Whirlpool Side by Side Defrost On
 

Came home to a completely defrosted freezer/refridgerator (fridge) after only being gone 3 days this winter. The water from the ice was even evaporated. House temp was 40-50 degrees and the fridge was very warm and smelled really bad. The fridge was working when we left and was full of frozen food including a turkey. Doors were closed. I'm assuming the defrost mode clicked on and stayed on as the fridge was warmer than the house. I've successfully repaired all of our appliances around the house over the years, but have never had to touch a fridge I have the schematic and could use a few hints as to where to start??? Thanks for any advice/direction.

House temp of 40-50°? The average fridge is designed to run in 70° house temp... If you lowered the house temps to save on energy while you were gone for any lengthy amount of time then your house temp affected your fridge thermostat to tell your fridge to run to maintain 0° in your freezer compartment... Has your fridge resumed normal operation since your return and you turned up the heat in the home??? If so, there's your answer... kooler

We heat with a wood stove so this is the norm when we leave for a few days. Never had it happen before. We had to throw out all the food and clean it out. I brought in the old fridge from the garage so I have not tried to plug it in yet. Will do and see if normal temps resume...

I'm of the opinion there's more wrong with this unit... Even in a 50° house your fridge would've ran some and at least kept the cooler side temp where it's supposed to be... You mentioned that you had food turn rancid in 3 days; I would suspect the compressor is not running at all on this unit... Listen for a clicking noise coming from underneath and behind the fridge after plugging it back in... This would indicate the compressor is trying to start but isn't... kooler