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christyhecht  
#1 Posted : Tuesday, December 22, 2015 10:03:23 AM(UTC)
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christyhecht

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I have a Whirlpool side-by-side fridge that's had some trouble in the past 2 years or so with the water line freezing. Until recently, when the water line froze, I'd be able to remedy the problem by thawing for an hour or so, and then pushing string trimmer line down the water line tube on the front of the fridge. A piece of ice 1.5-2 inches long or so would eventually be pushed out of the tube at the bottom corner of the freezer, where I had disconnected the water line. To be clear, with the water line disconnected down at the bottom corner of the freezer, when I push the water dispenser lever, the water would flow freely through the tube coming from the back of the fridge. So the water is being dispensed when I push the lever; it's just not making it up the tube and through the dispenser because of an ice blockage in the tube.

Recently, my usual fix hasn't worked. At least a half a dozen times in the last week or so, I've unblocked the line with string trimmer line, as before. I usually do this at night before going to bed. The next morning, so within 8 hours at the most, the line is frozen again. This has happened multiple times. I just cannot keep the line unfrozen.

Nothing has changed about the freezer, except the fact that I've turned the temperature up. So with 5 being the coldest setting and 1 being the warmest, my freezer is now at a 1 as I try to remedy this. As long as I've owned this appliance, the freezer has been kept at a 3 normally.

Please help! A pro on the chat line for APP suggested it might be the water valve? That the hose in the door itself shouldn't have any water in it at all? That didn't make a lot of sense to me, as all of my experience taking apart the water line to clear the blockage says that it does have water in it . . .
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denman  
#2 Posted : Wednesday, December 23, 2015 1:58:14 AM(UTC)
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denman

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Check the freezer temperature.
It should be in the 0 to 5 degrees F range.

Perhaps it is running too cold.
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christyhecht  
#3 Posted : Wednesday, December 23, 2015 11:34:45 AM(UTC)
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christyhecht

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I put a thermometer in my freezer that's usually outside, letting me know my local temperature. It's been in there for about 30 minutes, and it looks like I'm averaging about 2 degrees F, with 1 as my low.
christyhecht  
#4 Posted : Wednesday, December 23, 2015 12:24:59 PM(UTC)
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christyhecht

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Perhaps I shouldn't have posted a reply until I'd waited longer! I'll keep monitoring the temp, but it's been about 50 minutes since my last reply, and my freezer has gone down to I'd say a -2 F average, with a -3 F low. This is on the freezer's very warmest setting. So when a freezer is too cold, what does one replace? The thermostat?
denman  
#5 Posted : Thursday, December 24, 2015 2:00:22 AM(UTC)
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denman

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Here are your parts.
Parts for Whirlpool ED5FHAXVQ01 Refrigerator - AppliancePartsPros.com

The most likely culprit would be the main control thermostat (item 6 in section 10).
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christyhecht  
#6 Posted : Monday, January 4, 2016 5:14:14 AM(UTC)
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christyhecht

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Bad news. :(

I installed the new thermostat about a week ago. Prior to that time, the temp of the freezer (at the warmest setting) fluctuated from about -7 to -3. With the new thermostat installed, it now fluctuates from about -15 to -11. I tried turning the freezer to it's coldest setting, and that only made it about 2 degrees colder (about -17 to -13). So there's very little temperature variation from warmest to coldest freezer settings, and overall, the problem of the freezer being too cold just got worse with the new thermostat. Do you have any other ideas of what could be wrong?
denman  
#7 Posted : Tuesday, January 5, 2016 2:57:30 AM(UTC)
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denman

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[COLOR="Blue"] Do you have any other ideas of what could be wrong?[/COLOR]
All I can suggest is that you move the end of the thermostat's capillary tube towards where it would be colder. This then should raise the freezer temperature.
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christyhecht  
#8 Posted : Wednesday, January 6, 2016 5:47:29 AM(UTC)
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christyhecht

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So, perhaps take the tube out of the area where it's snapped in place, and allow it to stick out in front of the vent that's right there, for example? Additionally, the end of the tube is a little ways (1/2", or maybe as much as an inch) inside of the outer sheath. As in, it doesn't quite go all the way to the end of the sheath. I did it that way because my old thermostat was that way, and the video didn't specify. Please let me know if it not quite being to the end of the sheath might be contributing to the problem.

I briefly read something online about a freezer being too cold being caused by a baffle (if I remember correctly) being stuck open, rather than opening and closing periodically. Do Whirlpool freezers have a part like this?

Thank you!
denman  
#9 Posted : Thursday, January 7, 2016 2:00:52 AM(UTC)
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denman

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Yes your unit does have a baffle.
It is item 12 in section 02, they call it an air diffuser.
But yours is mechanical and is linked to the front controls by linkage arm item 20 in section 10.

The two controls do have some effect on each other.

Check the fresh food section temperature. If should be in the 36 to 40 degree F range.

I would leave the thermostat capillry tip in the tubing as the original was like this.

Moving the capillary tip to where it would be colder is a jiggery pokery fix as I cannot figure out what is actually going on with this unit.
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