Re: Alleged benefits?
Quite right, can you be more specific about the blinkenlight? I helped swap a MB on a fridge and the symptoms were very similar.
Also a common problem seems to be failed start capacitors on the compressor/motor unit.
Freon leaks are thankfully rare these days unless someone went cleaning ice out with a machete.
I did look into running certain items off a salvaged UPS with a couple of recycled bicycle SLAs as these are sometimes perfectly good if long charged from solar after a bit of reconditioning: worked for me.
Procedure here was after measuring it at 7.8V and less than 20mA available run it down to nothing through a 100 ohm 5W power resistor then slowly charge it for several weeks off a 12V 500mA solar panel during the hottest part of summer with periodic disconnections to test.
This worked well, full voltage and enough capacity to run a B/W TV for several hours.
Don't bother taking these apart, it won't help. Think the "depleted acid" variety have no available free oxygen so normal room air poisons the chemistry quite effectively. Old style lead acids are less fussy but aren't suitable for a domestic environment due to H2 production and other nasties like H2S if not charged properly.
Note if the SLA in question has bulged or split he is dead, Jim.
E-bike ones are good as the reputable makes are already optimized for high current use and better manufacturers even add thermal cutouts.