i have a kitchen aid side by side and last week i noticed a burning smell from behind the fridge and soon after the unit didnt cool anymore.
The fan still runs but no coldness at all.
I did some checking online and I thought to start small so i looked at the overload that plugged into the compressor. when i took it off i noticed the end of the blue wire connector is burnt and the overload has the smell of burnt plastic. Would it be safe to say the overload is what needs to be replaced? i took the other small unit that has a wire from the overload connected to it and i assumed it was the start relay or something like that.
Sounds like Item 16 in Section 12 should be replaced. Start relay and overload.
I would check the compressor windings first just to be sure they are OK.
You may also have a capacitor (tech sheet says it is optional), if you do I would also check it. One thing to note this is not a definitive test unless the capacitor fails the test as it does not check it under actual operating voltages.
Following is info on how to do this. http://www.applianceaid.com/refrigerator.html
See Item 3 for windings and Item 31 for capacitor (if you have one)