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I purchased a Magic Chef 44 bottle dual zone wine cooler from Home Depot in November 2007. An appliance service technician has just left my house, telling me that the E4 error message for the lower unit display means the evaporator fan motor has conked out. I cringe to think what parts and labor will be, after having spent $80 for him to tell me this. Actually, I already had an inkling of the problem, after having read the numerous complaints about Magic Chef products, and this problem in particular. Magic Chef products are, in a word, junk. They look nice, and Home Depot will give you a good price, but the odds are that within two years you will be repairing or replacing the product. Pay more for something else, and spare yourself the time and trouble.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
Ditto...I have the same unit, with the same problem and bought from Home Depot. Only difference, it didn't even last three months before the problem happened. Now 4 months into warranty claim, it still does not work and Magic Chef and the warranty service company, Factory Appliance Service, can seem to fix it.
Kent
Houston, TX
I just fixed my E4 error by hard wiring the two internal cooling fans. The connectors were corroded due to the inherent moisture in the cooling panel. In fact one pin was completely destroyed. Crimping the wires together seems to have solved my problem.
i have a magic chef 48 unit wine cooler that makes a loud gargle sound when running. Anyone have an answer to this or have the problem. Another home depot purchase.
I purchased the 50 bottle Magic Chef model(MCWC50DST) and had the EEF code flashing two weeks ago and now it is back. Is it worth fixing it and if so what is the cost. I purchased it black Friday 2010 and really like it. Any suggestions Please. Len
We have a Magic Chef 44 bottle cooler that makes a really loud gargle sound, and it runs ALL THE TIME. And at best we can get 33 bottles in it. The instructions give no clue as to get in 44. The racks are terrible. It's just over a year old, but it cools just fine.
We also have a 52 bottle E-Wave from Home Depot we've had for years, and it's great. I wish we could find another one of those.
We have the dual temp. 44 bottle and it lasted 11/2 years. Same problem, cooling and moisture in cooling panel coroded the wires and fittings. Before it failed it also gargled loudly.
Magic Chef coolers are 100% junk and money makers for the service techs.
MC Appliance said have it checked by a tech, if its the compressor they will ship a new one free. The expense of checking it and fixing it falls on the buyer.
Will never buy Magic Chef again !
I have a Magic Chef 44 Dual Zone wine cooler, purchased from Home Depot. It is 2 years old and I am getting an E4 code for the lower zone. It sounds as if most of these units fail within 2 years. I am not going to waste money repairing this piece of junk. Time for a new one - not another Magic Chef
I have a 16 bottle Magic Chef that has stopped working after 3.5 years. MC appliance is of no help. Home Depot has passed the buck. Who is the CEO of Magic Chef and what is their email address?
I also have a Magic Chef Dual Zone. Both fans stop running. This particular line of chiller has a design flaw that the connectors connecting both fans will corrode within two years. Seeing many complains, I want to fix this and document the fix help out those who have the same issue. I fixed the problem in about 3 hours and it works like new. I took photos of how to fix and can put together a word document with repair photos for each step if someone is interested. Obviously, I will provide this documentation for reference only and you can use at your own risk.
Overall, fixing this is fairly simple, requiring the removal of six screws, cutting, soldering and shrink tubing 4 wires to replace the two corroded connectors. For parts, you will need two new small connectors.
Also, I fixed the "gargled" problem too. It is caused by cheap motor/bearing on the cooling fan locate behind the chiller. The right way is to replace a compatible motor with better bearing but I got lazy and just oiled the motor and secure it tighter to the mount.
Back to the connector issue, if someone is interested, I can check back here and post the doc to Google Doc or a site that you can download.
Bao,
I would love to see the photos. I have the same problem. I would like to fix the unit but I cannot say I am as handy as you. Photos would be really helpful. You could post that link here or send them to my email address - gremlinwear@yahoo.com - that would be awesome!
Thanks,
Jason
Bao,
Hook it up with the pics, and word doc. I just purchased $1500 worth of wine and then got E4 message...gremlinwear, if bao has helped you already, help me. Anyone please! j.reed010@yahoo.com
Jeremy
Jason and Jeremy,
I will email you the Word document this weekend. Afterward, if you have more questions, you will have my email address to ask.
Bao
Bao,
I, too, have a two year old 50 bottle Magic Chef Dual Zone Wine Cooler purchased at Home Depot. Recently the blue temperature display began flashing the letters "EEF". Efforts to manipulate the red/white and set buttons to restore the desired temperature setting have proved fruitless. At present it seems to be maintaining a relatively cool temperature but after reading some of the posts I feel it's only a matter of time before it fails completely. I would appreciate it greatly if you could email the Word document, with photos, detailing the procedure you used to fix the problem. My email is noahdog2@att.net.
Simple diagnosis and fix. Hope this can help someone.
Time to diagnosis and fix: 30 minutes Tools: Screwdriver ad wire cutters Cost: 10 cents (wire nuts) Degree of difficulty: 2 (If you can work a screwdriver you can do this (or at least determine if this is your problem)
Many e3/e4 problem are caused by the "connectors" for the fans to the middle separator shelf are put in the pathway of condensation. This causes them to get wet and rust.
1) Unplug the fridge
2) Remove all wine and the metal shelves
3) Open a bottle of red, pour a glass and set aside.
4) Remove the 2 screws from the middle separator shelf, one on each side on top (about 3 inches from the front)
5) Remove the 4 screws from the backboard, one in each corner
6) Slide out the middle shelf slowly, on the right hand side towards the front of the shelf you will expose the wiring.
7) Gently pull out the wires and expose 4 connectors you must disconnect before removing the shelf (they are tucked into the shelf).
8) With one hand on the backboard and one on the shelf, slowly take them out together
9) Once you have the backboard and shelf out, you'll see there is a black and white connector, each having a red and black wire on each side
10) These are the fan connectors that are causing the issue. Mine were brown/green and damp (not good for electricity)
11) Using wire cutters, cut as close as possible to the "black" connector on each side to remove it. You will have 4 wires left, 2 from the backboard and two from the shelf (both having a red and black)
12) Take some of the sheath (cover) off of each wire
13) Take the red wire from the backboard and the red wire from the shelf and twist the metal portion together. Use a wire nut to help secure the wires together.
14) Cover w/ electrical tape! Or you will have the same e3/e4 issue
15) Repeat step 13 and 14 for the black wires
16) Move onto the "white" connector and repeat steps 11 - 15
17) Put the backboard and shelf back in the fridge. Be careful not to pull the backboard and shelf apart or your connection may come apart
18) As you slide the shelf in, make sure the wires you disconnected in step 5 are in the "channel" on the side of the shelf or the shelf won't slide properly.
19) Reattached the 4 connectors and then re-attach the backboard and the shelf with the screws
20) Plug the fridge back in
21) Put the metal shelves and wine back in
22)Toast yourself for saving yourself $80 and drink the glass of wine you poured in step 3
Cringe at thinking that this was such a simple fix because makes me wonder what else might go wrong.
Thanks Jacked! Gonna give it a try later tonight. WTH...can't hurt lol.
Magic Jack,
Thanks for the instructions. Right now my wine cooler seems to be working but I know sooner or later it will fail. I talked with one of the participants to this posting; his problem involved burnt out fans. He accessed the "fried" fans in his wine cooler, identified the model info, Googled where they could be purchased and ended up replacing them. Mike
I purchased a 44 bottle dual wine cooler from Home Depot in Foley, Al and the temperature will not get below 65 degrees. I have not had the E4 error, is this the same problem. Sheryl
Bao,
My 3 year old magic chef dual zone wine cooler recently got a E3 and E4 error also. i would like to try to fix this problem before calling a electrician. can you send or post your directions and pictures ? slee219@msn.com
thanks,
Sam
JackedByMagicJack, you are right on with your easy fix. I printed out your instructions soon after I got the E codes, but waited far too long to fix this myself. You rock! I found my fix was a little tough in two areas, perhaps this will help someone else see their through. When pulling out the middle shelf (your step #7) it was pretty amazing to see just how many wires are stuffed into a very small hole in the middle of the shelf. There is not a lot of room to work with these connections, which are all joined together with unique connectors, but I suggest opening the door of the wine fridge as far open as you can as this will give you a little extra room to work with. Also be careful because one of the wire connections using the large white block connector can inadvertently be put back together upside down and none of your display will come back on. Just check it to make sure you've got pins going in holes, pretty simple but I goofed the first time. The second this I will mention is that I did not have but an inch or two of stubby little wires coming from the shelf, so the first thing I did was to put a two foot extension with black and red wires of the same gauge bought at Radio Shack for $7.99 to make re-installation all the easier. I twisted the wires together very well and used good electrical tape to protect them from moisture. Fridge is working fine now and my total material cost was $10, about two hours to do it including trips to the store. I might add that while you have the fridge apart, now is a good time to clean it all up and wipe out a small drain at the back.
Our Magic Chef 44 is only about 4 years old. No Error code. it just quit working. Plug it in and nothing. no motor, no fan, the front panel docent even light up. checked the circuit, it’s fine. power to the unit has been checked... Nothing...
Here same thing happened to me, last year April we started to use magic Chief wine cooler after Jade refrigirator stopped working, both have same stinky smell now. The magic chief down part is cooling down, but upper side is not.
The wine cooler sitting over 7 years but started to be used last year April, so 1 year and one month now.
I suspect IC board attackers Becasue other products were damaged here in a year now, some replacement was worth.
I appreciate certain companies with 10 years parts replacement warranty they were kind.
Here is problem, my husband already spent over $800 last year trying fix Jade refrigirator it was not fixed.
But local service and not form such as Sears. Magic chief and Jade possibly fixed by Maytag so belong to KenMore whilpool but we don't get who exactly fix for those refrigirators now. Some might have work with 5 years warranty for next five years but the size does not match to our space. What is a wise option to not waste money from now?
Hi jdati, we're very sorry to learn of your concerns with your Wine Cooler. Please contact our specialty team at [protected] for further assistance.
The cutting wires to put together some say it fixes the wine cooler, yesterday I tried that and it was a same result still shows e3 and e4.
I have IC board problems over a year now, other electronic products have been destructed with damaged all IC boards area, I complain about possible Japanese attacks because I found some illegal activities of those workers I reported and I started to complain on Twitter etc. then it started since April 2016. One year now.
How many electric products were damaged, I trushed a lot in a year.
I suspect the computer area but I cut already, so it is costing for wires and some parts.
Then if it is not be fixed, I will replace the wine cooler. So Jade Refrigirator is not still fixed. It was expensive one,
Last year we asked a local technician to replace the computer board, it worked for a while, then we got a new tenant he was Chinese American, the day he came into the United, the refrigirator started to be damaged again.
I suspect possible remote attack against IC board area, or through the wire in BayArea. In fact, strange workers increased to make up stories a lot in 2015, 2016, so I try to stay away form unknown Japanese or bad Japanese now, then if I complain about how and what they are bad about in BayArea, then some of Japnese or people belong to or connect to those bad, but they attack our electronics, I could say they are aiming taking over USA or even individual businesses and they are terrorizing this way, but so sophisticated to use part of government or some public positions or sections. They could not do it all. why do they have to take over overseas, No thanks. Give us back our usual days, how could happen like that?