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+--- Thread: OT: Fridge woes. Freezer seems to be working. But not fridge. =( (/showthread.php?tid=91273)
Re: OT: Fridge woes. Freezer seems to be working. But not fridge. =( - jdc - 01-16-2010
thanks so far everyone
I cant really roll the fridge out without scratching my hardwoord floors, but I did pull it out about 6" or so and theres nothing behind it dirt-wise -- the rest is totally sealed
there is a small "vent" at the top of the fridge, about the size of a business card, its wide open.
behind that is a temp sensor... wonder if its jacked?
sears can come and look at it for $70, or $250 if I do the "all parts an labor covered" thing -- I dont think its the compressor since the freezer is on and running, blowing cold air.
heading over to davesters link now
Re: OT: Fridge woes. Freezer seems to be working. But not fridge. =( - Bill in NC - 01-16-2010
A funny (gross) tale:
http://applianceguru.com/forum11/5199.html
Re: OT: Fridge woes. Freezer seems to be working. But not fridge. =( - modelamac - 01-16-2010
Blocked vent is far less likely than excess frost in freezer, except with a bottom freezer.
I will bet there is frost on the back wall (lower half) of the freezer compartment.
I think you have a frost build-up behind that freezer wall due to a failure in the auto-defrost function. There are 3 components in the defrost system: Heater, defrost thermostat (both behind the freezer wall) and a defrost timer (may be in form of circuit board). Only one has failed, but you need all 3 working to avoid your problem.
Temporary cure (will last for 2-3 weeks, maybe more, during winter months):
1. Turn off fresh food control. It is not necessary to unplug refrig.
2. Buy a bag of ice and put in the fresh food side. Treat it as a large camping cooler.
3. Take all food from freezer and store it elsewhere.
4. Leave freezer door open for 24-36 hours.
5. After time expires, turn refrig on and set both controls in the middle range.
6. Now find a reliable repairman that you will call when it happens next time, or fix the problem yourself.
On 90% of today's units, the Freezer control merely opens/closes a "door" or baffle, letting more/less air into fresh food side, from freezer. Turning the freezer control to the highest setting stops almost all of the air from getting into the fresh food. DUMB!!!
When a refrig suddenly doesn't cool as it has been, changing the control settings is useless. Do you think it has suddenly forgotten what it is to do? Swinging a chicken over your head is just as effective.
The fact that performance has deteriorated is a sign that something has failed. The OP said freezer works, refrig does not. Problem: air circulation isn't happening, since ALL cooling takes place in the freezer. The Refrig side is a parasite, completely dependent on the freezer to supply cold air.
Re: OT: Fridge woes. Freezer seems to be working. But not fridge. =( - deckeda - 01-16-2010
Parasites! They'll do it every time.
Re: OT: Fridge woes. Freezer seems to be working. But not fridge. =( - GGD - 01-17-2010
With a Kill-A-Watt hooked up to a fridge you can really see what it's doing if you study it for a while when it's working normally.
On mine, I can see the defrost cycles kick in, it will be totally silent but drawing about 600-700 watts, that will be followed by the compressor kicking in at it's max power draw and will gradually decrease as the temp cools.
The ice maker also has some interesting power characteristics, seems like there must be a heater to help get the ice out of the tray because there is a large power spike just before it dumps the ice.
Re: OT: Fridge woes. Freezer seems to be working. But not fridge. =( - davester - 01-17-2010
jdc, the vent we're talking about is inside the fridge, not outside. There should be two air vents inside the fridge compartment. One of them has a fan that blows freezer air into the fridge. The other is simply a vent that allows air to flow back to the freezer. If one of them is blocked by food or ice/frost, or that fan isn't working, then the fridge won't get cold. A blockage could be due to food on top of a vent or ice due to failure of a defrost heater. The fan could either fail directly or the thermostat that turns it on could have gone kaput. There isn't much else to go wrong. Also, how is your freezer door seal. If it leaks then you can get excess frost in there which causes icing up (and costing you a ton of money in extra electricity bills).
Re: OT: Fridge woes. Freezer seems to be working. But not fridge. =( - space-time - 01-17-2010
Bill in NC wrote:
A funny (gross) tale:
http://applianceguru.com/forum11/5199.html
DO NOT READ THIS THREAD!!!!
I told you.
Re: OT: Fridge woes. Freezer seems to be working. But not fridge. =( - BernDog - 01-17-2010
space-time wrote:
[quote=Bill in NC]
A funny (gross) tale:
http://applianceguru.com/forum11/5199.html
DO NOT READ THIS THREAD!!!!
I told you.
My dad is a building inspector in our town. All the inspectors used to take turns doing all of the gov't subsidized rental properties. He'd always bring home the "best" pictures. At first they were shocking. The worst were actually worse than anything in that thread. After a while, they all started to look the same. He always said summer was the worst. He'd get home and have to strip down and take a "shower" with the garden hose before he came in the house. It's amazing how some people live, and it's surprising where they live and how close to you they may be. I'd venture a guess that there's at least one house like that in every neighborhood in the country...every neighborhood.
Re: OT: Fridge woes. Freezer seems to be working. But not fridge. =( - cbelt3 - 01-17-2010
Grosss stuff... nah. Been there. I worked summers during college as a maintenance man / super for an apartment management company. Mostly "B" and "C" apartments in the hlllbilly havens and 'hoods.
My two fave calls of all time were in the same apartment building in the 'hood.
#1- Was being met at the door by a very naked, very stoned, and very horny approx 500 lb woman. Who proceeded to pat my 19 year old ass as I fixed her dishwasher, and make all kinds of suggestions. Fortunately I have a strong resistance to puking.
#2- Was opening the door with the pass key after knocking and calling "Maintenance" for about 3 minutes, walking in carrying my bag o tools, and having a .38 stuck in my face by a hopped up junky screaming 'yo de cops ?'. I calmly explained that I wasn't and stated that I was going to come back another day when it was 'more convenient'. And backed out of the apartment, closed the door slowly, and then ran and called the cops. Fortunately I had used a bathroom just before that call, so I didn't pee myself. Unfortunately the management docked me for the hour I sat on the floor in the manager's office calming down.
Don't even get me started on cleaning out the abandoned apartments that hillbillies had lived in with their kids and dogs and whatnot. I swear one set had a herd of pigs living there too... I had to use a shovel to scoop out the feces.
Re: OT: Fridge woes. Freezer seems to be working. But not fridge. =( - jdc - 01-17-2010
thanks everyone, will post a Follow Up later...