Whirlpool Model ED2FHEXSS00
Purchased July 2006 (seven years old now)

Very grateful for this excellent forum and members, especially resident experts such as denman, Gene and others.

Following is our problem:

Suddenly the refrigerator is not as cold as it should be and we noticed several things have spoiled for the first time ever.

Measured temperature with a thermometer last night; refrigerator was ~ 45 degrees and freezer ~ 3 degrees with sliding temperature control set slightly past middle setting but less than 3 (4 is maximum).

Checked gasket, and vacuumed dust from coils underneath unit and set controls at 3 for both freezer and refrigerator near midnight last night.

This morning the refrigerator was ~ 40 degrees and may have read just under 40 for an instant but once the door was opened the first time it has hovered between 41-43 all day, and anytime the door is opened it quickly reaches 44 and more. The freezer has been near zero throughout the day.

I noticed a slight drip and moisture from the vent in the upper left rear corner of refrigerator at the air inlet where the air comes from the freezer and unscrewed and removed the covers in both sections to check for ice but did not see any buildup; the air flow from this vent isn't strong but since I don't know what it should normally be I don't know whether this is the problem.

I did not remove the back panel from inside the freezer but could see the few coils visible from the bottom slots had much more than a thin coating of snow on them so I defrosted them quickly with a hair dryer.

Also, is there a fan behind this panel? I don't know if what I'm hearing is the compressor and it's fan, and/or if there is another fan behind this panel to help direct air flow to the refrigerator, and if there is a fan whether it is working or not.

From other problems I've read about, I'm wondering if the problem is with the damper, defroster, fan, or any number of other things?

Sorry for the long post; just trying to provide as much information as possible to help with troubleshooting.

Any help and/or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you very much.

Richappy,

Thanks for your response.

I will remove the back freezer panel and check the evaporator fan; I will be so happy if that is the problem as it should be simple to replace.

Just so I know beforehand, should I be able to hear this fan normally and/or with everything assembled?

Many thanks again, and I will let you know how it goes.

You have provided no info why the fridg failed. One possibility is the defrost thermostat is becoming intermittent. I would just replace it, most probable problem. If you have a manual cold control, it may have stuck temporarily, just turn it back and forth to free it up.

You can tell us what is running/not running when it fails again. You could also drop the control panel and spray the mechanical cold control with non-residue contact cleaner available at Wall Mart. Just spray externally and move the slide back and forth.