This guy does an excellent job of educating you. He gives proper explanations, with proper English, using proper descriptions of the components, of the evaporation refrigeration process, and also gives very helpful details about how the machine works overall and how you can correct various problems. Kudos!!
I'm a single mother of two and overnight my fridge stopped keeping things cool. It was running, but not doing its job. I called multiple repairmen after realizing I didn't have the testing tools for the capacitor and they all said they no longer work on fridges because of the companies that make them. This was the most helpful video so thank you so much!
The most important part of the video was seeing what a blocked condenser coil looked like and where to find it. The manual that came with my refrigerator didn't say how to open access panels or even say where they were. After watching your video I finally got the lower access toe grille below the front fridge door pried off and found not only dirt and lint that needed to be removed but I also found a service data sheet hidden in a plastic pocket. This paper explained how to press the door light switch the right number of time to get acknowledgement beeps and then to test components one at a time. In my case the evaporator fan didn't run so no cold air was circulated from the freezer to the fresh food section. This was a great how to video. Thank you!
Great video. That is the exact refrigerator that I have and rather than start buying random parts that "troubleshooting" parts supply websites recommend, I can follow the flow of air that you showed and see where the problem is. Thanks so much.
Great video, you explained it in detail so I could follow your advice step by step, I disconnected fridge for 12 hours to melt the ice buildup I also vacuumed the rear of fridge AND I keep the “vents” in the freezer clear of food and Not over fill the freezer, the fridge runs like new, thanks to your DIY advice, you saved me many hundreds of dollars by not buying a new fridge in these financially hard times we live in. Thank you so much 👍
As other commenters have said, you are an excellent educator. I cleanout out the bottom coils, and yes they were filthy and fortunately we have a cattail that we use to dust off the ceiling fans, using a vacuum cleaner hose kept all the dust and dirt from flying everywhere. The compressor was running fine, the bottom fan motor was also running fine. The entire frig was running fin until a few weeks ago when it started to have symptoms where the freezer wasn't keeping ice and everything started to defrost on one side of the freezer. After cleaning the coils I took out the back panel of the freezer compartment and found a large block of ice that completely surrounded the thermostat. After five minutes with the hair dryer I cleaned everything up and plugged it back in. The back panel is now freezing cold. We're in a wait and see hold for a few more weeks. The only thing it could be in the freezer thermostat.
Most higher end fridges have a defrost cycle that can go bad, too. Older units had a mechanical timer that could get stuck, and new units have the defrost cycle built into the board. When defrost fails, ice builds up and can plug the drain, which causes a cascade of secondary problems. The defrost element is usually a resistance heater, often with its own fuse, and that also can fail. If the thermostat is surrounded by ice, it won't feedback an accurate temp so the system could underperform even when not in the defrost cycle. You're doing the right thing by cleaning it up, getting rid of ice, and making sure the drain is clear. Then plug it back in and hope for the best.
thanks, you just saved me over $1000, if the fridge stopped working we needed a new stove! ice buildup in the freezer was the issue. Freezer working fridge not cold was the issue.
Thanks lad, saved me a ton. Easy to understand instructions performed every check as stated in the video. Vent from the freezer to the refrigerator was frozen over, and also the main culprit. Great video and easy to understand.
Thanks a lot for your response and information 👍🏼 I really appreciate it. I'm still waiting for mataniance and landlord to replace this refrigerator. The mataniance worker practically yelled at me and told me that he didn't see anything!! of course I unplugged it. This is how I get treated in a nyc rent stabilized apartment!!!
Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge, I fixed the problem with your help. Moms can fix some of the minor malfunctions without having to call out an engineer. The guy at home Depot told me I should just call someone out but he wouldn’t know how to fix it either. I said well I’m going to go home and troubleshoot it in UA-cam my problem myself before I call anybody . You’re getting alike and a follow for this one.
It's funny how when I saw a fellow automotive enthusiast, I knew I was in the right place. Mine ended up being the evaporator fan but your vid was an incredible help. I found the automotive backprobes came in handy too.
Thank you very much for your video.it helped me tremendously. I removed the vent in the fridge and no air was coming out, so I checked the freezer and the radiator was covered with a thick crust of ice. I used a hair dryer for about 15 minutes to melt the ice, turned the fridge on and cool air started to flow, within an hour the temperature in the fridge was in the forties. Thanks again.
Those electric defrost heaters can burn out, so don't be surprised if you end up replacing the heater because it recurs. Board problems and wiring issues can do the same thing, so I would check your manual for a resistance spec on the heater to try and verify it is bad. The other thing to check is that drain shown in the video, to be sure it is not blocked. Melted water needs a way out before the defrost cycle ends. Good luck!
I am not 100% sure this is it, but my fridge - while cheap, is only a couple years old so before I called my landlord, I decided to check online. I was led here. I pulled everything out, snapped off the fan top and not really frosty. I didn't want to pull the back off so I just hit it with a blower and then I checked the hole. OMG - the hole still was mostly covered with the original styrofoam. And the other half was frosty. I cleaned it out and low and behold the fan is fanning! So take it from this foolish girl - make sure nothing blocking that hole. Yay!!! Thank you. I know you mentioned the hole almost as an afterthought but I think that solved my problem I hope so =)
Thought my compressor was bad, until I watch your post, it was the bottom freezer coil frozen over, she is 10 years old but still running great.... Tks.. Nice post
Question, after removing the ice off the coils put all back together,,, the fridge has been running all night and is still hot in both the fridge and freezer, the fan is running non stop, last year the control board was replaced, any in-Site what my problem may be? COMPRESSOR Bad? Tks..
Took my fridge apart per your instructions and found the condenser frosted over in a big way. I think it resulted in the fan seizing although when I took off the plastic cover (breaking one of those damn plastic tabs!) it was turning although I'm 100% certain it wasn't before because with the flap wide open at the top no air was coming out at all. I thought there might be something wrong with the defroster but after your diagnosis at the end of the video it makes perfect sense that the coils were too dusty because they were EXTREMELY dirty. Life was so much easier when the coils were on the back. Thanks for the great video! (BTW my wife is halfway miffed about not getting a new fridge too)
If your evaporator coils were loaded with frost/ice, you have a defrost issue, either defrost thermostat/heater/defrost timer (mechanical or computer controlled)
Great video on fridge maintenance! All fixed up and working fine but the wife kind of wanted a new one!. Hard to win in that situation. Take Care, Bill
Both ends will be cold if the compressor is not running, so then the challenge is to decide why. The compressor will have safety cutoffs if the freon charge is too low or too high. Unfortunately domestic fridges don't often come with Shrader valves to measure pressure. I'd be looking for simple things, like verifying you have power on and the switch inside the fridge on, then move to a circuit drawing to decide what controls power delivery. You can quickly assess the compressor by disconnecting it from power, then check resistance and check for a short to ground on each of the three windings. Look for blown fuses. Unfortunately the cost of replacing a major problem like a bad compressor may be more than the cost of a new fridge.
I do the condenser cleaning every year. Having a dirty condenser elevates the high pressure and makes the compressor to run harder. As you mentioned also runs more time wasting more electricity. Thanks for the v2
@@roycehunt854 I’m trying to figure out what is going on with my Frigidaire side by side. I’ve watched numerous videos. It’s flashing H1 on freezer side. Slowly stopped making ice. Water works fine. Freezer will not freeze food or ice cream. Refrigerator seems to be ok. I’ve cleaned all coils and underneath. Back wall in freezer was frozen when I took panel off and bottom of freezer tray had ice. I unplugged, and defrosted freezer with blow dry. Damper seems fine. Cold hair blowing to both sides. I’m lost! I don’t really want to have to call a service man, I can’t afford to! Was hoping someone reads this and is able to help
Thank you so much for making this video to explain how this type of refrigerator works. My 10 year old Kenmore (probably made by Whirlpool) is basically identical to yours. I was getting a louder than normal buzz but it did not appear to be coming from the compressor, or condenser fan behind the rear panel beacsue teh sound would continue even when those components shut off. I was stumped trying to figure out where the other motor could be, and how to access it since the upper back is completely sealed. I've had to manually defrost the evap coils before, but It did not occur to me to look there for the 'shaded pole motor' which is likely the culprit. Much appreciated and PS I hate plastic clips too!
I did another video of a bad shaded pole motor in an oven, where I swap it out and explain how it works. Genius design, easy to work with. If you get frozen ice around the fan blades the fan could seize, then work OK after defrost. If automatic defrost isn't working you might check out the electric defrost element. Defrost timers can fail, the element itself can go bad, and that branch of the system often has a fuse.
Excellent professional video thank you proper explanations supported by videos of the different components and also diagrams very helpful much appreciated
Well done, a good clean up and its happy again :-D Fridge/freezers are something that everyone forgets about, the saying "Out of sight, out of mind." fits perfectly. My crude understanding: i roughly remember that the refridgerent gas gets compressed and heats up with reduced volume, then it's sent through an external radiator to dump the heat component into the air. Then it's sent into the larger diameter/length condenser coils inside to expand and absorb heat. I had a lady knock on my door as her fridge/freezer didn't seem to be working, i walked into her kitchen and was met with a heatwave. i told her to open the windows and doors to get the kitchen back down to normal. i explained that the fridge needs to dump heat into the cooler air, if the air is hot the fridge cant operate. No supprise that the fridge/freezer returned back to normal, she won't do that again lol.
Great video. Forget a vacuum exclusively- I used my compressor blowing the dusk off which works great and also have the vacuum handy while the dust balls come off. Thanks
@@merlicacelestine7821 no the fan moves air across that tray which is expected to have some water in it and the fan air movement causes it to evaporate into the room. Just clean it out of any crap dust and hair
Great video. Unfortunately everything is clean and working fine in my fridge but still not keeping cold. My freezer isn't freezing but fridge seems ok. I have taken it all apart. Coils are good. Compressor seems ok but I don't know. The whole fridge was vibrating and shaking last night and then it stopped cooling. What would make the fridge shake? Thanks.
Gee, that's ominous, I would check the mounts for the compressor. If you're not finding ice where it shouldn't be, and if leaving it off for several hours and restarting doesn't help, you'll have to make a decision whether it is worthwhile asking for advice from a pro. On the surface it does sound like a compressor problem, or maybe an undercharge of of refrigerant. Often the cost of fixing an old fridge is not worth it, compared to replacing it with a new one.
After defrosting freezer coils, verifying fan, heating element and timer working. Timer was stuck i unstucked it. I also cleaned all the dust from the bottom coils, fan and vacuumed that area. Washed with water and wd 40 those parts. I noticed a great deal of lint covering the outside, cover near the compressor. That led me to think about how important airflow is on the back of the refrigerator. It’s not just lint as a problem. It’s also the confined space cabinets walls. There was only about 2 to 3 inches of air room. As a test, I use the fan to help circulate air from behind the refrigerator. What a difference that made in performance in the amount of electricity, being used by the refrigerator constantly running. Moral to the story just like your car needs air so does your refrigerator. This will greatly reduce my electrical bill and prolong the life of the unit. I am now getting -10° in the freezer refrigerator is now at 40°.
I own my repair service company and your comment hit the Nail Directly on the head. I have more newer units with constant issues that are irreparable. Fix your old units!👍
Fantastic video and I thank you very much for schooling me on this. However, I do have one question, I replaced the compressor fan motor and now I'm not sure if it is blowing the correct direction. This fridge has the coils on the bottom, the compressor on the left (looking at it from the back) and the fan motor pulls air so it comes in from the front floor level, across the coils toward the compressor and away toward the back right corner. Whew, that's not easy to explain.
If the motor is a shaded pole motor you can reverse the direction of spin by flipping and remounting the entire motor 180 deg. Those things are designed to mount in two different directions. The wiring polarity itself doesn't matter, but the physical relation of the shaded poles compared to the fan angle is important. I would turn it on and see if the air blows the direction you want it to. I did an entire video on shaded pole motors in an oven that may be useful. It's not so easy to change the air flow direction in other motors. Thanks for stopping by!
The fact that the freezer was at normal operating temperature indicates that your problem was not related to the dirty condenser coil. It indicates an airflow problem between the fridge and freezer. All of the parts tested good which indicates an intermittent problem. The defrost termination thermostat is a very common intermittent failure item on these models. You might be wondering why a defrost termination thermostat would cause an intermittent airflow problem. Amana has a unique fan motor circuit. The neutral side of the fan motor goes through the defrost termination thermostat, then through the defrost heater which has a hard connection to neutral. The impedance of the heater is low enough compared to the fan motor that it doesn't cause much of a voltage drop. There also isn't enough current flow to get any measurable heat out of the heater. This genius design prevents the fan motor from turning on until the evaporator coil is frozen which prevents moisture from being blown into the ducting and freezing. The fan motor is another common failure item due to the vertical shaft. Moisture drains into the bearing and causes corrosion. The motor sounded smooth in the video, so I don't think it's bad. Another common problem is a bad neutral connection at the defrost heater. This problem usually presents with incomplete defrost and low fan speed. Not likely a problem here but worth checking if you have to open up the evaporator again.
Hey, man, thanks for stopping by! Sounds like wise advice, I'll bear that in mind. No issues so far, but I'll look more closely at the defrost hardware and thermostat if I have more issues.
Dennis Rindlisbach I bought a new fridge which gets hot a lot,I called the one who sold it to me and what he said was some fridges don't have condenser so that's what will happen but it doesn't mean anything. Now my question is, is this heating not going to affect the efficiency, effectiveness and the power consumption? If it will, what do I do? Cos it's New and I'm worried Thank you
I shared that concern about other causes. Now we're over a year since the fridge failed, and it has worked fine since then. So, I'm gonna call this one a verified fix.
Thank you - very helpful and informative! I appreciate the practical info about the possible extra power usage. Utility costs are so high now here in Canada
One thing I forgot to mention was the glimpse you get at 5:54-5:58 of the defrost heater, the length of dark element positioned underneath the evaporator. Those sometimes go bad, causing icing of the evaporator and ineffective cooling. Mine was obviously fine.
Appareciate the video. I had known some of this stuff, but needed reminders. Other things were new to me and helped me understand WHY I was doing what I was doing.
I'm a home appliance tech, and refrigeration is my strong point. Just to give you a little more info... The gas refrigerant coming back to the compressor from the evaporator is actually not room temp, but still cold and helps cool the compressor. If the condenser is clogged, instead of sending condensed refrigerant to the evaporator, (necessary for the capillary tube to force the pressure to drop and change state to a gas), you are sending partial gas along with the condensed liquid. This flashes at the entry to the evaporator and gets "too cold" plus doesn't have enough btu's left to cool the rest of the evaporator. You are now creating an ice ball at the top of the evaporator, and also not sending cool refrigerant gas back to help cool the compressor. All this heats up the compressor. Add to that, the compressor runs and runs trying to reach the set point temperature and overheats. Often, this causes the compressor to shut off on it's thermal protection. You will get large swings in temperature as the compressor spends too much time in protection mode. Hint: You can check how the compressor is working by running an amp draw check at the compressor power wire. On most residential refrigerators and freezers, it's a 1/4 horsepower compressor. Fully charged, they draw between 0.9 and 1.4 amps. If amps are too low, you have a refrigerant leak or on an older compressor, it could also be weak valves. If the amps are too high, you have a restriction somewhere between the compressor and the evaporator. Usually moisture turned into ice at the cap tube, or possible particulate matter that was not vacuumed out at the factory. I could go on, but that's a good start to give you and your subscribers a good basic understanding.
I have a whirlpool with the freezer on bottom. The vent behind the bottom drawer frosts over from the left and moves all the way across the vent. Once it is completely frozen the refrigerator stops cooling. The freezer is fine. We have to unplug and defrost it but after a couple of weeks it’s starts freezing over again. Any ideas?
My fridge is making a loud humming noise, and freezer isn't freezing.. Any idea what it may be? It's like what you stated, compressor just running and running trying to keep it cool.
Our fridge is working but not getting to the temp set point. Freezer side is the same, not quite getting to temp setting...ice maker works- is making ice... coils are clean...condenser fan is working....I can hear the compressor running. It's an LG french door LFXS30766D
Hi My Freezer is cold 0 degrees, but the fridge is not cooling 55 degrees. At this point with my Frigidaire GLHS67EHQ side-by-side refrigerator, I’ve replaced the damper assembly, that did not fix it. I cleaned the condenser coil. Then I replaced the evaporator fan motor and blade (which was running), that did not fix it. Although the compressor was working, I decided to install a new start device since the unit is 12 years old and I was already cleaning the condenser coil. The damper is open, and air is flowing, but there doesn’t seem to be much velocity. The freezer is cold, but the fridge side remains warm. There’s no corrosion on any lines I can see. There’s no ice buildup on the evaporator Just a small amount of frost. Finally, I replaced the control panel, but that didn’t resolve the cooling issue on the fridge side either. I’ve checked and rechecked everything, including re-crimping the evaporator thermostat wires to ensure they were properly connected, but the problem persists. I’ve also removed the ice maker and top back panel to check for obstructions, and everything looks good. The vent by the crisper is clear as well. At this point about the only thing that I did not replace is the thermistors. I tested the fridge thermistor, it is opening and closing the damper as it should. I’ve been working on this for days and am not sure what else I can check. Any further guidance would be greatly appreciated! The only thing I can think of now, is the fan moving enough air? Thanks for any ideas in advance. Dean
video solved my problem. old freezer working with frig barely cold. coils not dirty. exhaust fan working. freezer fan working. disassembled until i got to flap that lets air into frig. sure enough electric controlled flap was in closed position. solution was bypass dead elec control and put in a piece of plastic to maintain flap open all the time. works great now. if it was a manual control knob this would never happen.
When I pulled the back of the freezer off like you did at 5:48 and looked at the evaporator, it was completely iced over, or snowed over with ice crystals the consistency of a snow cone. The fridge is making that loud groaning humming noise you described.. so just to be clear, are you saying I need to replace the evaporator fan, or could it be something else??? The temp in the refrigerator (not the freezer part) is way less cold than it used to be. I have to turn it up to 8 out of 9 just to keep the food cold enough! Something's slowly going out.. but what???!! 🤔
That ice needs to be defrosted first, so unplug the fridge, try to store vulnerable contents somewhere cold, and wait. You can speed defrost with steam from a kettle. Once all the ice is gone, probe that drain tube to look for blockage, vacuum the water away, and plug the fridge back in. Then look for the two fans, the condenser fan and the evaporator fan. Make sure they are working properly, the fan blades are spinning and it is moving air. Most fridges have a defrost heater element that can go bad, it is usually a simple resistance heater with a fuse. Find the circuit drawing somewhere inside the fridge, and find and identify the defrost element and its fuse. Defrost is a cycle that happens every few days, where fans turn off, the heater turns on, and the ice is melted. The timer for defrost can go bad, and old school fridges have mechanical timers that can get stuck in defrost mode. Your circuit drawing should clarify what design your fridge has.
@@spelunkerdhello I replaced my relay and overload and my refrigerator started working again but only for a few hours then stopped working again any suggestions
Thanks for the upload. it helped a lot. my built-in fridge doesn't have a fan at the condenser so it relays on open airways to cool off. these of course got blocked and the items were warm. had to make a guard to stop people blocking the airflow. but your video really helped me understand it better and to work around it. Now I can rest without her nagging me for the rest of the day. ;)
Was the air damper on mine was frozen shut so wouldn't let cold air into the fridge compartment. Quick defrost nw fridge nice and cold .Kenwood KFF2DS14
My fridge is on the fritz and a quick google search leads to another excellent Spelunkerd video leaving me wondering, is there anything you can't fix and explain well? Still waiting for your video on "My backyard nuclear reactor melted down, here's how I safely fixed it with duct tape in 30 seconds or less". To be honest though not sure if I should thank you or curse you, instead of taking the lazy way out and calling a repair guy I have to get up off the couch and fix my fridge now. :). Thanks again for another excellent repair video!
Ha ha ha, what a kind remark, James! I'm just watching an RYA video now on racing rules, hoping to get back into racing when allowed. I presume you guys are only racing short handed now?
@@spelunkerd We should hopefully have a return to full crew 'social bubble' racing in the next week or two. Otherwise we've not been racing shorthanded. We started working our way towards SH racing but a few random things sidetracked that plan. We've been taking this time away from racing to enjoy cruising more and have quickly grown to appreciate the 'set it and forget it' approach! Hope you're at least heading in the direction of return to some normalcy up there as well!
Great video! Thx I'll try n fix my Kenmore as well. My freezer is working well but the Fridge is hot. Water leaking from inside Fridge from the duct where cold air comes through.
Thanks for sharing this video..I have a refrigerator bought it from Sears and after 2years it stopped working didn't have a warrantee so I called Sears got it fixed got a 3yrs warrantee and 4th year same thing the fridge would stopped cooling in the month of May so we tried using the ac to cooling down and it helped a little but the fridge works fine throughout the winter makes ice too Sears did change that round black thing in the back forget the name rt now the fridge stopped working 2 weeks now we decided to buy a new one afraid to spend money to fix it and have the same problem
One element that fairly commonly goes bad in consumer level fridges is the PTC relay, which allows current to flow through start coils for the first few seconds, following which its resistance increases and current through the start relay is reduced. There is a capacitor in series with the start windings, and all together it is a black or white cube that clips onto the compressor. The details of that are too advanced for an intro level video, but if you're interested there are many videos and resources describing that in detail.
Excellent explanation! Our fridge/freezer is very similar to your model, and I've had it opened up before to clear that defrost drain tube. Today we have a different problem; everything appears to be functioning properly, except that nothing is getting cold enough. Cold air blows out in both the fridge and freezer, but the temperatures aren't low enough (I don't have an IR temp gun like yours... yet) and most of the food went bad overnight. I'm wondering if maybe it has developed a small refrigerant leak or something that would keep it "cold but not cold enough".
That's a valid concern. Unfortunately domestic fridges don't have Schrader valves to easily measure pressures, so if a tech wants to measure pressure he needs to puncture the line and install a valve on at least one side. That is beyond the scope of most DIY homeowners. Here in Canada, because of environmental concerns, homeowners don't have access to the correct refrigerant without a license. The cost for that kind of professional repair of any refrigerant leak will be hundreds of dollars. I would carefully walk through the diagnostic steps shown, especially looking at the door seal very carefully. If the door doesn't fit perfectly square, fix it. I show how to adjust an out of square door in another video titled 'freezer frost repair'. Don't forget to look for simple solutions. If the steps shown in this video don't show a problem, you face the dilemma of whether to pay a guy to fix it rather than buying another. Many homeowners decide to save that money for a new appliance....
@@spelunkerd thank you so much for the thoughtful response! I did find information on using a piercing valve and gauge to measure/refill the refrigerant, but without the tools on hand decided not to go that route. The door is sealing well and there is not much dust buildup (I cleaned it out a year or two ago and we don't have any pets), and the fans, compressor, and refrigerator damper flap all appear to be functioning. The refrigerator (a Maytag MBF2256HEQ) came with the house when we bought it in 2012 and as I recall was manufactured in 2005. Thankfully, we had enough in emergency savings to cover a new refrigerator, so we ended up giving the old one to a neighbor who wanted a "garage fridge" for storing drinks, and we bought a new one for our home (an LG LFDS22520S, in case you're curious).
Yes it's possible. Unfortunately there are no shrader valves in domestic fridges to measure pressures, and although you can puncture a line to get pressure readings it involves special equipment that most of us in the DIY world don't have. If charge is zero then the compressor will be locked out but if charge is low the compressor may simply work overtime. If you get a pro to fix a leak the cost could be approaching that of a new fridge, with no warranty. So, the usual approach is to rule out all the problems that are easy to fix (like seal leak, bad fans, defrost mode sticking, clogged coils, bad capacitor or PTC switch, etc). If all of that investigation is negative, a case could be made for cutting losses and recycling an old unit.
My tray for water is on top of the compressor. It is decaying but still possible to collect water. To keep it in place I put a dot of hot glue because I found it on the floor behind the fridge. Was it okay to hot glue it in place? I only put a little glob. I took a picture of tray and I am going to find a new one to replace it.
Try this to get the freezer working again. I have an LG Top-Bottom Fridge that was having similar trouble. Compressor and exterior fan were working fine but the freezer was not cooling. I removed the front interior trim of the freezer and saw that the evaporator fan was not working. I carefully unscrewed it from the housing frame behind the trim and checked the resistance and continuity on the wire connector which were excellent. Now I've seen repairmen who would just tell you to replace the fan but at that time of day that was not an option. Having done this before with a standing fan, I realised that all this fan wanted was a cleaning and lubricating of the magnets and impeller respectively. Eventually over time with these two there is a build up of dirt, and rust in some cases, which must be cleaned and so here is where WD 40 is your best friend. I used some of this on a paper napkin to wipe the two surfaces after which I used some treadmill silicone oil, you can use something similar, on the curved surface of the impeller as well as the shaft and end joint housing. I reinstalled the evap fan and plugged it in. Not only did it spin, but it spun faster than before. Also, make sure you clean the plastic fan blade which should just pop off the impeller shaft. I placed mine under the faucet and used some dishwashing soap. Hope this tip helps someone to save some time and money. 😀
Good point, well done. One other thing for people to remember is that if their other fan, the evaporator fan is not working, sometimes the board has shut it down to enable defrost phase. In that case the compressor would not be running. Older fridges used mechanical timers that could get stuck and it was simply a matter of rotating the dial to get it out of defrost. That buys time to replace the timer without letting food thaw. To know if the board has called for fan, measure voltage and ground at the fan itself to see if the fan is failing to responding to a call to turn on.
Thank you so much for this video. I was about to have a repair guy come in as my fridge was not keeping the milk cold. We put a thermometer inside to confirm my suspicions on milk temp and we were running 10 degrees LOWER than is necessary to keep food from spoiling!!! I came to UA-cam to see if we could do something before the repair guy came and low and behold, we opened ours up as you instructed and mine looked just as dirty as yours with NO DOGS! I am so embarrassed but, we've just spent a bit of time cleaning it all out. Now we'll see if the repair guy can get cancelled!
Thanks for taking the time to respond. Yes, the repair guy came out and said no freon. He mentioned the evaporator line had a hole it it. Also, it needed a "hard start" relay. Is this worth it?
Great question, hard to say. When I go the local recycling yard I am always sadly disappointed to find many new looking appliances. It is hard to compete with brand new devices that come with a warranty, etc.
Hello, very descriptive and informative video. My fridge isn't properly cooling, the compressor is working, and so is the cooling fan. The condenser fan is blowing but not at full power. Can you help me understand why? Thank you.
There are only a handful of diagnoses that can be fixed by the home handiman. So, I would focus on those. Check the door seals very carefully, even a milimeter gap might be enough to tip the fridge into poor cooling. I did a video showing how to fix that. Check to see if cooling is reduced in both compartments, if not look at that flap valve controlling cold air sent to the main compartment, and check your condenser coil for dog hair, obstructions, plastic bags, etc that might impair heat transfer. One thing that sometimes happens is the unit goes into a defrost mode and can't get out of it. Old style units had a dial with a switch, easy to diagnose, but new units are entirely electronic. If your compressor is starting and running then it is not likely the PTC relay. All that being OK, the next consideration is whether you have a leak of refrigerant somewhere. The leak boils away but the oil in the unit can stain the area that has leaked. Or sometimes the compressor itself loses the ability to mount a pressure head. Whether it is worth diagnosing and fixing a fridge like that is hard to say. New fridges are fairly inexpensive and they come with a warranty, and repairs aren't all cheap. It's kinda sad to see so many new looking appliances at the landfill.
@@spelunkerd Thank you for the help. I've went through all the applicable troubleshooting tips. No pets, nothing obstructing the circulation of air, the door seals are in tact. After a closer look I realized the condenser fan isn't blowing at all. However, listen to this, my younger sister has schizophrenia and oftentimes she will bang on the refrigerator. I think that's the reason why it's not working properly because it happened after one of her episodes. In your opinion can that cause the malfunction to the fan? In any case, I may just replace the unit..
@@yishaithegift9953 I did a video on how to diagnose a bad oven fan. The design of the fridge condenser fan may be different but the general principles apply. A multimeter will tell you whether the board is trying to turn that fan on. If the fan isn't spinning, and it's getting adequate power, then the fan is bad. I don't know how easy it would be to get a replacement. Yeah, if the metal casing is bent then the fan blades could make contact and seize. More likely the bearings are shot.
I opened my refrigerator and the coils between the condenser to the compressor were covered with ice. The coils were also covered with ice. The freezer wasn’t freezing. What do you think is the issue and should be replaced? Thanks you channel is very helpful.
Most fridges these days have a defrost element, an electric heater placed near the evaporator. It is run on a timer, either electronic or analog, typically running for ~30 min every 12 hours, during which the compressor turns off. After the heater does its thing, ice turns to water and there is a drain to carry that water away. If the drain gets blocked by debris, the defrost cycle ends and the lake of iced reforms. So, the possibilities are a bad heater element, a blown fuse, a broken wire, a failed timer, a bad electronic board, or a blocked drain. I would start by defrosting the fridge, mopping up water and making sure the drain is working. Then I'd inspect the area looking for the timer, checking the circuit/fuse and measuring resistance of the element.
This guy sounds like Brett "The Hitman" Hart.. He must know what he's doing. He's most likely the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be at fixxin' fridges!!!
Come home to find my fridge warm, but freezer working, so far cleaned my condenser coils under the fridge, they were very dirty. Then took apart my lower freezer to expose the evaporator coils and it was all iced up. I suspect my defrost element is not working has my evaporator has froze up in the past. My fridge looks like yours in the video but I have digital temperature controls. Took it apart to try and find the defrost timer. I don’t think I have one?
New fridges use electronic timers that may be integral to the board. You can still evaluate the heater circuit. Check for power and ground, measure resistance of the heater, look for corroded or broken contacts, and keep your eyes out for a fusible link or fuse. I wouldn't give up on the idea of defrosting, clearing any debris from the drain hose, and trying again.
![Refrigerator Not Cooling - How to Fix - What to Check [2020]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ocOW2GYxdTE/mqdefault.jpg)
![Refrigerator Not Cooling - How to Fix - What to Check [2020]](/img/tr.png)
This guy does an excellent job of educating you. He gives proper explanations, with proper English, using proper descriptions of the components, of the evaporation refrigeration process, and also gives very helpful details about how the machine works overall and how you can correct various problems. Kudos!!
Yeah, kinda
Guess I'll see if I can follow his guidance in trouble shooting what's going on with my freezer on my refrigerator this afternoon.
We're do you live
I'm a single mother of two and overnight my fridge stopped keeping things cool. It was running, but not doing its job. I called multiple repairmen after realizing I didn't have the testing tools for the capacitor and they all said they no longer work on fridges because of the companies that make them. This was the most helpful video so thank you so much!
The most important part of the video was seeing what a blocked condenser coil looked like and where to find it. The manual that came with my refrigerator didn't say how to open access panels or even say where they were. After watching your video I finally got the lower access toe grille below the front fridge door pried off and found not only dirt and lint that needed to be removed but I also found a service data sheet hidden in a plastic pocket. This paper explained how to press the door light switch the right number of time to get acknowledgement beeps and then to test components one at a time. In my case the evaporator fan didn't run so no cold air was circulated from the freezer to the fresh food section. This was a great how to video. Thank you!
Door light switch pressed how many times to get acknowledgment beeps? How many to start?
My repair person probably doesn't share my feelings, but I love this guy.
Great video. That is the exact refrigerator that I have and rather than start buying random parts that "troubleshooting" parts supply websites recommend, I can follow the flow of air that you showed and see where the problem is. Thanks so much.
Great video, you explained it in detail so I could follow your advice step by step, I disconnected fridge for 12 hours to melt the ice buildup I also vacuumed the rear of fridge AND I keep the “vents” in the freezer clear of food and Not over fill the freezer, the fridge runs like new, thanks to your DIY advice, you saved me many hundreds of dollars by not buying a new fridge in these financially hard times we live in.
Thank you so much 👍
Your wife's reaction was right on for any of us that keep fixing our old appliances. Hopefully with your help I'll get some stink eye.
EXCELLENT video. Clear, concise, and well presented without a lot of extraneous nothing. THANK you.
Thanks Dave...you hit every nail on fridge diagnostics...clear as a sunny day. Congrats
Lots of folks forget about that coil underneath the frig and that it needs cleaning once in awhile. Thanks Dave for sharing!
Forget? I had no idea it was ever a thing!
Mine was completely blocked by dust.
Imagine if they left the coils on the back, like they used to...
i must say this was the best video i have watched so far. simple but detailed explanation and easy to understand.
As other commenters have said, you are an excellent educator. I cleanout out the bottom coils, and yes they were filthy and fortunately we have a cattail that we use to dust off the ceiling fans, using a vacuum cleaner hose kept all the dust and dirt from flying everywhere. The compressor was running fine, the bottom fan motor was also running fine. The entire frig was running fin until a few weeks ago when it started to have symptoms where the freezer wasn't keeping ice and everything started to defrost on one side of the freezer. After cleaning the coils I took out the back panel of the freezer compartment and found a large block of ice that completely surrounded the thermostat. After five minutes with the hair dryer I cleaned everything up and plugged it back in. The back panel is now freezing cold. We're in a wait and see hold for a few more weeks. The only thing it could be in the freezer thermostat.
Most higher end fridges have a defrost cycle that can go bad, too. Older units had a mechanical timer that could get stuck, and new units have the defrost cycle built into the board. When defrost fails, ice builds up and can plug the drain, which causes a cascade of secondary problems. The defrost element is usually a resistance heater, often with its own fuse, and that also can fail. If the thermostat is surrounded by ice, it won't feedback an accurate temp so the system could underperform even when not in the defrost cycle. You're doing the right thing by cleaning it up, getting rid of ice, and making sure the drain is clear. Then plug it back in and hope for the best.
thanks, you just saved me over $1000, if the fridge stopped working we
needed a new stove! ice buildup in the freezer was the issue. Freezer
working fridge not cold was the issue.
Thanks lad, saved me a ton. Easy to understand instructions performed every check as stated in the video. Vent from the freezer to the refrigerator was frozen over, and also the main culprit. Great video and easy to understand.
You do such a great job showing and explaining this! I'm in training and videos like these really help me get ahead faster.
Thank you for posting this. Much appreciated. My fridge freezer is working well after watching your video 6 months ago. X
My fridge stopped cooling adequately and it was having this same exact issue. Thanks for posting this and saving me some time and money!
I'm so glad I was able to find this video. I'm going to try all your troubleshooting steps. As a wife I was intimidated Wish me luck! Thank you again!
Thanks
Thanks a lot for your response and information 👍🏼 I really appreciate it. I'm still waiting for mataniance and landlord to replace this refrigerator. The mataniance worker practically yelled at me and told me that he didn't see anything!! of course I unplugged it. This is how I get treated in a nyc rent stabilized apartment!!!
Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge, I fixed the problem with your help. Moms can fix some of the minor malfunctions without having to call out an engineer. The guy at home Depot told me I should just call someone out but he wouldn’t know how to fix it either. I said well I’m going to go home and troubleshoot it in UA-cam my problem myself before I call anybody . You’re getting alike and a follow for this one.
It's funny how when I saw a fellow automotive enthusiast, I knew I was in the right place. Mine ended up being the evaporator fan but your vid was an incredible help. I found the automotive backprobes came in handy too.
Best information for my frozen freezer and my room temperature refrigerator...thanks for sharing.
Excellent video, well explained with some real good information on the various components. Well done
Thank you very much for your video.it helped me tremendously. I removed the vent in the fridge and no air was coming out, so I checked the freezer and the radiator was covered with a thick crust of ice. I used a hair dryer for about 15 minutes to melt the ice, turned the fridge on and cool air started to flow, within an hour the temperature in the fridge was in the forties. Thanks again.
Those electric defrost heaters can burn out, so don't be surprised if you end up replacing the heater because it recurs. Board problems and wiring issues can do the same thing, so I would check your manual for a resistance spec on the heater to try and verify it is bad. The other thing to check is that drain shown in the video, to be sure it is not blocked. Melted water needs a way out before the defrost cycle ends. Good luck!
@@spelunkerd thank you for your reply.
I am not 100% sure this is it, but my fridge - while cheap, is only a couple years old so before I called my landlord, I decided to check online. I was led here. I pulled everything out, snapped off the fan top and not really frosty. I didn't want to pull the back off so I just hit it with a blower and then I checked the hole. OMG - the hole still was mostly covered with the original styrofoam. And the other half was frosty. I cleaned it out and low and behold the fan is fanning! So take it from this foolish girl - make sure nothing blocking that hole. Yay!!! Thank you. I know you mentioned the hole almost as an afterthought but I think that solved my problem I hope so =)
Thought my compressor was bad, until I watch your post, it was the bottom freezer coil frozen over, she is 10 years old but still running great.... Tks.. Nice post
Question, after removing the ice off the coils put all back together,,, the fridge has been running all night and is still hot in both the fridge and freezer, the fan is running non stop, last year the control board was replaced, any in-Site what my problem may be? COMPRESSOR Bad? Tks..
You saved my sanity tonight! Thanks so so so much! Easy fix and I didn't have to buy a new frig.
Took my fridge apart per your instructions and found the condenser frosted over in a big way. I think it resulted in the fan seizing although when I took off the plastic cover (breaking one of those damn plastic tabs!) it was turning although I'm 100% certain it wasn't before because with the flap wide open at the top no air was coming out at all. I thought there might be something wrong with the defroster but after your diagnosis at the end of the video it makes perfect sense that the coils were too dusty because they were EXTREMELY dirty. Life was so much easier when the coils were on the back. Thanks for the great video! (BTW my wife is halfway miffed about not getting a new fridge too)
If your evaporator coils were loaded with frost/ice, you have a defrost issue, either defrost thermostat/heater/defrost timer (mechanical or computer controlled)
Wow! I rarely leave comments on videos but here I have to say a big thank you. The video is clear and very helpful.
Great video on fridge maintenance! All fixed up and working fine but the wife kind of wanted a new one!. Hard to win in that situation.
Take Care,
Bill
Thanks man Saved my Memorial Day! The fan in the freezer was froze!
Thank u very much as a single mum I can now try to fix my fridge myself
I can’t find the part of the compressor. All of the tubes are cold. Wtf?
Both ends will be cold if the compressor is not running, so then the challenge is to decide why. The compressor will have safety cutoffs if the freon charge is too low or too high. Unfortunately domestic fridges don't often come with Shrader valves to measure pressure. I'd be looking for simple things, like verifying you have power on and the switch inside the fridge on, then move to a circuit drawing to decide what controls power delivery. You can quickly assess the compressor by disconnecting it from power, then check resistance and check for a short to ground on each of the three windings. Look for blown fuses. Unfortunately the cost of replacing a major problem like a bad compressor may be more than the cost of a new fridge.
spelunkerd Thanks for the answer! According to the technician, the compressor is not getting any power from the motherboard (the brain of the fridge).
Wow your explanation was about the clearest I’ve seen on the Internet, terrific job! 👍🏻
very professional, we all can learn from this amazing guy. i hope we can write to him directly for advice or repair when needed
Very useful video - not the model of fridge I'm trying to fix but transferrable info. Thank you!
Wow, I learned a lot about how refrigerators work. This will help me fix mine that’s not cooling correctly.
I do the condenser cleaning every year. Having a dirty condenser elevates the high pressure and makes the compressor to run harder. As you mentioned also runs more time wasting more electricity. Thanks for the v2
Ya i needa figure mine out.
Cleaning the condenser once a year is about right...more often if you have dogs or cats.😁
It's not too good on the starting run either when them coils get dirty
@@crazyamericangamer7036 what is your fridge doing or not doing
@@roycehunt854 I’m trying to figure out what is going on with my Frigidaire side by side. I’ve watched numerous videos. It’s flashing H1 on freezer side. Slowly stopped making ice. Water works fine. Freezer will not freeze food or ice cream. Refrigerator seems to be ok. I’ve cleaned all coils and underneath. Back wall in freezer was frozen when I took panel off and bottom of freezer tray had ice. I unplugged, and defrosted freezer with blow dry. Damper seems fine. Cold hair blowing to both sides. I’m lost! I don’t really want to have to call a service man, I can’t afford to! Was hoping someone reads this and is able to help
Great video. I will follow your advice re my fridge that seems to be faulty ie slightly higher temperatures
Thank you so much for making this video to explain how this type of refrigerator works. My 10 year old Kenmore (probably made by Whirlpool) is basically identical to yours. I was getting a louder than normal buzz but it did not appear to be coming from the compressor, or condenser fan behind the rear panel beacsue teh sound would continue even when those components shut off. I was stumped trying to figure out where the other motor could be, and how to access it since the upper back is completely sealed. I've had to manually defrost the evap coils before, but It did not occur to me to look there for the 'shaded pole motor' which is likely the culprit. Much appreciated and PS I hate plastic clips too!
I did another video of a bad shaded pole motor in an oven, where I swap it out and explain how it works. Genius design, easy to work with. If you get frozen ice around the fan blades the fan could seize, then work OK after defrost. If automatic defrost isn't working you might check out the electric defrost element. Defrost timers can fail, the element itself can go bad, and that branch of the system often has a fuse.
Excellent professional video thank you proper explanations supported by videos of the different components and also diagrams very helpful much appreciated
You are a genius! Should have follow your rules before I got rid of my 35 yo GE fridge. Will do maintenance on my new LG fridge annually.
Good luck... your going to need it(LG are junk)
Solid video, thank you!
I just discovered our video and oh, I am so greatfull to you! Thank you for these sharp clear explanations!
Excellent video. Your explanation is very easy to follow. For me this removed the mystery of how it works.
Well done, a good clean up and its happy again :-D
Fridge/freezers are something that everyone forgets about, the saying "Out of sight, out of mind." fits perfectly.
My crude understanding:
i roughly remember that the refridgerent gas gets compressed and heats up with reduced volume, then it's sent through an external radiator to dump the heat component into the air.
Then it's sent into the larger diameter/length condenser coils inside to expand and absorb heat.
I had a lady knock on my door as her fridge/freezer didn't seem to be working, i walked into her kitchen and was met with a heatwave.
i told her to open the windows and doors to get the kitchen back down to normal.
i explained that the fridge needs to dump heat into the cooler air, if the air is hot the fridge cant operate.
No supprise that the fridge/freezer returned back to normal, she won't do that again lol.
I’m trying to fix my fridge before my wife finds out. Glad I ran across your video
Great video. Forget a vacuum exclusively- I used my compressor blowing the dusk off which works great and also have the vacuum handy while the dust balls come off. Thanks
The tray with water does it needs to empty?
@@merlicacelestine7821 no the fan moves air across that tray which is expected to have some water in it and the fan air movement causes it to evaporate into the room. Just clean it out of any crap dust and hair
Leaf blower.
GREAT video! Thanks for sharing! Now, lets hope I can fix my Kenmore Fridge! It is only 22 years old! Thanks!
Great video. Unfortunately everything is clean and working fine in my fridge but still not keeping cold. My freezer isn't freezing but fridge seems ok. I have taken it all apart. Coils are good. Compressor seems ok but I don't know. The whole fridge was vibrating and shaking last night and then it stopped cooling. What would make the fridge shake? Thanks.
Gee, that's ominous, I would check the mounts for the compressor. If you're not finding ice where it shouldn't be, and if leaving it off for several hours and restarting doesn't help, you'll have to make a decision whether it is worthwhile asking for advice from a pro. On the surface it does sound like a compressor problem, or maybe an undercharge of of refrigerant. Often the cost of fixing an old fridge is not worth it, compared to replacing it with a new one.
@@spelunkerd yep...folks want 200 bucks just to come out and look at it. I ran out and got a new fridge. Thank you!!
After defrosting freezer coils, verifying fan, heating element and timer working. Timer was stuck i unstucked it. I also cleaned all the dust from the bottom coils, fan and vacuumed that area. Washed with water and wd 40 those parts. I noticed a great deal of lint covering the outside, cover near the compressor. That led me to think about how important airflow is on the back of the refrigerator. It’s not just lint as a problem. It’s also the confined space cabinets walls. There was only about 2 to 3 inches of air room. As a test, I use the fan to help circulate air from behind the refrigerator. What a difference that made in performance in the amount of electricity, being used by the refrigerator constantly running. Moral to the story just like your car needs air so does your refrigerator. This will greatly reduce my electrical bill and prolong the life of the unit. I am now getting -10° in the freezer refrigerator is now at 40°.
those are wise words that apply in many situations. I like the way you think it through.
you're better off repairing old appliances given that newer ones are made of spit wads & bubblegum & designed for about 5-year lifespans.
No
You're appliances would last longer if you weren't a Nazi with a Ukraine flag picture
You are full of shit.
I own my repair service company and your comment hit the Nail Directly on the head. I have more newer units with constant issues that are irreparable. Fix your old units!👍
How old are we talking about? Like a 20 year old fridge?
Fantastic video and I thank you very much for schooling me on this. However, I do have one question, I replaced the compressor fan motor and now I'm not sure if it is blowing the correct direction. This fridge has the coils on the bottom, the compressor on the left (looking at it from the back) and the fan motor pulls air so it comes in from the front floor level, across the coils toward the compressor and away toward the back right corner. Whew, that's not easy to explain.
If the motor is a shaded pole motor you can reverse the direction of spin by flipping and remounting the entire motor 180 deg. Those things are designed to mount in two different directions. The wiring polarity itself doesn't matter, but the physical relation of the shaded poles compared to the fan angle is important. I would turn it on and see if the air blows the direction you want it to. I did an entire video on shaded pole motors in an oven that may be useful. It's not so easy to change the air flow direction in other motors. Thanks for stopping by!
The fact that the freezer was at normal operating temperature indicates that your problem was not related to the dirty condenser coil. It indicates an airflow problem between the fridge and freezer. All of the parts tested good which indicates an intermittent problem. The defrost termination thermostat is a very common intermittent failure item on these models. You might be wondering why a defrost termination thermostat would cause an intermittent airflow problem. Amana has a unique fan motor circuit. The neutral side of the fan motor goes through the defrost termination thermostat, then through the defrost heater which has a hard connection to neutral. The impedance of the heater is low enough compared to the fan motor that it doesn't cause much of a voltage drop. There also isn't enough current flow to get any measurable heat out of the heater. This genius design prevents the fan motor from turning on until the evaporator coil is frozen which prevents moisture from being blown into the ducting and freezing. The fan motor is another common failure item due to the vertical shaft. Moisture drains into the bearing and causes corrosion. The motor sounded smooth in the video, so I don't think it's bad. Another common problem is a bad neutral connection at the defrost heater. This problem usually presents with incomplete defrost and low fan speed. Not likely a problem here but worth checking if you have to open up the evaporator again.
Hey, man, thanks for stopping by! Sounds like wise advice, I'll bear that in mind. No issues so far, but I'll look more closely at the defrost hardware and thermostat if I have more issues.
@@spelunkerd no problem. Thanks for the hard work you put into the videos. I'm glad all is well with the fridge.
Dennis Rindlisbach I bought a new fridge which gets hot a lot,I called the one who sold it to me and what he said was some fridges don't have condenser so that's what will happen but it doesn't mean anything. Now my question is, is this heating not going to affect the efficiency, effectiveness and the power consumption? If it will, what do I do? Cos it's New and I'm worried
Thank you
Exactly. Relays on the board that switch between cycles.
I shared that concern about other causes. Now we're over a year since the fridge failed, and it has worked fine since then. So, I'm gonna call this one a verified fix.
Thank you - very helpful and informative! I appreciate the practical info about the possible extra power usage. Utility costs are so high now here in Canada
One thing I forgot to mention was the glimpse you get at 5:54-5:58 of the defrost heater, the length of dark element positioned underneath the evaporator. Those sometimes go bad, causing icing of the evaporator and ineffective cooling. Mine was obviously fine.
Just swapped out the evaporator fan and she's purring like a kitten... LOL👍👍
00
Do u have a video on how to replace the defrost heater for the unit in this video?
@@thaman20071 Not on my channel, although you may be able to find it online.
@@thaman20071 if you find one please let me know!!
Very instructive video. Thanks.
Now let’s see if my fridge will cool better.
This video appeared on my timeline at just the right time! It’s definitely not entertainment. Lol. Thanks for posting.
Thank your FBI agent
Mike Fortuna 😂🤣
Thank you sir, they always say 'you learn something new everyday!'
Your a very detailed teacher. Thank you.
Appareciate the video. I had known some of this stuff, but needed reminders. Other things were new to me and helped me understand WHY I was doing what I was doing.
I'm a home appliance tech, and refrigeration is my strong point. Just to give you a little more info...
The gas refrigerant coming back to the compressor from the evaporator is actually not room temp, but still cold and helps cool the compressor. If the condenser is clogged, instead of sending condensed refrigerant to the evaporator, (necessary for the capillary tube to force the pressure to drop and change state to a gas), you are sending partial gas along with the condensed liquid. This flashes at the entry to the evaporator and gets "too cold" plus doesn't have enough btu's left to cool the rest of the evaporator. You are now creating an ice ball at the top of the evaporator, and also not sending cool refrigerant gas back to help cool the compressor. All this heats up the compressor. Add to that, the compressor runs and runs trying to reach the set point temperature and overheats. Often, this causes the compressor to shut off on it's thermal protection. You will get large swings in temperature as the compressor spends too much time in protection mode.
Hint: You can check how the compressor is working by running an amp draw check at the compressor power wire. On most residential refrigerators and freezers, it's a 1/4 horsepower compressor. Fully charged, they draw between 0.9 and 1.4 amps. If amps are too low, you have a refrigerant leak or on an older compressor, it could also be weak valves. If the amps are too high, you have a restriction somewhere between the compressor and the evaporator. Usually moisture turned into ice at the cap tube, or possible particulate matter that was not vacuumed out at the factory.
I could go on, but that's a good start to give you and your subscribers a good basic understanding.
I have a whirlpool with the freezer on bottom. The vent behind the bottom drawer frosts over from the left and moves all the way across the vent. Once it is completely frozen the refrigerator stops cooling. The freezer is fine. We have to unplug and defrost it but after a couple of weeks it’s starts freezing over again. Any ideas?
My fridge is making a loud humming noise, and freezer isn't freezing.. Any idea what it may be? It's like what you stated, compressor just running and running trying to keep it cool.
Our fridge is working but not getting to the temp set point. Freezer side is the same, not quite getting to temp setting...ice maker works- is making ice... coils are clean...condenser fan is working....I can hear the compressor running. It's an LG french door LFXS30766D
My freezer works both fans working the fridge warm air is it the shaded pole motor?
Magnificent Explanation, thank you for all your help
Hi
My Freezer is cold 0 degrees, but the fridge is not cooling 55 degrees. At this point with my Frigidaire GLHS67EHQ side-by-side refrigerator, I’ve replaced the damper assembly, that did not fix it. I cleaned the condenser coil. Then I replaced the evaporator fan motor and blade (which was running), that did not fix it. Although the compressor was working, I decided to install a new start device since the unit is 12 years old and I was already cleaning the condenser coil.
The damper is open, and air is flowing, but there doesn’t seem to be much velocity. The freezer is cold, but the fridge side remains warm. There’s no corrosion on any lines I can see. There’s no ice buildup on the evaporator Just a small amount of frost.
Finally, I replaced the control panel, but that didn’t resolve the cooling issue on the fridge side either. I’ve checked and rechecked everything, including re-crimping the evaporator thermostat wires to ensure they were properly connected, but the problem persists.
I’ve also removed the ice maker and top back panel to check for obstructions, and everything looks good. The vent by the crisper is clear as well.
At this point about the only thing that I did not replace is the thermistors. I tested the fridge thermistor, it is opening and closing the damper as it should.
I’ve been working on this for days and am not sure what else I can check. Any further guidance would be greatly appreciated!
The only thing I can think of now, is the fan moving enough air?
Thanks for any ideas in advance.
Dean
thank-you this Video is very informative and helpful. thank-you
I’m going to try this on my son’s refrigerator! Fingers crossed 🤞🏼
video solved my problem. old freezer working with frig barely cold. coils not dirty. exhaust fan working. freezer fan working. disassembled until i got to flap that lets air into frig. sure enough electric controlled flap was in closed position. solution was bypass dead elec control and put in a piece of plastic to maintain flap open all the time. works great now. if it was a manual control knob this would never happen.
When I pulled the back of the freezer off like you did at 5:48 and looked at the evaporator, it was completely iced over, or snowed over with ice crystals the consistency of a snow cone. The fridge is making that loud groaning humming noise you described.. so just to be clear, are you saying I need to replace the evaporator fan, or could it be something else??? The temp in the refrigerator (not the freezer part) is way less cold than it used to be. I have to turn it up to 8 out of 9 just to keep the food cold enough! Something's slowly going out.. but what???!! 🤔
That ice needs to be defrosted first, so unplug the fridge, try to store vulnerable contents somewhere cold, and wait. You can speed defrost with steam from a kettle. Once all the ice is gone, probe that drain tube to look for blockage, vacuum the water away, and plug the fridge back in. Then look for the two fans, the condenser fan and the evaporator fan. Make sure they are working properly, the fan blades are spinning and it is moving air. Most fridges have a defrost heater element that can go bad, it is usually a simple resistance heater with a fuse. Find the circuit drawing somewhere inside the fridge, and find and identify the defrost element and its fuse. Defrost is a cycle that happens every few days, where fans turn off, the heater turns on, and the ice is melted. The timer for defrost can go bad, and old school fridges have mechanical timers that can get stuck in defrost mode. Your circuit drawing should clarify what design your fridge has.
@@spelunkerdhello I replaced my relay and overload and my refrigerator started working again but only for a few hours then stopped working again any suggestions
Thanks for the upload. it helped a lot. my built-in fridge doesn't have a fan at the condenser so it relays on open airways to cool off. these of course got blocked and the items were warm. had to make a guard to stop people blocking the airflow. but your video really helped me understand it better and to work around it. Now I can rest without her nagging me for the rest of the day.
;)
Was the air damper on mine was frozen shut so wouldn't let cold air into the fridge compartment. Quick defrost nw fridge nice and cold .Kenwood KFF2DS14
Omg. Cleaning the back of the fridge worked. Thank you so much!!
Thanks man! This Fixed my fridge! I just needed to clean out all of the dirt and dust and it’s back to normal.
My fridge is on the fritz and a quick google search leads to another excellent Spelunkerd video leaving me wondering, is there anything you can't fix and explain well? Still waiting for your video on "My backyard nuclear reactor melted down, here's how I safely fixed it with duct tape in 30 seconds or less". To be honest though not sure if I should thank you or curse you, instead of taking the lazy way out and calling a repair guy I have to get up off the couch and fix my fridge now. :). Thanks again for another excellent repair video!
Ha ha ha, what a kind remark, James! I'm just watching an RYA video now on racing rules, hoping to get back into racing when allowed. I presume you guys are only racing short handed now?
@@spelunkerd We should hopefully have a return to full crew 'social bubble' racing in the next week or two. Otherwise we've not been racing shorthanded. We started working our way towards SH racing but a few random things sidetracked that plan. We've been taking this time away from racing to enjoy cruising more and have quickly grown to appreciate the 'set it and forget it' approach! Hope you're at least heading in the direction of return to some normalcy up there as well!
Great video man! I understand the mechanics of my fridge much better now :)
Great video! Thx I'll try n fix my Kenmore as well.
My freezer is working well but the Fridge is hot. Water leaking from inside Fridge from the duct where cold air comes through.
I’m having the exact same issue with the same fridge. What did you do to fix it?
Frig's are really a miracle aren't they.
0:49 thanks for that! Mine looked identical. Setting 6/7 was 7 or 8°C and setting 7/7 was -2°C so I am hoping that fixes it!
Thanks for sharing this video..I have a refrigerator bought it from Sears and after 2years it stopped working didn't have a warrantee so I called Sears got it fixed got a 3yrs warrantee and 4th year same thing the fridge would stopped cooling in the month of May so we tried using the ac to cooling down and it helped a little but the fridge works fine throughout the winter makes ice too Sears did change that round black thing in the back forget the name rt now the fridge stopped working 2 weeks now we decided to buy a new one afraid to spend money to fix it and have the same problem
One element that fairly commonly goes bad in consumer level fridges is the PTC relay, which allows current to flow through start coils for the first few seconds, following which its resistance increases and current through the start relay is reduced. There is a capacitor in series with the start windings, and all together it is a black or white cube that clips onto the compressor. The details of that are too advanced for an intro level video, but if you're interested there are many videos and resources describing that in detail.
Excellent explanation! Our fridge/freezer is very similar to your model, and I've had it opened up before to clear that defrost drain tube. Today we have a different problem; everything appears to be functioning properly, except that nothing is getting cold enough. Cold air blows out in both the fridge and freezer, but the temperatures aren't low enough (I don't have an IR temp gun like yours... yet) and most of the food went bad overnight. I'm wondering if maybe it has developed a small refrigerant leak or something that would keep it "cold but not cold enough".
That's a valid concern. Unfortunately domestic fridges don't have Schrader valves to easily measure pressures, so if a tech wants to measure pressure he needs to puncture the line and install a valve on at least one side. That is beyond the scope of most DIY homeowners. Here in Canada, because of environmental concerns, homeowners don't have access to the correct refrigerant without a license. The cost for that kind of professional repair of any refrigerant leak will be hundreds of dollars. I would carefully walk through the diagnostic steps shown, especially looking at the door seal very carefully. If the door doesn't fit perfectly square, fix it. I show how to adjust an out of square door in another video titled 'freezer frost repair'. Don't forget to look for simple solutions. If the steps shown in this video don't show a problem, you face the dilemma of whether to pay a guy to fix it rather than buying another. Many homeowners decide to save that money for a new appliance....
@@spelunkerd thank you so much for the thoughtful response! I did find information on using a piercing valve and gauge to measure/refill the refrigerant, but without the tools on hand decided not to go that route. The door is sealing well and there is not much dust buildup (I cleaned it out a year or two ago and we don't have any pets), and the fans, compressor, and refrigerator damper flap all appear to be functioning. The refrigerator (a Maytag MBF2256HEQ) came with the house when we bought it in 2012 and as I recall was manufactured in 2005. Thankfully, we had enough in emergency savings to cover a new refrigerator, so we ended up giving the old one to a neighbor who wanted a "garage fridge" for storing drinks, and we bought a new one for our home (an LG LFDS22520S, in case you're curious).
Thank you for your video. If the compressor is warm and the fan is running, would it be the problem for for the Freon leaking?
Yes it's possible. Unfortunately there are no shrader valves in domestic fridges to measure pressures, and although you can puncture a line to get pressure readings it involves special equipment that most of us in the DIY world don't have. If charge is zero then the compressor will be locked out but if charge is low the compressor may simply work overtime. If you get a pro to fix a leak the cost could be approaching that of a new fridge, with no warranty. So, the usual approach is to rule out all the problems that are easy to fix (like seal leak, bad fans, defrost mode sticking, clogged coils, bad capacitor or PTC switch, etc). If all of that investigation is negative, a case could be made for cutting losses and recycling an old unit.
I appreciate this video. Trying to figure out our issue right now.
Good video with great 👍 information. Thanks!
Thank you. Good info that I was looking for.
My tray for water is on top of the compressor. It is decaying but still possible to collect water. To keep it in place I put a dot of hot glue because I found it on the floor behind the fridge. Was it okay to hot glue it in place? I only put a little glob. I took a picture of tray and I am going to find a new one to replace it.
Awesome video, very logical in your descriptions, easy to follow, but also contained lots of information! Thank you so much, big help!
Try this to get the freezer working again. I have an LG Top-Bottom Fridge that was having similar trouble. Compressor and exterior fan were working fine but the freezer was not cooling. I removed the front interior trim of the freezer and saw that the evaporator fan was not working. I carefully unscrewed it from the housing frame behind the trim and checked the resistance and continuity on the wire connector which were excellent. Now I've seen repairmen who would just tell you to replace the fan but at that time of day that was not an option. Having done this before with a standing fan, I realised that all this fan wanted was a cleaning and lubricating of the magnets and impeller respectively. Eventually over time with these two there is a build up of dirt, and rust in some cases, which must be cleaned and so here is where WD 40 is your best friend. I used some of this on a paper napkin to wipe the two surfaces after which I used some treadmill silicone oil, you can use something similar, on the curved surface of the impeller as well as the shaft and end joint housing. I reinstalled the evap fan and plugged it in. Not only did it spin, but it spun faster than before. Also, make sure you clean the plastic fan blade which should just pop off the impeller shaft. I placed mine under the faucet and used some dishwashing soap. Hope this tip helps someone to save some time and money. 😀
Good point, well done. One other thing for people to remember is that if their other fan, the evaporator fan is not working, sometimes the board has shut it down to enable defrost phase. In that case the compressor would not be running. Older fridges used mechanical timers that could get stuck and it was simply a matter of rotating the dial to get it out of defrost. That buys time to replace the timer without letting food thaw. To know if the board has called for fan, measure voltage and ground at the fan itself to see if the fan is failing to responding to a call to turn on.
@@spelunkerd Nicely done.
It was absolutely the coil under my fridge. Thanks!
Thank you so much for this video. I was about to have a repair guy come in as my fridge was not keeping the milk cold. We put a thermometer inside to confirm my suspicions on milk temp and we were running 10 degrees LOWER than is necessary to keep food from spoiling!!! I came to UA-cam to see if we could do something before the repair guy came and low and behold, we opened ours up as you instructed and mine looked just as dirty as yours with NO DOGS! I am so embarrassed but, we've just spent a bit of time cleaning it all out. Now we'll see if the repair guy can get cancelled!
Great video. Thank you very much. I just cleaned gobs of lint/dog hair fron the front of the base in hopes that helps.
Thanks for sharing much appreciated 👍🙏
That was a great explanation! Thank you
Fantastic video! Thank you for sharing this.
Thanks for taking the time to respond. Yes, the repair guy came out and said no freon. He mentioned the evaporator line had a hole it it. Also, it needed a "hard start" relay. Is this worth it?
Great question, hard to say. When I go the local recycling yard I am always sadly disappointed to find many new looking appliances. It is hard to compete with brand new devices that come with a warranty, etc.
thanks so much your the most helpful video ive seen yet
Hello, very descriptive and informative video. My fridge isn't properly cooling, the compressor is working, and so is the cooling fan. The condenser fan is blowing but not at full power. Can you help me understand why? Thank you.
There are only a handful of diagnoses that can be fixed by the home handiman. So, I would focus on those. Check the door seals very carefully, even a milimeter gap might be enough to tip the fridge into poor cooling. I did a video showing how to fix that. Check to see if cooling is reduced in both compartments, if not look at that flap valve controlling cold air sent to the main compartment, and check your condenser coil for dog hair, obstructions, plastic bags, etc that might impair heat transfer. One thing that sometimes happens is the unit goes into a defrost mode and can't get out of it. Old style units had a dial with a switch, easy to diagnose, but new units are entirely electronic. If your compressor is starting and running then it is not likely the PTC relay. All that being OK, the next consideration is whether you have a leak of refrigerant somewhere. The leak boils away but the oil in the unit can stain the area that has leaked. Or sometimes the compressor itself loses the ability to mount a pressure head. Whether it is worth diagnosing and fixing a fridge like that is hard to say. New fridges are fairly inexpensive and they come with a warranty, and repairs aren't all cheap. It's kinda sad to see so many new looking appliances at the landfill.
@@spelunkerd Thank you for the help. I've went through all the applicable troubleshooting tips. No pets, nothing obstructing the circulation of air, the door seals are in tact. After a closer look I realized the condenser fan isn't blowing at all. However, listen to this, my younger sister has schizophrenia and oftentimes she will bang on the refrigerator. I think that's the reason why it's not working properly because it happened after one of her episodes. In your opinion can that cause the malfunction to the fan? In any case, I may just replace the unit..
@@yishaithegift9953 I did a video on how to diagnose a bad oven fan. The design of the fridge condenser fan may be different but the general principles apply. A multimeter will tell you whether the board is trying to turn that fan on. If the fan isn't spinning, and it's getting adequate power, then the fan is bad. I don't know how easy it would be to get a replacement. Yeah, if the metal casing is bent then the fan blades could make contact and seize. More likely the bearings are shot.
@@spelunkerd I'll check out the video. Thanks for your help and advice. Subscribed!
oh wow great video! I think I can save my fridge now.
I opened my refrigerator and the coils between the condenser to the compressor were covered with ice. The coils were also covered with ice. The freezer wasn’t freezing. What do you think is the issue and should be replaced? Thanks you channel is very helpful.
Most fridges these days have a defrost element, an electric heater placed near the evaporator. It is run on a timer, either electronic or analog, typically running for ~30 min every 12 hours, during which the compressor turns off. After the heater does its thing, ice turns to water and there is a drain to carry that water away. If the drain gets blocked by debris, the defrost cycle ends and the lake of iced reforms. So, the possibilities are a bad heater element, a blown fuse, a broken wire, a failed timer, a bad electronic board, or a blocked drain. I would start by defrosting the fridge, mopping up water and making sure the drain is working. Then I'd inspect the area looking for the timer, checking the circuit/fuse and measuring resistance of the element.
This guy sounds like Brett "The Hitman" Hart.. He must know what he's doing. He's most likely the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be at fixxin' fridges!!!
WELL done. Easy to follow
Come home to find my fridge warm, but freezer working, so far cleaned my condenser coils under the fridge, they were very dirty. Then took apart my lower freezer to expose the evaporator coils and it was all iced up. I suspect my defrost element is not working has my evaporator has froze up in the past. My fridge looks like yours in the video but I have digital temperature controls. Took it apart to try and find the defrost timer. I don’t think I have one?
New fridges use electronic timers that may be integral to the board. You can still evaluate the heater circuit. Check for power and ground, measure resistance of the heater, look for corroded or broken contacts, and keep your eyes out for a fusible link or fuse. I wouldn't give up on the idea of defrosting, clearing any debris from the drain hose, and trying again.