Series · 600
Sub-Zero 600 Series (601R, 611, 632, 642, 650, 661, 685, 695)
This generation has an Electronic Control System: it reads both sections and displays each within one degree of the temperature you set. On every model except the 601F the panel sits in the refrigerator section.
Models in the series
| Model | Type | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 601R | All refrigerator | A single pair of warmer and colder pads |
| 601RG | All refrigerator with a glass door | — |
| 601F | All freezer | The control panel sits in the freezer on this one |
| 611 | Refrigerator over freezer | Full extension roll out freezer drawer |
| 611G | Refrigerator over freezer, glass door | — |
| 650 | Refrigerator over freezer | Door cam holds the door open near 120 degrees |
| 650G | Refrigerator over freezer, glass door | — |
| 661 | Side by side | Crisper dividers are fixed, not removable |
| 642 | Side by side | — |
| 632 | Side by side | — |
| 685 | Side by side with ice and water in the door | Bulk ice dispenser and a lit glasswell |
| 695 | Side by side with ice and water in the door | — |
What fails with age
| Assembly | How it shows |
|---|---|
| Condenser and the grille fan | Dust mats the fins and the machine bay loses its margin on a warm afternoon. One fan behind the grille cools that bay, and it runs whichever compressor is on. |
| Four sided door gaskets | The magnetic seal flattens where the door rests hardest, usually one lower corner, and frost returns to that same spot after every clear out. |
| Defrost on either side | The refrigerator side defrosts on each off cycle of its own compressor while the freezer runs an adaptive cycle, so one compartment can drift while the other holds. |
| Ice maker module | On 685 and 695 the chute and the auger join the list, and a bucket left standing lets the crescents fuse into one block. |
| Control centre and its board | Two sections are read and switched from one panel, so a display gone blank or a section that will not take a setting is a panel question first. |
Parts status
| Part | Supply |
|---|---|
| Door gaskets | The order placed most often on these cabinets. The profile follows the cabinet, so the plate decides it, not the series. |
| Fan motors | Generally still supplied. Which one you need depends on whether it sits behind the grille or inside a compartment. |
| Defrost heaters and sensors | Ordinary stock work on this generation rather than a search. |
| Control boards | Supply varies. A board may come as a later revision that replaces the original, which is normal and needs no change to the cabinet. |
| Dispenser and glasswell parts | The thin category. Bezels, chute covers and trim for the 685 and 695 are the items most often gone or superseded. |
What a visit involves
- 1Model and serial read off the plate before the tool bag is opened, because the 600 Series changed detail from model to model.
- 2Both compartments logged with a probe against their set points: the refrigerator adjusts across 34F to 45F, the freezer across minus 5F to plus 5F.
- 3Grille off, condenser and its fan cleaned down with a soft brush and a vacuum. The book for this line asks for that every three to six months.
- 4Which sealed system is at fault settled next, since the two sections run independently and only one of them may be the job.
- 5Band and figure put to you before a panel comes off or a part is ordered.
Repairs on this series usually land in these bands: Defrost circuit: heater, limit or thermistor$280–$610; Ice module, inlet valve or fill line$260–$750; Control board or user interface$390–$1,000. The figure inside the band is agreed before anything comes apart.
The same openings carry over to the BI cabinets that followed . Thirty years in, everything here comes back to the parts question . Defrost faults on this generation are freezer repair .
Follow-ups
- Is there a 680 or a 690 in the 600 Series?
- No. Sub-Zero's own use and care book for this line lists 601R, 601RG, 601F, 611, 611G, 650, 650G, 661, 642, 632, 685 and 695, and nothing numbered 680 or 690. The dispenser cabinets are the 685 and the 695. Read the plate to Sub-Zero Repair Service Denver on (720) 770-4189 and we will place it.
- Can one compartment be switched off while the other keeps running?
- Yes, on the combination cabinets: 611, 611G, 650, 650G, 661, 642, 632, 685 and 695. The book sets out a sequence at the control centre that disables one section and leaves two dashes in its place, and the same sequence brings it back. The all refrigerator and all freezer models have nothing to disable.
- What does the glass door version change about a repair?
- Not much mechanically. 601RG, 611G and 650G carry a triple pane, UV resistant door and can keep a subdued interior light on with the door shut, which the panel switches off. The parts that differ are the door itself, its seal and that lighting option, so the glass changes the door work rather than the cabinet behind it.
Checked against
- Sub-Zero Built-In Refrigeration Use and Care Information The twelve model drawings, the Electronic Control System, adaptive defrost and the three to six month condenser interval.
- Sub-Zero serial tag locations Which door the plate is behind on an over and under, a side by side and an all refrigerator cabinet.
- Sub-Zero model number key What the G suffix and the other letters after a Sub-Zero number stand for.
Two ways in, and nothing to fill in
Give us the model number and what the cabinet is holding. That is usually enough to know which circuit is at fault before anyone is dispatched — and which parts belong on the van.