What is this component?

Hello! This metal box is at the back of a small 6-can mini-fridge (40W on DC power) below a thermal-electric module (TES1-12704) and heatsink. It has a power line running to/from it and four screws on the inside of the fridge, but I'm not sure what it is. Any idea what this metal box component is?

Bonus question:
This mini fridge, Gourmia GMF-600W, is no longer getting cold enough. I replaced a broken AC to DC transformer (shown at the bottom) with an external 12V-10amp power supply because - after my wife turned it off and cleaned it with a dust blower - the LED power indicator started faintly blinking, the fan wouldnt start, and the transformer was only outputing 1~2V at intervals. The fridge is rated for 45W on AC power and 40W on DC so this power supply should be sufficient. The thermal-electric module is definitly cooling because the very back of the fridge is cold, but not the air inside. I'm not sure what else could be causing the problem except the (unknown) metal box. Thoughts?

Thank you very much for your time!

I think it's just a lump of aluminium to conduct the cold through to the inside of the fridge. If the thermo-electric module were directly on the outside of the inner wall of the fridge, the insulation would have to be thin for the whole area of the heatsink, which would make the fridge less effective.

As Diver says, it's just a metal block.

The part attached to the underside is a small fixed-temperature thermostatic switch; a similar style to this one, but obviously a rather different operating temperature.

A peltier cooler also relies on very good cooling and airflow on the "hot" side; the cooler that side stays the cooler the cold side can get.
(They are a heat pump, moving heat from one side to the other and not "creating cold").

Zterlizzese said:

The thermal-electric module is definitly cooling because the very back of the fridge is cold, but not the air inside. I'm not sure what else could be causing the problem except the (unknown) metal box. Thoughts?

Thank you very much for your time!

Click to expand...

The back of the fridge as in the outside of the fridge ? The outside should be hot and the inside cool with a peltier. If you have the polarity wired incorrectly to the Peltier element, you will be warming the inside of the fridge instead of cooling it.

This is a semiconductor module with cooling on one side and heat dissipation on the other side
Best wishes