[fixitdad]

My Whrilpool side-by-side Frig is not working properly. I have noticed that I have very little air movement from the defuser. When the freezer door is closed almost nothing, however when the freezer door is open the air movement increases dramatically. The fan in the freezer is running and I have found no blockage in the channel up to the defuser. I have the freezer set at the lowest setting and the frig at the coldest. Any suggstions?

[magician59]

Do you see a frost build-up on the freezer wall (the evaporator cover)?
If so, you probably have a defrost problem.

[fixitdad]

I have a small amount of frost build-up on the interior but really nothing along the back wall where the coil is located. What should I look for first? Defrost thermostat?

Would that keep the compressor from coming on? I have not heard to try to run yet.

Thanks for the help.

[richappy]

Pull freezer back panel and describe frost pattern. If solid frost, defrost evaporator coils with a hair dryer, replace back panel and measure freezer and fridg. temperatures and post.

[fixitdad]

I think I found the problem. After I took the back cover off for the 4th time I finally seen the return air cavity in the lower right hand corner. It was frozen solid. So I used a hair dryer to defrost it quicker and now I have cold air coming from the deffuser. I'm going to let it run tonight and make sure that the problem goes away. I did check the defrost heater and the defrost thermostat and both were OK. However I never did find a defrost timer. Does my model not have one? If not how does it determine when to defrost?

Hopefully tomorrow morning I have a cold frig.

Thanks for the help.

[richappy]

You might have other problems, measure freezer back panel and refrigerator temperatures and post.