500 Series
Sub-Zero 500 Series (501–590)
The 500 Series is the Sub-Zero built-in family that uses lit dials inside the cabinet instead of a display: the 532, 542 and 561 side-by-sides, the 511 and 550 over-and-unders, the 501R and 501F columns, and the 590 with its door dispenser. With no codes to read, faults are traced by temperature and test. Sub-Zero Repair Redmond, (425) 905-2822.
Identify it
- Round lit dials numbered 1 to 10, mounted on a back wall or a panel inside the cabinet, and no digital readout anywhere.
- A three-digit model beginning with 5 on the plate at the top of the frame inside the door: 511, 532, 542, 550, 561, 590, 501R or 501F.
- A louvred grille over the doors, hiding one fan that cools the compressor area.
- On the 590 only, ice and chilled water dispensed through the refrigerator door.
- Controls
- Lit dials, 1 warmest to 10 coldest
- Factory presets
- About 38°F refrigerator, 0°F freezer
- Opening height
- 83 3/4 in.; 72 7/16 in. for the 501R and 501F
- Opening widths
- 29 1/2 in. (511) to 47 1/2 in. (532, 590)
- Door swing
- 130° on the side-by-sides, 590 and 501s; stop kit for about 90°
- Tag
- Top frame, inside the door
Dials instead of a display
Every 500 Series compartment is set with an illuminated dial, and where that dial sits depends on the model. On the 532, 542 and 561 the refrigerator dial is high on the back wall at the right, and the freezer dial is on the panel just above the ice drawer. The 511 and 550 put both dials on the refrigerator back wall near the top, refrigerator on the right and freezer on the left. Each 501 column has one dial on its back wall, top right, and the 590 keeps both inside the refrigerator on the left side.
A dial nudged by a tall bottle is the first thing worth ruling out. Sub-Zero allows a full 24 hours after any change for the cabinet to settle at the new setting.
How a 500 is diagnosed
Nothing is stored, so the fault is found the long way: a thermometer in each compartment against the presets, then the machinery behind the grille. One fan cools the compressor area and runs with either compressor. The refrigerator side defrosts in each off cycle; the freezer side defrosts on a timer. A freezer icing up while the refrigerator holds, or the reverse, points the search at one side of the unit.
On the 590, a master power switch behind the top grille cuts power to the whole unit, so a dead 590 has that switch checked before anything is tested.
Openings and doors
Finished rough openings run from 29 1/2 inches wide for the 511, through 35 1/2 for the 550, 561 and both 501s, and 41 1/2 for the 542, to 47 1/2 for the 532 and 590. The 532, 542, 561, 590 and 501s have doors that swing to 130 degrees, and an optional stop kit holds them near 90 where an island or a wall comes close. The 511 and 550 use a closing cam on the refrigerator door and a self-closing freezer drawer.
Parts on a line no longer built
The 500 Series is out of production. Whether a given dial, fan motor or defrost timer can still be had is answered once the fault has a name, against the model and serial, and never assumed when the visit is booked.
Models in the 500 Series
Asked on the phone
- Can parts still be found for a 500 Series?
- Some can, some cannot, and nobody can say which before the unit is diagnosed. The model and serial from the plate inside the door are what each part is checked against. Sub-Zero Repair Redmond, (425) 905-2822, names the failed part first, then looks for it.
500 Series that needs a technician?
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
