Problem with my refrigerator

Refrigerator & Freezer Repair
1

I have a Whirlpool side by side refrigerator. Model ED22GWXFW00 1997 serial number - SG4730525.

It looks great, it ran great, woke up the other morning and all my stuff was defrosted. I unplugged it, emptied the fridge and freezer, left it unplugged for an hour or so, plugged it back in… the lights come on in the fridge, the fan is running in the back of the refrigerator, and I can hear a click sound for like a second at the compressor, then it starts to hum, but only lasts for like 5 seconds, then I hear the clicking sound again. It sounds to me like it’s trying to turn on, then it shuts back off. I’m just really new to this and I have no idea where to start. I know there’s overload/relay/capacitor/thermostat/defrost timer…and of course the compressor. And I don’t really have the money to go get another fridge…I purchased this one about 5 months ago for 250, and have never had a problem with it. The only thing different was that my wife was cleaning the refrigerator and freezer out and left both doors open when it was running, and I don’t know if that had something to do with it. I’m hoping it’s an easy fix and not the compressor. If anyone can help me, please respond to this. We have our food in coolers on ice right now!!!:smiley:

2

The doors being open probably did not cause this but replacing the start relay will probably fix your problem

3

before buying the start relay i would wait to see if anyone else agrees or has another opinion. pull the fridge out enough to get behind it and take the back cover off. is the clicking coming from the compressor?

4

There’s a clicking sound coming from the box that’s attached to the side of the compressor, it’s a very short clicking sound, then I hear a very faint humming that lasts for about 5 seconds, then I hear the same clicking sound again. It sounds like it wants to come on, then it just repeats that and in about 3-4 min it repeats the same thing. And while that’s happening the fan is blowing. I’m hoping it’s something like a relay, but I don’t know…thanks for the reply.

5

yeah the start relay is inside that box and has probably gone bad (start relay turns the compressor on). the clicking is a really good indication it has gone bad. when i used to do appliance repairs and i came across this situation i would replace the start relay and 95% of the time that would fix it.