Compressor not working

Hi, The compressor is taking a few tries to start...the capacitor is probably bad...this does not give the compressor the kick it needs to get started...
There are many reasons why a dehumidifier willnot work or collect water.
Here is a tip that I wrote to help people to figure out what is going wrongwith their dehumidifier

Dehumidifier is running but no water is in bucket

heatman101

make sure the coils are clean both evaporator and condenser,then if there is a capacitor in the motor circuitry,check this,finally if the coils frost,then clear up and frost and clear up time and again,this is a sign of low refrigerant R134a,and this also will make the compressor run hot

it sounds like the compressor is trying to start. if it hums and clicks then either the compressor relay or the compressor is bad. find the compressor and tap on the relay cover with the end of a screw driver. if it starts then change the relay

the compressor has an internal overload to protect it from overheating. the compressor is cooled by the refrigerant passing over it. It could be a bad compressor,, bad charge of refrigerant, or simply dirty coils not allowing air movement

sounds like the compressor is seized.

If the fan runs, the only thing left in your case looks like the defrost control. Sorry I don't have my user ID and password for their service site here at home. I can look up a part number for you tomorrow if you'd like.

When you push the power button, the blower fan comes on. In a few minutes you should hear a second "click"--that is your compressor starting. Do you hear that second click?

The compressor is located in the rear bottom on the right side looking at the machine. After you press the start button and the blower fan comes on, bend over near the back of the unit and listen for the "click".

before you go to fix it, what is the setting it is at? What is the tempurature of the room it is in? If the setting has been satified the unit has done it job and if it is too cold in the room it will not operate properly either.
Sgt 48

I just picked one up at a tag sale, seller said it worked sometimes. Seems to have the same problem as yours. I took the time to tweak all of the connections and then re-soldered the control board with no luck. I finally disconnected the humidity control and it worked fine. By disconnecting the humidity control the unit defaults to it's highest setting and you have to unplug the unit to turn it off. Conclusion so far is that the humidity control rheostat is bad.
Note: Now while running the fan runs continuously and the compressor cycles on and off every 10 to 15 minutes. This may to be normal since the unit appears to be doing its job and I'm not sure how it is supposed to run since a purchased it broken.

Try gently tapping the compressor a few times -use a wooden stick or similar to avoid damage -sometimes that is all that's needed. There are however many other possible reasons for a compressor not to start - most have their own fuse/controller assembly (sometimes this is very obvious inside the case, often a car spade type fuse which is worth checking visually), and there are cut-outs that will stop the compressor if it is low on gas, although usually it will start first for a few seconds if this is the case. Sorry, but the (www.maytagair.com) website is down at the moment, but try it again later and you should find their troubleshooting and support is good. Hope this helps :)