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about six weeks ago I noticed my fridge wasn’t cooling like it should so I unplugged it, vacuumed the coils under the doors, and around the fan at the bottom rear. I waited a couple of days and plugged it up. By the next morning it seemed to be working fine and did so for a couple of weeks. Then it stopped cooling completely. I have checked the coils behind the panel in the back of the freezer as well as the fans and the compressor seems to be working ( I think I can hear a light humming noise…but the lines are neither hot or cold) Please help!! Desperate!! Frank Here an update… I was checking the Overload/relay with star capacitor with my multimeter and it seems to be fine. So just for giggles I plugged it up again to see if the compressor was vibratingand it was. So I walk around and check the coils inside the freezer and the are cold?? I Don’t understand what is happening!!
Start Relay If the refrigerator is not cold enough, the start relay may be defective. The start relay is a small device mounted to the side of the compressor. It provides power to the run winding along with the start winding for a split second at start-up to help get the compressor started. If the start relay is defective the compressor may run intermittently or not at all and the refrigerator will not get cold enough. The start relay should be replaced if defective. Temperature Control Thermostat If the refrigerator does not get cold enough the temperature control thermostat might be defective. The thermostat allows power to flow through to the compressor, evaporator fan and condenser fan. If the cooling system fans and compressor are running, but the refrigerator or freezer is not cooling correctly check for an airflow or defrost system problem. Start Capacitor If the refrigerator isn’t cold enough the compressor might be having difficulty starting. The start capacitor serves as a battery to give the compressor a little boost during start-up. If the start capacitor is burned out the compressor might not be able to start and run as often as it should. Test the start capacitor first with a capacitance meter, they don’t fail often. If it’s defective, replace it. Thermistor If the refrigerator is not cold enough the thermistor might be defective. The thermistor is a sensor which monitors the air temperature. It is connected to the control board. If the thermistor is defective the refrigerator does not cool or may cool continuously. Temperature Control Board If the refrigerator is not cold enough the temperature control board might be defective. The temperature control board provides the voltage to the fan motors and compressor. These boards are often misdiagnosed. Check all other components to be certain this is the cause of the problem.
This also happened to me after buying a used refrigerator. After a lot of research, it turned out to be the defrost timer. It had gotten stuck in the defrost mode. When it reaches the defrost mode, it turns off the compressor so the freezer can defrost itself. Since mine was stuck in defrost mode, the compressor would never turn on. After finding the defrost timer, it was in pretty bad shape. I went to E-bay, purchased a $12 defrost timer, and all was good again. Hope this helps. Paul
If you see frost at the top of a frost-free refrigerator even when the cold control is set low, it means the refrigerator probably has a full charge of refrigerant but the thermostat is faulty or out of calibration
Little red button underneath the freezer floor through the roof of the refrigerator twist it up and the freezer starts working instantly
