running from 1, the warmest, to 10, the coldest. Diagnosis starts from measured temperatures, the condenser and fan behind the grille, and the freezer's defrost timer. Sub-Zero Repair Redmond works it through on site; call (425) 905-2822.

DIAL at a glance — Sub-Zero Repair Redmond, (425) 905-2822
Means There is no readout on this control. The dial shows the setting and nothing else, so every fault is read from what the unit does rather than what it says.
Check first
  • The dial in each section, compared with where it was last left.
  • A thermometer in each compartment, left for a full day before it is read.
  • The condenser behind the grille, with the breaker switched off first.
Needs a technician
  • Compressors and the condenser fan checked while they run.
  • The freezer defrost timer and the circuit it drives, when frost builds on the coil.
  • The sealed system, once airflow and defrost are ruled out.

Where the dials are

The 500 Series keeps its controls inside the cabinet, out of sight behind the door panels. By model:

  • 532, 542, 561: refrigerator dial on the back wall, near the top right; freezer dial on the panel just above the ice drawer.
  • 511, 550: both dials on the refrigerator’s back wall near the top, refrigerator on the right, freezer on the left.
  • 501R, 501F: one dial, back wall, near the top right.
  • 590: both dials inside the refrigerator, on the left side.

Starting from temperatures

These units left the factory set to roughly 38°F in the refrigerator and 0°F in the freezer, and Sub-Zero allows 24 hours for any change of setting to take hold. The first reading worth acting on is a thermometer that has sat in each section for a day.

Behind the grille

A single fan cools the compressor area and runs whenever either compressor runs. A matted condenser or a stalled fan tends to show as both sections drifting warm together. On the 532, 542, 561, 511 and 550 the grille lifts off after one centre screw: tilt it forward at the top and free the springs. The 501R and 501F use two black screws in the lowest louver.

Defrost on a timer

The refrigerator section defrosts in each off cycle; the freezer is run by a timer. A timer that sticks can let the freezer coil ice over while the refrigerator side carries on as normal.

When the lights go out

A door left open long enough switches the lights off to protect the parts inside from heat. Closing it for 15 to 30 minutes resets them.

Tall stainless refrigerator pulled forward with its lower panel off, manifold gauges and hoses on the floor beside the open compressor bay

DIAL on your display?

(425) 905-2822 Book a visit

Sub-Zero Repair Redmond · $89 service call, deducted once the repair goes ahead · on site 0800 to 2000 hrs, all seven days

Checked by
Dean Halvorsen
Bench
sealed systems and airflow
Trade
19 yrs
Card
EPA 608 certified
Revised
Overhead view of an open machine compartment with bagged relays, a multimeter and screwdrivers on the carpet beside it

Next step

Series, readout,
then a price

Give us the model off the tag and whatever the display is showing. When the fix is a clean condenser or a reset you can do yourself, you will hear that on the phone. When it needs a technician, the visit is $89 and it comes off the repair bill; the price for the work is in writing before anything is opened.

(425) 905-2822 Book a visit

Sub-Zero Repair Redmond · on site 0800 to 2000 hrs, all seven days · calls taken 24/7