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My Father in law has a Top/Bottom Kitchen Aid model#KTRP20MDWH04 that the refrigerator section won't cool properly. I thought it was a defrost problem so I took it apart on Sat and evap is not frozen over. The timer and heater seem working properly. Freezer section is very cold. Evap fan is running and there is nothing blocking the diffuser but the fridge only gets down to 48F. The only thing I can think of is the cold control switch/thermostat? Suggestions? Thx in advance!
-J.K.L.
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Originally Posted by: JKLEE  My Father in law has a Top/Bottom Kitchen Aid model#KTRP20MDWH04 that the refrigerator section won't cool properly. I thought it was a defrost problem so I took it apart on Sat and evap is not frozen over. The timer and heater seem working properly. Freezer section is very cold. Evap fan is running and there is nothing blocking the diffuser but the fridge only gets down to 48F. The only thing I can think of is the cold control switch/thermostat? Suggestions? Thx in advance!
-J.K.L. JK, If you haven't yet checked. First check and make sure the light goes out when you close the fridge door. Check and make sure the door seals against the cabinet flange, all the way around the opening. Then remove and check the controls especially the air damper in the rear housing, if it not opening properly, fully, the air flow is reduced to the fridge, and it will warm up. Good Luck, :) :) :)
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I completely pulled the back and bottom panel in the freezer section out on Sat. I also pulled the control panel/diffuser panel out of the fridge section. There was definetly some ice build up in there so i cleaned that out. I was told that the door was left cracked by accident earlier in the week so i thought it may have just been running continuously. I thawed everything out on Sat and figured buy Sun afternoon it would be cooling properly. Not the case. On Sat i noticed some frost buildup on the top of the freezer section and a lot of condensation buildup on the top of the fridge section? When I called my father in law yesterday to see if it was working again he said there was a little frost buildup in the freezer again and he said "it seems to run all the time"?
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Originally Posted by: JKLEE I completely pulled the back and bottom panel in the freezer section out on Sat. I also pulled the control panel/diffuser panel out of the fridge section. There was definetly some ice build up in there so i cleaned that out. I was told that the door was left cracked by accident earlier in the week so i thought it may have just been running continuously. I thawed everything out on Sat and figured buy Sun afternoon it would be cooling properly. Not the case. On Sat i noticed some frost buildup on the top of the freezer section and a lot of condensation buildup on the top of the fridge section? When I called my father in law yesterday to see if it was working again he said there was a little frost buildup in the freezer again and he said "it seems to run all the time"? JK, That sounds more like an air leak, or a bulb is staying on. Have your father-in-law unscrew or remove the light bulbs, make sure the doors are cloded tight and see what happens in a couple of days. :) :) :)
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I checked the door switch and the seals last night and both are working just fine. I noticed that the air coming into the fridge section doesnt seem to be blowing that hard (is this normal?). It blows great ito the freezer section. It runs all the time b/c it never gets cold enough in the fridge so I though it might have ice blocking the flow. I turn the thermostat switch down to see if it would shut off but didn't until i got down to "off". I then pulled off the duct in the fridge that the air comes into. The styrofoam inside had a little frost on it but not enough to block it. I put a long probe thermometer in the duct coming into the fridge and it is around 38F. Why won't it get cold? Is it possible that the fan stopped blowing as hard as it used to? You would think it would just work or not?
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Originally Posted by: JKLEE I checked the door switch and the seals last night and both are working just fine. I noticed that the air coming into the fridge section doesnt seem to be blowing that hard (is this normal?). It blows great ito the freezer section. It runs all the time b/c it never gets cold enough in the fridge so I though it might have ice blocking the flow. I turn the thermostat switch down to see if it would shut off but didn't until i got down to "off". I then pulled off the duct in the fridge that the air comes into. The styrofoam inside had a little frost on it but not enough to block it. I put a long probe thermometer in the duct coming into the fridge and it is around 38F. Why won't it get cold? Is it possible that the fan stopped blowing as hard as it used to? You would think it would just work or not? JK, You're mostly correct, evaporator fan motors usually run or don't run on older units with 120 vac motors. The temperature in the tunnel should have been a lot colder than 38 dgrs. You're going to need to remove the back wall of the freezer compartment, and check for an even and complete frost pattern on the complete evaporator, check the evaporator fan for a proper high speed run, and check for a complete and proper defrost operation and drain. Make sure, the end of the thermostat temperature bulb has not been dislodged, and is in the airflow in the damper assembly. :) :) :)
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I have a refrigerator here at work that is almost identical to the one I'm trying to fix. I noticed that this one definetly feels like its blowing alot more into the fridge section like something might be blocking the flow. I was wondering if there was a valve or somethingin the tube going into the fridge. Looking at the parts breakdown of this model there is an insert #31 (part#AP3109023). What does this part do?
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Originally Posted by: JKLEE I have a refrigerator here at work that is almost identical to the one I'm trying to fix. I noticed that this one definetly feels like its blowing alot more into the fridge section like something might be blocking the flow. I was wondering if there was a valve or somethingin the tube going into the fridge. Looking at the parts breakdown of this model there is an insert #31 (part#AP3109023). What does this part do? JK, The air tunnel insert does two things, reduces the air flow, but increases the air velocity in the tunnel. I don't really see that being an issue, they've beeb there all this time without a problem. But, when you remove the rear freezer wall, you'll be able to check them for obstructions, deterioration, frost, ice, etc. :) :) :)
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