Brand: Jenn Air Model Number: JFI2089wTS6 Main Symptom: refrigerator temperature What happens & when: refrigerator temperature goes to extremes warm and cold. Freezer works fine
I’ve ordered the damper control assembly in hopes that it’s the issue. What I’m trying to figure out is if there is a thermistor located in the fresh food compartment or is the only one in the freezer? I know the one in the freezer is connected to fan motor part #w10850438 but I can’t determine if another one is in the fresh food compartment. If not what controls that temperature?
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Yes — on the Jenn-Air JFI2089WTS6, the fresh-food temperature is controlled differently than you might expect.
The parts information for this exact model shows the W10850438 evaporator fan motor assembly in the freezer section, along with the electronically controlled air baffle/damper WPW10312691. I’m not finding a separately replaceable fresh-food thermistor listed for this model.
How the refrigerator temperature is controlled
The freezer is doing the actual cooling. The evaporator and evaporator fan are in the freezer, and cold freezer air is sent into the refrigerator compartment through the motorized air damper/baffle.
The control essentially regulates fresh-food temperature by changing how far/how long that damper is open. So if the freezer stays consistently cold but the refrigerator swings from too warm to too cold, the damper/baffle is a very reasonable suspect.
In particular, I would look for this pattern:
Refrigerator gets excessively cold: Check whether the damper remains open when the refrigerator is already below its set temperature.
Refrigerator then gets too warm: Check whether the damper remains closed for an excessive period or intermittently fails to open.
If you can actually catch the damper sticking open/closed while the temperature is swinging, that strongly supports replacing it.
Also inspect the damper door itself for cracking, binding, ice, or anything preventing smooth movement.
One important distinction
W10850438 is the evaporator fan motor, not the fresh-food temperature sensor itself. The exact-model parts breakdown identifies it as the evaporator motor.
So I wouldn’t replace that motor simply because you’re seeing fresh-food temperature swings, particularly since you say the freezer temperature remains normal. A failing evaporator fan would generally produce an airflow/cooling problem rather than repeatedly driving the refrigerator both excessively warm and excessively cold.
What I’d do next
Since you’ve already ordered the damper, I’d install it before going after the electronic control. After installation, give the refrigerator at least 24 hours with the refrigerator setting near the middle/normal position and monitor the temperature with a thermometer sitting in a glass of water on the center shelf.
If the new damper operates correctly but the refrigerator still alternates between very warm and very cold, then I’d move upstream to the temperature-control/control-board circuit, rather than looking for another conventional fresh-food thermistor.
If you want, I can also dig up the JFI2089WTS6 service diagnostics and give you the exact procedure for testing the damper and temperature-control circuit before you install the new
One question if you know the answer. If this model refrigerator only has a thermistor in the freezer section what tell the damper to open or close to maintain the set temperature in the fresh food compartment? And how is that monitored?
On the Jenn-Air JFI2089WTS6, the refrigerator section gets essentially all of its cold air from the freezer. The damper control assembly regulates how much of that freezer air is allowed into the fresh-food compartment. The parts information for this exact model confirms an electronically controlled damper assembly.
How the damper maintains refrigerator temperature
Think of the damper as a small motorized door in the air passage between the freezer and refrigerator:
Fridge gets too warm → damper opens → more freezer air enters → fridge cools down → damper closes/reduces airflow.
The electronic control determines when that damper needs to move. It doesn’t simply stay partly open all the time—it cycles the damper as needed to regulate airflow.
That makes the damper especially important in your situation where the freezer temperature stays normal but the refrigerator swings between too warm and too cold. A damper that sticks can produce exactly that type of behavior:
Stuck or hanging open: refrigerator becomes excessively cold or freezes food.
Stuck or hanging closed: refrigerator becomes too warm while the freezer remains fine.
Intermittently binding: refrigerator can alternate between too cold and too warm.
The exact-model parts listings identify the damper/control as W10127427 / WPW10127427.
One correction to what we discussed earlier: I found that the exact-model parts information does list a separate temperature-sensing thermostat/sensor, WP67006387, so I wouldn’t assume the damper itself is determining temperature.
If your new damper doesn’t correct the temperature swings, that temperature-sensing circuit and then the main electronic control WPW10312695 would be my next suspects.