My Whirlpool GZ25FSRXYY2 refrigerator is 8 degrees colder than the set point

Refrigerator & Freezer Repair
1

Please make sure to click on General above and select the correct appliance type first.

Brand: Whirlpool
Model Number: GZ25FSRXYY2
Main Symptom: Fridge 8 degrees colder than set point
What happens & when: Food is freezing

Error Code (if any): No Error code
Parts or tests already tried: I put a digital thermometer in both the freezer and the vegetable drawer at the same time. The freezer temperature was 0 degrees with a set point of 0 degrees. The refrigerator was 30 degrees with a set point of 38 degrees. Since the freezer temperature was accurate, I moved the thermometer that was in the freezer into the main refrigerator cabinet.
I cleaned the condenser coils with a shop vac which didn’t have any affect.

I checked to make sure there was nothing blocking the freezer or the refrigerator vents, this had not affect.

I adjusted the refrigerator set point to 42 degrees and the actual temperature in the vegetable drawer was 32 degrees and the temperature in the main refrigerator cabinet was 35 degrees.
Photos / video link:

2

Here is a tech sheet, run test 1 and 2 for the thermistors. They monitor the temps for the freezer and refrigerator.
techsheet-gz25fsrxyy2.pdf (228.8 KB)

3

Thanks for the tech sheet. I am just an average guy that has never done this type of troubleshooting on a refrigerator. Are the 6 switches shown on the tech sheet located on the refrigerator control board located in the back of the cabinet? When they mention the display in the Tech Sheet, are they referring to the Dispenser Control Panel display or is there another display that I should be looking at? I look forward to your reply.

4

The six switches should be on the display, Disregard what the switches say, just count from left to right, 1-6.

5

Thank you for the clarification, that is much easier than I was imagining. I will check this tonight when I get home from work.

6

I have performed service tests 1 & 2 and both tests returned a value of 01.

7

That means the thermistors are good; they passed. Let me ask you this: when things freeze in the refrigerator, does it freeze certain items or does it freeze from top to bottom? From the top shelf to the bottom shelf? Or, does it only freeze certain items?

8

It has been freezing the vegetables that are located in the back portion of the vegetable drawer and recently it froze my wife’s sourdough starter that was located in the back portion of the refrigerator main cabinet. I haven’t really noticed much else that is freezing, but based upon the digital thermometers that I have in the refrigerator, the unit is definitely hovering near the freezing point despite the set point being about 8 degrees higher than the actual temperature.

9

You are not far off on the temperatures. Any leafy vegetables are always subject to freezing. They should not be freezing in the veggy drawer, though. About the only thing I can think of is replacing the refrigerator thermistor. I know it passed the test, but it still may be off enough not to trip the failed level on the test. That’s about all I can think of for now.

10

I’m having trouble locating a part called a refrigerator thermistor, could this also be called a Whirlpool Refrigerator Temperature Sensor?

11

Yes, the same part. The one for the refrigerator is in the icemaker box. It is part of the wiring harness. It is in there with the damper. The damper in the icebox are is responsible for providing cold air to the refrigerator section as well as the icemaker. There is another thermistor in the freezer section that moves ice up to the icebox and helps regulate that area as well.