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Gene  
#501 Posted : Friday, August 7, 2009 6:06:31 PM(UTC)
Gene

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It's hard to say anything as long as it's working. Watch it closely and keep in touch.

Gene.
Chuckwagon  
#502 Posted : Monday, August 10, 2009 4:14:47 AM(UTC)
Chuckwagon

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Originally Posted by: Gene Go to Quoted Post
Most likely this is the culprit.

- The condenser fan motor Part number: AP3120994
Part number: AP3120994



Gene.


You were right! I replaced the fan and the fridge is working fine. Incidentally, the reason the fan went out is that the blades were rubbing against the plastic housing. I had to trim the fan blades slightly to provide good clearance. It also happened to my neighbor. It must be a wide problem. kenmore Elite No. 10670204990.

Thanks, Gene!
Gene  
#503 Posted : Monday, August 10, 2009 12:51:06 PM(UTC)
Gene

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I'm glad you were able to fix it. Thank you for the feedback and good luck with your refrigerator.

Gene.
Wendy  
#504 Posted : Monday, August 10, 2009 3:39:02 PM(UTC)
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Hi Gene. I hope that you can help me. I have a GE side-by-side TFX27FLB Yes it's a dinosaur but it has served me well for 23 yrs., so far. I noticed that my freezer was thawing my food and then my fridge section started to not cool. I pulled the unit away from the wall, and noticed that my condenser motor/fan wasn't working. Many months ago, I had purchased one from APP and decided now was the time to replace it. I hooked it up and it purrs like a kitten.

Well, now my freezer is working great, but my fridge will not get any lower than 55 degrees or so.

The fan is working in the freezer, ice dispenser works great, and no frost in sight. I can feel cold air traveling from the freezer into the fridge via some ducts but I can't get the temp to come down in the fridge. It's better than it was before I installed the new condenser motor/fan, but not cold enough.

Any suggestions??

Thank you!
Gene  
#505 Posted : Monday, August 10, 2009 3:53:07 PM(UTC)
Gene

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Wendy,

What is the exact temperature in the freezer?

What are the temperature settings?

Gene.
Wendy  
#506 Posted : Monday, August 10, 2009 4:21:13 PM(UTC)
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Gene,

The temperature settings are Freezer on C (middle setting according to my fridge book) and I set my fridge at middle setting, 5.

The temperature of the freezer is (don't know how long to leave my thermometer in to check, but) after 5 minutes, freezer is at 15 to 20 degrees. Fridge is between 55 and 60. Yeah, I lost all of my food. :)
pmatejcek  
#507 Posted : Monday, August 10, 2009 7:26:26 PM(UTC)
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Refrigerator is a big, old top-freezer Kenmore. Model number 363 898 4480 does not get a hit on the search here -- too bad for me! But patience and perseverance are paying off.

I have the classic failed-defrost system symptoms: Cold freezer, warm refrigerator. Exposing the evaporator showed very substantial frost/ice. There could have been more, and it could have been more dense, but the whole things was pretty much covered and obstructed.

I thawed it. I wish I had tested the defrost-ending thermostat first! Oh, well... I had to get the frost/ice out to get to one of the connectors on the heating coil -- it was obscured by a heavy blanket of hard frost.

To my surprise, the heating coil is good. The thermostat is hardwired -- no quick-disconnects or wire nuts. So far, I choose not to cut the wires to test it.

It took forever to find the timer. I read that some Kenmores have the timer in the icemaker. I couldn't find it anywhere else, and one of the thermostat leads goes to the icemaker, so I took the icemaker apart. No joy. Apparently the shared lead was just a neutral. I finally took the cover off of the 'control panel' in the back of the reefer, and there was the timer. There is a plugged hole in the face of that control panel. I always wondered about it, thought it weird. Now I know: pop out the plug and there's the timer shaft!

Having found the timer, I was able to confirm that the contacts that enable/disable the compressor work. I was not able to test the heater, because the thermostat was too warm. I decided to run the compressor for a while to chill the thermostat and see if the heater would heat. My thinking was that if I got no heat, then I'd cut the leads on the thermostat, hotwire it, and see if I got heat.

Lucky for me, I didn't let it get too cold. I ran the compressor for a while, then triggered the timer and waited. I opened the freezer and thought, "Gee, something smells hot." Yet the heater did not seem warm. But when I picked up the heater off the bottom of the freezer, there were melted spots in the plastic the length of the heater! Right, I hadn't actually re-installed the heater, just set it in the bottom of the freezer. One of two things must have happened: either I had not gotten the coil very cold, and so the thermostat opened quite soon, or the thermostat is defective, and opened prematurely. Either way, it was my good luck that I did not have a China Syndrome.

So where do I go from here? I see three probable culprits. The first is that the thermostat could be bad, opening at too low a temperature. My experience of snap-disc thermostats is not exhaustive, but I've never seen one fail that way in other applications. The second is that the timer is not running. I plan to test for this by supporting the heater on something that can take the heat, turning the timer until the compressor shuts off, and then waiting to see if the heater ever turns off. Too bad I don't know how long it's supposed to run! I'll give it 20-30 minutes, and I'll also try to observe the timer shaft for signs of rotation. The last option is that having my sister and her 8-year-old daughter with us for two days (which involved the refrigerator door being open a lot) overwhelmed the defrost cycle, and that all will be well now that I've thoroughly defrosted it.

If anybody is out there who knows, please answer any of my questions:
- is my logic logical?
- how long should I expect the timer to enable the heater?
- how often does this machine defrost?
- should I expect to be able to see the timer shaft turn?
- will I burn up the heater if I let it get good and hot, by running it for the full term of the defrost timer?

***Additional data a few hours later:
It appears that the timer shaft is turning. I wonder if the door might have been left ajar. If the evaporator is SERIOUSLY iced up, will it clear in one cycle? It's been really humid. If the door was left cracked, could it have loaded up too badly to correct itself in one or two days?


Thanks and best regards in advance,

Paul in East Troy
Gene  
#508 Posted : Monday, August 10, 2009 10:31:33 PM(UTC)
Gene

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Originally Posted by: Wendy Go to Quoted Post
Gene,

The temperature settings are Freezer on C (middle setting according to my fridge book) and I set my fridge at middle setting, 5.

The temperature of the freezer is (don't know how long to leave my thermometer in to check, but) after 5 minutes, freezer is at 15 to 20 degrees. Fridge is between 55 and 60. Yeah, I lost all of my food. :)


Wendy,

The freezer temperature looks too high, but 5 minutes is definitely not enough for proper reading. Leave the thermometer in the freezer for a few hours and post the result.

Gene.
Gene  
#509 Posted : Monday, August 10, 2009 10:42:43 PM(UTC)
Gene

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Paul,

Looks like the timer was stuck and did not switch to the defrost cycle. The heating circuit seams to be fine unless there was a loose connection which got fixed when you moved it. I would replace the defrost timer first.

The model number you posted does not come up. Verify and repost it.

Gene.
pmatejcek  
#510 Posted : Tuesday, August 11, 2009 3:07:07 AM(UTC)
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Gene,

The model number I posted agrees with the dataplate: 363 878 4480. I've just rechecked it again. According to Sears, the available timer is WR9X483. (Manufacturer authorized substitution: WR9X483 may differ in appearance, but is a functional equivalent to prior parts including WR09X0413.)

Paul in East Troy
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