Refrigerator not cooling, but freezer is working

Refrigerator & Freezer Repair
1

Hello all.

I need your expert advice and help. I have a refrigerator that is cool but not cold and the freezer seems to be just fine. This is a Kenmore Model Freezer on top, fridge on bottom.

Currently I can feel some cold air coming through the vent in the fridge part, but the strength of the air flow isn’t that strong. Is that normal? I can’t find any manuals or parts break down based on my model info from the metal plate on the inside of the fridge.

I have already cleaned off the condenser line along with the fan at the bottom of the fridge. Another thing I have already read off this post and tried is removed the back cover inside the freezer and lubricated the fan with spray. The fan seems to be running fine now, previously I noticed that it wasn’t running at all until I knocked on the plastic cover.

Please HELP! :confused:

Kenmore (made for Sears)
Model Number: 970-418529
Serial Number: BA60632450
About 6 years old approx.

Thanks in advance.
Jason

2

Your Model number seems to be missing a couple digits

When you removed the evaporator cover in the freezer, what did the evaporator coils look like?
A light coating of frost or coils being clear (if you opened it up just after a defrost cycle) is normal. If the coils were heavily frosted/iced over you have a defrost problem. It will show up as a problem in the fresh food section first and later in the freezer.

If the coils are OK I would replace the fan sounds like it is on it’s last legs.
If it is rotating slow it will not blow enough cold air into the fresh food section.
FYI your fridge is made by Frigidaire

Here is a good site with basic fridge repair help
http://www.applianceaid.com/frig.html

3

Thanks for your help Denman. When I removed the evaporator cover yesterday there wasn’t a heavy coating of frost or ice. But I will check again tonight. Also I will double check the model number, any other suggestions or checks for me to perform?

Where do I find the defrost timing clock control? As suggested in the sticky for this type of condition?

Thanks again in advance.

Jason

4

Without being able to get a parts breakdown it is hard to say where the defrost timer is.

If it is the type of unit that uses a mechanical defrost timer it is often behind the kick plate or in the console at the top of the fresh food section.
If you look up at the console you will see a hole, this allows access to the timer’s cam which can be rotated with a screwdriver to force a defrost cycle.
Note that it only rotates in one direction.

If it uses an adaptive defrost (electronic) it can be a separate board or part of the main control board.

I would lean more towards the fan. It may work OK when it is warmed up and lubricated but slow down once it gets frozen.

5

Okay. So I have made it home and took a second look at the model number/serial number metal plate within the fridge it is correct. That’s weird I guess I have a fridge that you don’t have info on. Just my luck…

But I removed the back freezer panel to expose the evap lines and removed the fan assembly. I have taken some pictures below. Can you please clarify for me where the dampener should be? I looked inside the plastic “shoot” that comes down from the fan, I can see the plastic knob back end .. but no dampener at all>??

What I was able to pull off of the fan was the part number, maybe this will help a bit: #240369702

It seems like this fridge runs all the time with the exception of maybe 10mins in a hour(during defrost?) I have checked the condenser fan running fine, just fyi. I have not performed any of the defrost test yet, as I will wait the full 24hours… and will attempt to check the defrost components tommorrow. I have taken some pictures of the evap coils, please have a look and provide some feedback… it would be greatly appreicated.

Thanks

Jason

evap pic 1 picture by cdnhawk02 - Photobucket

IMG_1399.jpg picture by cdnhawk02 - Photobucket

Evap 2 picture by cdnhawk02 - Photobucket

IMG_1397.jpg picture by cdnhawk02 - Photobucket

6

[COLOR=Blue]Can you please clarify for me where the dampener should be? I looked inside the plastic “shoot” that comes down from the fan, I can see the plastic knob back end .. but no dampener at all>?? [/COLOR]
Many units do not have a powered damper. Sometimes it is just a knob with a fin or fins on it and they close off/open up the air channel from the freezer to the fresh food section.

[COLOR=Blue]It seems like this fridge runs all the time with the exception of maybe 10mins in a hour(during defrost?) I have checked the condenser fan running fine, just fyi.[/COLOR]
Also check that the condenser coils are clean

[COLOR=Blue]I have taken some pictures of the evap coils, please have a look and provide some feedback… [/COLOR]
Is this what the coils looked like when you first opened it up or has some of the frost/ice melted off the upper coils?
If it looked like this when first opened up, then frost on only one section of the evaporator coils (especially if it is where the freon enters the coils from the compressor) is a symptom of low freon.
Where it is iced up it does look rather heavy.

Low freon or dirty condenser coils will cause the compressor to run more.
You may also want to check the door seals. Take a dollar bill and close the door on it at different spots around the perimeter, if it pulls out very easily then your seal is no good. This will also cause excessive run times and excessive frosting up of the evaporator coils. Also check that the gasket on the hinge side is not folding over as the door closes.

I hope it is not low freon as often it makes more sense to buy a new unit than pay a pro to find the leak, fix it and refill the freon.

PS I was able to find the fan at AppliancePartsPros but it is used in a multitude of different units so did not help in getting specific info on your unit.

7

Hello again. Please see comments in RED and FYI for additional details.

[COLOR=Blue]It seems like this fridge runs all the time with the exception of maybe 10mins in a hour(during defrost?) I have checked the condenser fan running fine, just fyi.[/COLOR]
[COLOR=Black]Also check that the condenser coils are clean[/COLOR]

[COLOR=Red]-Condenser coils were already cleaned… previously. :frowning:
[/COLOR]
[COLOR=Blue]I have taken some pictures of the evap coils, please have a look and provide some feedback… [/COLOR]
Is this what the coils looked like when you first opened it up or has some of the frost/ice melted off the upper coils?
If it looked like this when first opened up, then frost on only one section of the evaporator coils (especially if it is where the freon enters the coils from the compressor) is a symptom of low freon.
[COLOR=Red]
-Yes this is what it looked like, maybe 30-1 mins after I opened the evap cover. Does that mean I am SOL and should give up with the DIY method??[/COLOR]

Where it is iced up it does look rather heavy.

Low freon or dirty condenser coils will cause the compressor to run more.
You may also want to check the door seals. Take a dollar bill and close the door on it at different spots around the perimeter, if it pulls out very easily then your seal is no good. This will also cause excessive run times and excessive frosting up of the evaporator coils. Also check that the gasket on the hinge side is not folding over as the door closes.
[COLOR=Red]

  • Will check the door seals if you think it’s worth it at this point?[/COLOR]

I hope it is not low freon as often it makes more sense to buy a new unit than pay a pro to find the leak, fix it and refill the freon.

PS I was able to find the fan at AppliancePartsPros but it is used in a multitude of different units so did not help in getting specific info on your unit.[/quote]

FYI : I was able to find my fridge on your site with another model number; it’s the exact same fridge. See how in the Cabinet diagram there is no dampner flap.. just a shoot that lead into the fresh food section?

Model number: GLRT13TEW3

8

-Yes this is what it looked like, maybe 30-1 mins after I opened the evap cover. Does that mean I am SOL and should give up with the DIY method??

No I would continue with your trouble shooting.
Check out the defrost to make sure it works.
When the coils are completely free of ice/frost, button it up temporarily, let it run for an hour or so then again check the evaporator coils for a fairly even coating of frost.

Here is the fan
AP4700070

9

Just had this exact problem: The fan-motor was dead and hole from freezer to fridge was ice-blocked.
Fan motor was located under pop-off plastic control-housing inside fridge, on “ceiling” of fridge. Removed housing, replaced motor --very simple!-- cleared ice from hole which allows air into fridge from freezer-compartment.

New elec motor was very cheap–under $20, I believe.

That solved our problem… Hope it solves yours!

NOTE: It was surprisingly simple and very quick, once we had it figured out. We are not appliance repair people at all, so it took quite a while to eliminate other possibilities.
Try this: Clear hole of any ice. Pop off control-cover… check fan motor–if fan isn’t turning, and is hard to turn w/ your finger–it should turn very easily-- the motor is prob dead.

10

[quote=denman;127839]-Yes this is what it looked like, maybe 30-1 mins after I opened the evap cover. Does that mean I am SOL and should give up with the DIY method??

No I would continue with your trouble shooting.
Check out the defrost to make sure it works.
When the coils are completely free of ice/frost, button it up temporarily, let it run for an hour or so then again check the evaporator coils for a fairly even coating of frost.

Here is the fan
AP4700070[/quote]

Update: So I continued to trouble shoot here are the results below:

  1. Defrost Timer is working fine, no sizzling after 15-30min.
  2. Removed Defrost Heater wire and tested for continuity; had resistance about 045- 065.. not open.

SO does that mean I should be looking at replacing the defrost thermostat then?? I had quite a build up ice like the previous picture when I first opened it up… Denman do you still think it might be freon?

Another question: About the condenser compressor should it be HOT to the touch? (Keep in mind this thing is running quite a bit)

Also I read that you should be able to touch the High pressure side lines and they should feel cold? Is that correct??? Sorry I have been reading A HELL of a LOT of information over the last couple of days.. LOL

THanks again!!

Jason

11

[COLOR=Blue]1) Defrost Timer is working fine, no sizzling after 15-30min. [/COLOR]
Not sure what this means could you please explain it a little better

[COLOR=Blue]2) Removed Defrost Heater wire and tested for continuity; had resistance about 045- 065.. not open. [/COLOR]
This looks OK to me. I am assuming that you disconnected one side of it. This prevents reading an alternate/parallel circuit path which can be very confusing when troubleshooting.

[COLOR=Blue]SO does that mean I should be looking at replacing the defrost thermostat then??[/COLOR]
Best to check it with a meter. It should be 0 ohms when it is frozen. Should open just above freezing.

[COLOR=Blue]Denman do you still think it might be freon? [/COLOR]
Could be but if the freezer is getting down to a low enough temperature the unit should cool the fresh food section OK. May run OK for a long time even if the freon is a little low.

[COLOR=Blue]Another question: About the condenser compressor should it be HOT to the touch? (Keep in mind this thing is running quite a bit)[/COLOR]
Yes I would say this is normal. One thing to check is that the condenser fan is running properly and the condenser coils are clean.

[COLOR=Blue]Also I read that you should be able to touch the High pressure side lines and they should feel cold? Is that correct??? [/COLOR]
That varies from unit to unit so I would not use that as a indication of a problem. Cooling is achieved by the freon liquid changing to a gas so if the none of this occurs till the liquid gets to the evaporator coils you will not have cold lines.

I think I would replace the fan. You know that it has problem and it is not too expensive.

12

[quote=denman;128714][COLOR=blue]1) Defrost Timer is working fine, no sizzling after 15-30min. [/COLOR]
Not sure what this means could you please explain it a little better

[COLOR=red][COLOR=darkorchid]According to the walkthrough that was created by Gene that if after 15-30 of manually triggering the defrost if you hear a sizzling noise then the defrost timer needs to be replaced.[/COLOR] [/COLOR]

[COLOR=blue]2) Removed Defrost Heater wire and tested for continuity; had resistance about 045- 065.. not open. [/COLOR]
This looks OK to me. I am assuming that you disconnected one side of it. This prevents reading an alternate/parallel circuit path which can be very confusing when troubleshooting.

[COLOR=darkorchid]I removed both wires and put on lead on the positive and the negative in the other end of the defrost wire. Did I perform this incorrectly? [/COLOR]
[COLOR=#9932cc][/COLOR]

[COLOR=blue]SO does that mean I should be looking at replacing the defrost thermostat then??[/COLOR]
Best to check it with a meter. It should be 0 ohms when it is frozen. Should open just above freezing.

[COLOR=red][COLOR=darkorchid]Alright, I will remove the defrost thermostat tonight and test ASAP to confrim if it reads 0 ohms and report back findings. I assumed that it was the defrost thermo because of the walkthrough provided by Gene.[/COLOR] [/COLOR]

[COLOR=blue]Denman do you still think it might be freon? [/COLOR]
Could be but if the freezer is getting down to a low enough temperature the unit should cool the fresh food section OK. May run OK for a long time even if the freon is a little low.

[COLOR=darkorchid]Right now, with both the fresh food section & freezer set to the middle (recommended) settings the fresh food section is cold. But now the freezer portion does not freeze anything…example Freezies I have in there now do not freeze solid. Does that help or confuse things further? [/COLOR]

I think I would replace the fan. You know that it has problem and it is not too expensive.[/quote]

[COLOR=darkorchid]It appears the fan is running quite fine now, I would suspect that if I replace the fan it will not change the condition I am currently experincing in the freezer section. Currently there is a strong flow from the fan at all times since the fresh food section is quite cold. [/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkorchid][/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkorchid]WOW… I never knew that diagnosising a fridge is quite involved. Thanks for taking the time and patience to assist me in this new adventure![/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkorchid][/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkorchid]Jason[/COLOR]

13

[COLOR=darkorchid]WOW… I never knew that diagnosising a fridge is quite involved.
[COLOR=Black]Just about everything is complicated till you go through it once by the time you are done you will be a pro at it.[/COLOR]

Thanks for taking the time and patience to assist me in this new adventure!
[COLOR=Black]You are welcome, I am always happy to help someone who is actually interested in learning how things work. [/COLOR]
[/COLOR]

14

Hello Denman.

Did you see the other response’s I had in purple in my last post? Just wanted to get you input on those as well.

[COLOR=#0000ff]1) Defrost Timer is working fine, no sizzling after 15-30min.
[/COLOR]Not sure what this means could you please explain it a little better

[COLOR=red][COLOR=darkorchid]According to the walkthrough that was created by Gene that if after 15-30 of manually triggering the defrost if you hear a sizzling noise then the defrost timer needs to be replaced.[/COLOR] [/COLOR]

[COLOR=blue]2) Removed Defrost Heater wire and tested for continuity; had resistance about 045- 065.. not open. [/COLOR]
This looks OK to me. I am assuming that you disconnected one side of it. This prevents reading an alternate/parallel circuit path which can be very confusing when troubleshooting.

[COLOR=darkorchid]I removed both wires and put on lead on the positive and the negative in the other end of the defrost wire. Did I perform this incorrectly? [/COLOR]

[COLOR=blue]SO does that mean I should be looking at replacing the defrost thermostat then??[/COLOR]
Best to check it with a meter. It should be 0 ohms when it is frozen. Should open just above freezing.

[COLOR=red][COLOR=darkorchid]Alright, I will remove the defrost thermostat tonight and test ASAP to confrim if it reads 0 ohms and report back findings. I assumed that it was the defrost thermo because of the walkthrough provided by Gene.[/COLOR] [/COLOR]

[COLOR=blue]Denman do you still think it might be freon? [/COLOR]
Could be but if the freezer is getting down to a low enough temperature the unit should cool the fresh food section OK. May run OK for a long time even if the freon is a little low.

[COLOR=darkorchid]Right now, with both the fresh food section & freezer set to the middle (recommended) settings the fresh food section is cold. But now the freezer portion does not freeze anything…example Freezies I have in there now do not freeze solid. Does that help or confuse things further? [/COLOR]

Thanks again!

Jason

15

Hello Denman.

Did you see the other response’s I had in purple in my last post? Just wanted to get you input on those as well.

[COLOR=#0000ff]1) Defrost Timer is working fine, no sizzling after 15-30min.
[/COLOR]Not sure what this means could you please explain it a little better

[COLOR=red][COLOR=darkorchid]According to the walkthrough that was created by Gene that if after 15-30 of manually triggering the defrost if you hear a sizzling noise then the defrost timer needs to be replaced.[/COLOR] [/COLOR]

[COLOR=DarkGreen]Not quite sure what Gene was referring to. The sizzling you hear is usually just water hitting the hot heater element.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=blue]2) Removed Defrost Heater wire and tested for continuity; had resistance about 045- 065.. not open. [/COLOR]
This looks OK to me. I am assuming that you disconnected one side of it. This prevents reading an alternate/parallel circuit path which can be very confusing when troubleshooting.

[COLOR=darkorchid]I removed both wires and put on lead on the positive and the negative in the other end of the defrost wire. Did I perform this incorrectly? [/COLOR]
[COLOR=DarkGreen]Yes[/COLOR]

[COLOR=blue]SO does that mean I should be looking at replacing the defrost thermostat then??[/COLOR]
Best to check it with a meter. It should be 0 ohms when it is frozen. Should open just above freezing.

[COLOR=red][COLOR=darkorchid]Alright, I will remove the defrost thermostat tonight and test ASAP to confrim if it reads 0 ohms and report back findings. I assumed that it was the defrost thermo because of the walkthrough provided by Gene.[/COLOR] [/COLOR]

[COLOR=blue]Denman do you still think it might be freon? [/COLOR]
Could be but if the freezer is getting down to a low enough temperature the unit should cool the fresh food section OK. May run OK for a long time even if the freon is a little low.

[COLOR=darkorchid]Right now, with both the fresh food section & freezer set to the middle (recommended) settings the fresh food section is cold. But now the freezer portion does not freeze anything…example Freezies I have in there now do not freeze solid. Does that help or confuse things further? [/COLOR]

[COLOR=DarkGreen]It take quite awhile for a unit to get the freezer down to a low temperature from room temperature.
OK sounds like everything is almost running as it should right now re: you are getting some cooling and the coils are ice free because you have manually defrosted them and evaporator fan is running. Put the evaporator coil cover back on. Let it run for a couple hours, then open it up again and check the evaporator coils. If you only have frost on one area of the coils it is a symptom of low freon.
See the below link. Check out the example pictures at the bottom of the page. Note that the first one does not seem to work anymore.[/COLOR]
http://www.applianceaid.com/frig_notcold.html

16

All is fixed. IT was low on freon. I had a appliance repair man onsite, pumped her up with R134A… good to go for a couple years. Since there are no visible leaks it must have been a small fissure that will continue to leak over time.

Oh well. Thanks for your help Denman

17

You are welcome

Glad you figured it out.

18

Hi guys,

I hoped someone could help as I’m suffering from the same issue.

I have a GE refrigerator with the freezer on the bottom (I have the model # at home and will post it when I get it). I’ve owned this unit for about 5 years. A month ago, when this first started, I was advised to get a new circuit board. I did so for $168, installed it myself and everything seemed fine.

Now a month later, I notice the back wall of the freezer looks completely frozen up and the fridge isn’t cold anymore! I’m not sure how to proceed? I read through this thread (after finding a few others) and assumed I should check the evaporator first? Or should I begin with the fan?

I guess my question is, (due to information overload) in what order should I troubleshoot, based on ease of access as well as saving $$$? I should also mention that though the electronics are not under warranty some of the other parts may be.

I appreciate any help I can get.

Thanks again!

19

drl213
I would like to suggest that you start your own thread with the Model Number.
It gets too confusing when added to another persons thread with a different model/brand.

Note, that GE’s are a pain as they like to keep their info a national secret.

If the fan is running it is OK, in any case a blown fan will cause poor cooling but will not cause the coils to heavily ice/frost up
But I would start with the defrost.
Check the defrost thermostat and defrost heater with a meter.

20

Thanks denman,

I took your advice and the new thread is here:

http://forum.appliancepartspros.com/refrigerator-freezer-repair/54234-ge-gbs22hcpaww-refrigerator-not-cooling-but-freezer-working.html#post139854