Sub-Zero 642 Side-by-Side

The machinery overhead

The condenser, its fan and the two compressors of a 642 are all under the top grille. The heat leaves the kitchen from up there, which keeps most cooling repairs clear of the panels and the kick plate.

Where it sits in the family

The 632, 642 and 685 share one layout, two doors side by side, and differ in width and features. The 632 is the 48-inch version; the 685 matches the 642’s 42 inches and adds ice and chilled water through the refrigerator door. Behind matching panels a 642 and a 632 differ only by six inches of width, and the model number on the tag settles which one is in the kitchen.

What it is called in for

The later 642 control keeps its own fault record. Stored codes sort into temperature sensors, the freezer defrost circuit, the ice maker’s fill valve and compressors that ran too long, and a technician reads them in Diagnostic Mode before testing parts. An early 642, built before serial 1810000, stores nothing, so the diagnosis starts from what the display shows and the temperatures it reports.

Each side has its own compressor, so one warm compartment beside a cold one is traced on that side alone. On the doors, the spring-loaded closures do the work of pulling each door onto its gasket; a door that no longer closes firmly needs its closure or adjustment looked at.