refrigerator problems

In addition to cleaning the condenser (always a good idea), if this is a two door refrigerator let it sit unplugged and with the door open for a day. A common fault of some designs is the evaporator in the refrigerator section will freeze up. There are other issues with the 'end of defrost' sensor failing, and an open defrost heater. Some designs use a single evaporator and a fan to move air between freezer and refrigerator sections. As a general rule of thumb, if the freezersection gets cold enough to freeze ice cubes, and there are no mechanical problems (bad hinges, etc), it is repairable.

has a large inventory of free service manuals for appliances as well as electronics; the model number would be necessary to locate that.

PlainBill

If the freezer gets down to 0F, then the compressor and cooling system is ok, it's a problem of distributing the cold. The first thing that comes to mind is the fan(s). It's also possible that ice built up somewhere in the air flow passage. After letting it sit out for a day or two with the door open so everything has a chance to completely defrost, plug it back in and see how it works.

snipped-for-privacy@yawhoo.com wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

the fridge also needs to have the DUCTS between freezer and lower compartment clear,that's how the "cold" gets into the lower section. It's possible dust or something else clogged them up.they use circulating fans to move cold air between freezer and lower compartment.

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Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
localnet
dot com

On the frost free Whirlpool I've been keeping going for years, the thermostat sets the refrigerator section temperature.

The freezer temp control works the opposite of what I first expected. The freezer section temperature is set by a baffle. (There's one internal fan at the cooling coils in the freezer section and a duct to the refrigerator section). If the baffle control is set to wide open, the refrigerator section gets cooled down as quick as possible, so the compressor runs the minimum amount of time (and the freezer ends up at a warmer temperature).

To lower the freezer temperature, the control blocks off the air flow so the compressor needs to run longer to cool down the refrigerator section, and the freezer gets colder as a side effect.

If it's not a frost free,

1. check the door seal
2. ice makes a good insulator

Other suggestions out of the Whirlpool "Do It Yourself" repair book are checking the air ducts, and making sure the light goes out, making sure the refigerator isn't in too warm a location, and after all that, it might be the thermostat.

Mark Zenier snipped-for-privacy@eskimo.com Googleproofaddress(account:mzenier provider:eskimo domain:com)

We had the same symptoms twice, with a GE side-by-side.

The first time, the defroster element had failed, and the repairman put in a heavy-duty element, for free, under a secret warranty. (Enough had failed where GE realized they needed to redesign the part, but they were not about to pro-actively contact any owners.)

The second time, the refrigerator door had sagged to the point where the light stayed on all the time, because the door no longer actuated the switch when it closed. I noticed the butter melting in its top door compartment, and feared the defroster element had failed again. The repairman simply took out a socket wrench and ratcheted the fridge door upwards.

I have a tip. Maybe the fat bastard shouldn't be opening and closing it so often.

Not mentioned here but I have had the fan that circulates the cold air around in the refrigerator fail several times. One time the motor bearing seized up so the fan would no longer run. Another time the motor shaft to impeller coupling failed the blades simply sat still while the motor ran free. Both fixes were straightforward.

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Michael Karas
Carousel Design Solutions
http://www.carousel-design.com

A lot of good ideas. I'm going to look a bit further. Thanks everyone. Lenny BTW he may be fat but you're stupid. He can go on a diet. What the f*ck can you do?