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Hi,
About 10 days ago we noticed that the ice cream in the freezer was soft. Everything else seemed frozen solid. Also, as far as we could tell the fridge was fine. We thought we left the (bottom) freezer drawer slightly ajar. The next day the ice cream was properly frozen and we thought all was fine.
A few days later, we noticed that the ice seemed to have thawed and then frozen back in a solid clump. We dumped the ice and the next day there were proper cubes in the ice tray.
Today we noticed that the compressor didn't seem to be making any noise, including no compressor fan noise. This time, both the fridge and the freezer were warmer than normal.
I removed the rear compressor cover and confirmed that the fan was not running, and neither was the compressor which was cool. I turned the thermostats off and then back on to the highest settings in both the fridge and freezer. As of right now, the fan is running and the compressor also seems to be running and it is hot to the touch.
(Probably unrelated but, beginning several months ago the ice maker would intermittently stop producing ice until I moved the stop bar up to the off position for a while and then moved it back down.)
About 2 years ago, the compressor on this fridge failed and was replaced.
What are the most likely problems that would cause this behavior?
Thank you very much,
Sup
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Here are your parts Parts for Whirlpool KBRA20ELSS00 Refrigerator - AppliancePartsPros.comSee the attachment for the tech sheet. As you can see the evaporator (freezer) fan, the condenser (compressor) fan and the compressor are all wired in parallel so when one of them is on they all should be on. They are controlled by the main temperature thermostat and the defrost timer. Therefore when in defrost, they are all off. Also when the unit is at set temperature they are all off. Since you were able to get it running by adjusting the thermostat odds are that the thermostat needs replacing. |
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Hi Denman,
The part that I adjusted was the temperature control. Do you suspect the temperature control itself or the defrost thermostat?
Thank you very much,
Sup
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[COLOR="Blue"]Do you suspect the temperature control itself or the defrost thermostat?[/COLOR]
The temperature control is the likely culprit.
FYI: All the defrost thermostat does is turn off the defrost heater.
The defrost cycle is a set time but if all the ice is melted off the evaporator coils, the defrost thermostat shuts off the heater so that you do not get excessive heat into the freezer compartment. The defrost cycle then continues with the heater off until it times out and switches back to cooling mode. |
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Hi Denman, I removed the temp control and tested it with an ohm meter. The control tested 0 at coldest and infinity when off. Here's a weird thing, before I removed the control I turned it back and forth a bunch of times and it did not make any clicking noises. Immediately after I removed the control, it clicked each time in both directions. Before I removed the control the fridge was completely dead. After I reinstalled the control the compressor, etc. kicked on immediately. Does this still point to a bad temp control? Thanks again, Sup
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[COLOR="Blue"] Does this still point to a bad temp control?[/COLOR]
I think so.
It was the only thing you messed with and then all of a sudden things work.
I would replace it.
These things can do all sorts of weird and not so wonderful things. |
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Hi Denman, Replacing the temp control has fixed my fridge! Thank you so much! Sup
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You are welcome
And thanks for getting back to us. Now when others search for a similar problem they will see what actually worked instead of just suggestions about what could be the cause. |
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This scenario is almost identical to mine. Right down to the part where the freezer stopped making ice. We had everything in the freezer (bottom drawer) defrost twice and thought it was because the kids weren't shutting the drawer. Eventually, we just stopped using the freezer and used a chest freezer from the garage. Then the fridge slowly began to loose it's cool. Our food is going bad quickly and we have had a couple different people suggest that we replace the temperature control. Please advise on how this can be done.
Model number: KBRC36MHS01
Unit is 10+ years old
Kitchen Aid Architect series with a drawer freezer
Bobbi JO
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bobbijo
Your unit is very different from the one in this post.
It will be best for you to start your own post as adding to this one will just confuse things.
Include the model number, the symptoms and anything that you have to do to get the unit running.
The below info may also be helpful in your post.
Also have you checked the freezer and fresh food temperatures with a thermometer?
Is the problem consistent or intermittent?
Have you tried a colder freezer setting?
If yes, did it have any effect?
If yes what were the readings?
Is it always too warm?
Are the compressor, condenser/compressor fan and evaporator/freezer fan running?
Also are they on all the time or do they cycle?
Have you checked/cleaned the condenser coils?
I can tell you that the thermostat is in the control console but I do not know the steps required to replace it. |
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