We have a fridge that almost works and an exasperated local repairman.
Here’s our history: On June 2 , our 8 year old Kenmore Elite (side by side) suddenly went warm (about 70 degrees) on the fridge side only. While I’d normally troubleshoot it myself, I am very busy with work so we called a repairman who came the next day. He determined the baffle was not working so he replaced it. While the flow returned a bit, the fridge did not fully cool below about 55 in 24 hours.
He came back the next day and discovered that the part failure had caused a frost build up preventing proper airflow. He defrosted it manually and the fridge dropped within a day to about 40 degrees, right at the spoilage point for our food. Turning up the cold setting to the maximum 7 does not alter the refer temperature and the compressor does cycle on and off.
Our repairman has been very nice, returning 6 or 7 times every few days since trying to figure out why our previously perfectly running fridge now only cools to 40-41 degrees. We bought a good thermometer that he’s verified is giving us accurate temperature readings. He’s told us the freezer is also running several degrees too warm.
Since replacing the baffle our repairman on subsequent visits:
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Unplugged and reset the defrost system and moved the defrost thermostat (maybe sensor?) to a new location on the coils, saying this was a factory recommended change.
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Tapped into the freon system suspecting a leak but found the system normal.
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Replaced both refer and freezer thermisters.
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Replaced the main control board.
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This morning (July 2) he spent 3 hours going through the whole system. Finding nothing new, he replaced a fan (not sure which) with a higher velocity model that he said was a known possible weakness with this model that may have been causing a problem.
He told me he’s out of ideas and options if this doesn’t work. Tonight our fridge is running at 42 degrees on a setting of 4 so I just turned it up to 7 hoping to make it through the 4th of July weekend.
Has something obvious been missed? Do we give up and buy a new refrigerator?
Measure the temperature at the back of the freezer and post.
Fridge = 40 degrees
Freezer = -8 degrees
Ran all night on the following settings:
Fridge = 7
Freezer = 5
I woke up to it running so it may not be cycling off running on 7.
You have an obvious airflow problem, refrigeration system fine. Either you have a lower air return blockage,or your evaporator fan is running too slow.
richappy said:
You have an obvious airflow problem, refrigeration system fine. Either you have a lower air return blockage,or your evaporator fan is running too slow.
The lower air return is completely clear. The higher RPM fan installed yesterday may have been the evaporator fan. He told me it was to improve air flow.
I just put the thermometer up in front of the air diffuser on the refrigerator side. After about 10 minutes the thermometer was frosty when I opened the refer door and it read about 20+ degrees.
I moved it to the middle of the second shelf for about another 15 minutes and the thermometer reads 41 degrees.
I’m grateful for any other ideas.
Did you check the bottom of the door for a broken gasket? Also, did you check that the light bulb turned off when you closed the door?
Just noticed your temperature of + 20 degrees at the damper door is too high, should be lower.
I just inspected the gasket and it appears to be pristine.
I pressed the button with the door open and the light shuts off.
richappy said:
Just noticed your temperature of + 20 degrees at the damper door is too high, should be lower.
The thermometer is mechanical so it may not have reached true temp in 10 my minute or so test. I’ve returned it to that position for a longer test:
After 30 minutes temperature a couple of inches from damper door is 22 degrees.
For a normally functioning evaporator, I usually measure zero to 10 degrees with my digital wire thermometer, a failing system would be around 22 degrees. You probably have weak airflow into the fridg section.
Any ideas what would to check that would cause a weak airflow?
Without any resolution, I’m playing detective:
- I noticed the face of the door between the fridge and the freezer is warm.
- In checking the compressor, I found it really hot to the touch.
Are these helpful symptoms or just the result of the fridge running at max setting to keep it at 40 degrees?
Check the evaporator motor, it might be running backwards. It must turn the fan blade in the proper direction to cup the air and force it out at high speed.
richappy said:
Check the evaporator motor, it might be running backwards. It must turn the fan blade in the proper direction to cup the air and force it out at high speed.
Opened the freezer back and the evaporator fan is moving a good airflow in the proper direction. Frost pattern on the coils is uniform and very light. No ice at all. I disassembled all the way up to the diffuser into the fridge and there were no obstructions.
I noticed the baffle directs some air to the ice maker and some to the diffuser. The freezer has continued good ice production. Does this indicate adequate air flow at least on the freezer side?
Any other ideas??
richappy said:
For a normally functioning evaporator, I usually measure zero to 10 degrees with my digital wire thermometer, a failing system would be around 22 degrees. You probably have weak airflow into the fridg section.
Checked the temp right at the diffuser again last night and may have given a false reading.
After about 45 minutes directly in front of the diffuser, the thermometer read 22 degrees. As I picked it up to move it I bumped it and it dropped to 10 degrees. In a month of use, I’ve never seen the thermometer change reading as I moved it. Is it possible that my mechanical thermometer stuck at 20 degrees and gave a false reading due to being directly in the air flow?
Clean the condenser coils and check the condensing fan, something is wrong here.
richappy said:
Clean the condenser coils and check the condensing fan, something is wrong here.
Welcome to my world! I really appreciate your help figuring out what is wrong
Condenser coils are cleaned regularly, and were cleaned well at the start of this fiasco. I cleaned them again over the weekend when I was doing my own inspection.
The repairman did say on his first visit that the condenser fan wasn’t drawing well so he tweaked the fan blades for better flow. The fan is doing a good job pulling air away from the coils and compressor, pushing air out over the defrost water collection tray (from the defrost cycle). Is this the correct direction of air flow?
You just might have a worn compressor. To confirm, I would get a good thermometer and measure the evaporator temperature coming out of the top of the evaporator, should be between zero, and 10 degrees; if not, either you have contaminated refrigerant, a weak compressor, or insufficient charge. If you listen to the compressor running, and you hear unusual noises periodically, that is either non-compressable air, or the compressor periodically failing.
richappy said:
You just might have a worn compressor. To confirm, I would get a good thermometer and measure the evaporator temperature coming out of the top of the evaporator, should be between zero, and 10 degrees; if not, either you have contaminated refrigerant, a weak compressor, or insufficient charge. If you listen to the compressor running, and you hear unusual noises periodically, that is either non-compressable air, or the compressor periodically failing.
No unusual compressor noises. Repairman drained serviced and recharged the system 24 hours ago. No change or improvement.
What is a ‘weak compressor’ and what are the chances a compressor replacement will fix it?