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THERMOSTAT IS SET ON COLDEST 7. FRIDGE IS ONLY COOL AND DEEPFREEZE IS OK. MOTOR RUNS FOR ABOUT 8 MINUTES AND SWITCHES OFF FOR ABOUT 15 MINUTES AT A TIME. THE PLATE IN BACK OF FRIDGE GETS A LIGHT LAYER OF ICE ON IT WHEN THE MOTOR RUNS. COULD IT NEED GAS OR COULD IT BE THERMOSTAT,
. HOW CAN I PROVE THE FAULT.
I have the same problem with my KIC 223L fridge. Also set on 7, but it just is not cold enough. I lost my booklet and wondered if 7 is the coldest.I have the same problem with my KIC 223L fridge. Also set on 7, but it just is not cold enough. I lost my booklet and wondered if 7 is the coldest.
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Start out with the easy stuff first...make sure the lights go out when you close the door(s), make sure the doors are closing properly and the gaskets are closing fully and not torn. Check to make sure the evaporator fan in the freezer is working, this fan blows the cold air around. If the fan is not working, possible bad fan motor - check for power to the fan motor and also check the fan switches around the door openings, ( if your fridge has these switches, not all do ). A common problem cropping up in the last several years has been the air damper not opening up and allowing the cold air from the freezer to be blown into the fresh food section ( mostly on SxS refrigerators ). For many years the air damper was manually operated and now we have motorized controlled or temperature controlled or thermistor and electronic boards controlling air dampers, and if this device sticks closed the FF section will normally warm up. An example picture of "one" style and an air damper ( called a diffuser by Whirlpool ). Next would be to check the condenser tubing, a good place to start is to make sure the condenser coils are not built up with dust!! Make sure the condenser fan motor is also working properly. Check for any "clicking on and off" noises from the compressor, is the compressor running. The most common fridge "not cooling" problem is a frost free failure. Remove the access panel in the freezer section to expose the evaporator coils. If the coils in the freezer section get plugged up with frost, this frost will block the evaporator fan motor from blowing the cold air around. The fan blade can also hit this frost and either become noisy or stop altogether. Locating the defrost timer can be tricky....they are often hidden behind the back bottom corners of the fridge at the bottom, in the last few years the timers have been located in the ceiling of the fresh food section, and some behind the cold control cover. Once you locate the defrost timer, slowly turn the screw like wheel in the middle of the defrost timer with a straight screwdriver until the fridge shuts off. You are now in defrost. If the defrost heater(s) comes on now, replace the defrost timer and defrost thermostat. If the heater(s) does not come on, you can ohm test the defrost heater for continuity or volt test for 120 volts to the heater(s). If you have no power to the defrost heater(s) you can also bypass the defrost thermostat to see if the defrost heater will come on, join the 2 wires together to bypass the defrost thermostat. If the heater now comes on, replace the defrost timer and defrost thermostat. If the heater itself is bad, defrost the fridge with a hair dryer, replace the defrost heater* and defrost thermostat. If the defrost timer seems "hot" to the touch or is noisy ( like a ticking or screeching noise )...replace it. Then make sure all the vents are clear and not being blocked by food cartons. One new safety device added to refrigerators in the last few years has been a in-line fuse added to both sides of the defrost heater. If one of these fuses let's go, you must replace the whole defrost heater, as it comes as an assembly. If the defrost heater does not work, you should check for one of these fuses being open. Check it with a volt meter or ohm meter. New link from Appliance Repair Aid on how the wiring circuit works for a frost free fridge, the link is here. On a frost free refrigerator, the cooling coils should be in the freezer section. On a SxS style refrigerator the coils will be behind a cover on the back wall. On a freezer on top style the coils could be behind the back wall or under the freezer floor. Removing the cover and exposing the evaporator coils could be a valuable tool. Seeing what the cooling coils looks like may help split your not cooling problem. Totally covered coils with white snow is a frost free problem. and the rest are bare is an indication of a system problem If you find this helpful, a vote with the thumbs up would be appreciated for the free advice
Sounds like the compressor starter is locked up and needs to be replaced. Or the thermostat is either stuck or the contacts have melted together and it will continue to run till replaced. You can unplug it for a while to see if cooling down will help but if not then you will have to use the plug as the on off switch till you get it replaced. Is the fridge cold? is there ice built up all over the coils, this also might cause the issue if the coils are froozen and the unit is running but not cooling. The freezer is what cools the fridge so if the fridge is not cool then there may be a problem with the coils.
Here are some trouble shooting tips.
Have you checked the cooling coils to make sure they are clean and air can flow through them? Are the coils in the freezer frozen up? full of ice?? Must have air from from freezer to cool refrigerator.
Make sure that if it has a "colder" knob in the freezer section that it is not set all the way over to coldest. This blocks all cold air entering the lower compartment when set this way. It actually has been eliminated on some models.
Also you may have ice buildup in the stack assembly that feeds the lower compartment or even a frozen upper compartment behind the back panel of the freezer limiting air flow to the lower compartment. Make sure to unplug unit if service is necessary in these areas. I hope this is helpful.
When the refrigerator side is getting too cold this is because the control of the compressor has gone bad in some way...
There a few different things that could cause the unit to lose control over the temperature of the fridge side.
If
your refrigerator has a damper door that opens and closes to allow cold
air to move to the fridge side the damper linkage or the damper motor
may have broken or gone bad.
The coils in your fridge may have
frozen over and now the air does not move at all so then the ice builds
up and can freeze parts of the fridge side.
The thermostat has
gone bad and so now the compressor runs continually. This will not be
noticed readily on the freezer side but will show up quickly on the
fridge side.
Many newer model refrigerators use an electronic
sensor or thermistor to read the temperature and supply the info for
the circuit board and often a digital readout.
So, here is how I would go about troubleshooting this problem.
Check
the coils for ice, defrost the coils with a heat gun or hairdryer, then
check for the reason why they iced over. Defrost control or defrost
timer bad? Evaporator fan bad?
Check the damper door to see if it is stuck in the open position. If it is then check the motor and the linkage.
Check
to see if the refrigeration unit will shut down if the thermostat or
digital setting is turned up to a higher temperature. If it continues
to run then find the cause and fix it. It may be a bad thermostat,
sensor, or control board.
Sometimes
with a change is weather to a cooler climate this will be enough to
also affect the inside temperatures. Make sure that a bit of adjustment
in the thermostat or setting of the temperature will not solve your
problem very simply.
it is possible that your fridge has developed a snag in its cooling system. what could be done from your end will be to first of all switch off the fridge for at least 8 hours. allow it to totally defrost. then switch on to see if the cooling returns. if so reduce the thermostat to 7 degrees and check. if the cooling returns then you will need to check for frosting inside due to failure of the thermostat or the auto defroster. if there is still no cooling then your gas has leaked, failureof the compressor, failue of the valves in the compressor could be suspected. Probe with these inputs. Good day
The evaporator coil behind the cover on the back
wall inside the freezer will ice up under normal conditions. Every 8 to 10
hours for around 20 minutes the defrost timer (or in most newer models the electronic
adaptive defrost control) will turn the defrost heater on to
melt the built up ice. There is a defrost thermostat which prevents the heater from
overheating the freezer by breaking the heater circuit when the temp reaches
close to 32 degrees F. The entire cooling system shuts off during the defrost
cycle and starts back when the timer advances through the cycle. If this ice is not melted it will continue to
build up until the air can’t flow over the coil to circulate the cold air
through the freezer and into the fridge. The temperature change in the fridge
is usually noticed first followed by the freezer. If the defrost thermostat is bad it can prevent the heater from
coming on OR it won’t turn the heater off when it gets too warm. It is clamped
to the evaporator coil at the top to sense the temp. If it appears to be
misshapen it is bad. With an ohm meter it should show continuity when
cold and none when warm. You can also bypass the thermostat to see if the
heater comes on then. If it does then you know the thermostat is bad and needs
replaced. The defrost heateris
located on the evaporator. It is in a tube which is at the bottom and can also
go up the sides of the evaporator. On some types you can see a burnt spot if
it’s bad. With an ohm meter it should show continuity from end to end when
disconnected from the wiring in the freezer. You can also test the wiring for
voltage when it’s in the defrost mode. If
you have a defrost
timer you
can test it. It can be located under the fridge behind the kick panel on the
front. Some are in the fridge with the controls at the top. You can turn the defrost timer till it clicks and everything shuts
down. The heater should now come on. If it does, replace the timer because that
means the timer is not running. If it
doesn't, check the heater and defrost thermostat. Turn the timer again till
everything starts back up to end the defrost cycle. If you have an adaptive defrost control instead of a timer,
replace it if the heater and thermostat test good. It is located in the fridge
with the controls in some models and on the back in others.
You could call for service. It is commonly possible that there was a loss of gas, or the thermostat is defective, or the compressor is weak. The refridgeration service man should be able to check for all of this.
I have the same problem with my KIC 223L fridge. Also set on 7, but it just is not cold enough. I lost my booklet and wondered if 7 is the coldest.
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