Weird refridgerator issue. Mechanicals good but no cool
 

2015 Kenmore side by side with a single evaporator.

We wake up in the morning to our freezer thawing out. Do a quick check and not blowing cold. So after transferring everythign to the garage fridge, I check over the mechanicals. Condensor clean and fan running. Compressor running (thought only at 85 degrees top and bottom. Evaporator fan running but at ambient temp. Defrost circuit not on.

Let it thaw for a few hours just in case. Plugged back in, no cold.

Ran diagnostics - no code.

So the electronics think they are fine - and mechanically everything seems to be working. Its just not cold. Its as if all the freon was gone, but then the compressor should cut out. ...or if the compressor runs but doesn't, well, compress.

Any ideas? Its a WEEK before Sears will come get a repairman here.

Mine did that, I unplugged for 10 minutes then plugged back in and everything was fine.

Ours does that. Sometimes the bottom freezer door doesn’t get shut tight. Also, a lot of gaseous vegetables can cause cooling problems in the fridge. Two weeks ago my fridge was at 60 degrees, the freezer was 10. The duct from the freezer to the fridge iced up, everything into coolers and ice for eight hours, puddle under fridge, everything works great now.

When unit is running, check to see if outlet of compressor is hot (compressing gas) then then check right after evap coils and they should still be somewhat cold. If temps are same either pump is not pumping or your out of Freon. Visit our friends at Harbor Freight and get the Freon leak detector with the long tubular arm. If you have a leak or bad seal or..or.. then that will tell you. All this above is courtesy of the US Navy's AC&R school in 1974.

Let us know what you find please.

I tried unplugging it for a few hours and left the doors open. Then shut the doors and plugged it back in. 8 hours later and still warm.

Inlet and outlet of the compressor are ambient temperature. Condenser same.

Is it out of warranty?

Naturally.

See if the compressor is getting power to the motor pins.
Sounds to me like the condensing fan is running but the compressor is not.
That compressor should be HOT even if the valves were gone (not compressing) or if is low or out of refrigerant.
Could be off on overloads (thermal/amperes) located under the motor terminal cover.
Could be an open winding on the motor.
Have a meter?

Trouble with working on residential fridges is that you have to be bent over like a monkey humping a football to see anything....
Residential appliance wiring can be not very straight forward.
You can find that they break the neutral as well as breaking hot to control the components On/Off.

The compressor is definitely on. I can feel it vibrating, it makes the same sound it always did from what I can tell. It doesn't really get warm though. Ambient is 75 and the lower half was 85 after hours of running.

I don't have a current meter but haven't bothered to check the voltage to it either, because if its a bad compressor - I can't fix that anyway.

Had a similar issue with our LG and it was a shot compressor. I ultimately punted that one to a repair man. Only about two years old, the part was under warranty but I had to pay $450 labor.

Jeeezuz thats a lot.

I've been afraid of the compressor. Kids left the doors open twice all night. Compressor was, of course, running the whole time... Worried it "burned out"

Is there a schrader valve you can tap into and check system pressure?
Or use laser thermometer?

Should be ambient temp before condenser and very hot after (where the radiator/fan is located).

My beautiful Whirpool quit after three years and was within advertised warrantee.
A hot copper line after the compressor (which routes through the drip tray) had broken and leaked out all freon.
Three weeks of using coolers and swapping out blue ice packs three times a day.
I got the run-around from the company.
It ended up being about same price to buy a new one, and have my life back.

All line temps were basically the same using an infrared pyrometer. No refrigerant pressure access ports to check pressures from what I can see.

If it's not pumping through, the pressure cutoff valve might be stuck shut, or there is no R-134A gas.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1566849592.jpg

(just a wag from a layman)

Seems like extended warranties for home appliances are almost a requirement. Seems like it is like rolling the dice if your shiny new appliance lasts 1 year or 20.
It would be nice to see manufacturers make appliances that are more service friendly instead of the disposable crap that we have these days.
A refrigerator that needs major surgery to repair is like a spouse that has cheated on you. You never really trust them again....
I make my fair share of speeling mistakes here but would like to point out that there is no D in refrigerator.
I would be shopping for a new fridge (it is ok to use the d here as it is short for the Frigidaire brand). Push the Kenmore to the garage for beer fridge duty once repaired or sell it on Craig's as non op.

That seems like a plausible theory.

Had a similar problem with a GE side by side at the cabin. Only a few years old and out of warranty. Ran but no cooling. I got on an appliance repair forum. Was asked to remove the panel inside the freezer section to expose where the compressor discharge line entered the freezer section. Was told that with the unit running, to look for frost on the line where it enters. Ours had a little frost for a couple inches and then no more. Diagnosis was that it lost the Freon and sorry but this model was probably not worth taking to a shop to repair. Wondered if it being seasonal use, 6 months on during the summer and then 6 months off at ambient winter temps had anything to do with it. Needed a refrigerator now so it was replaced with a new unit. Gave the old one to a friend that wanted parts (ice maker, electrical card and doors). Hope yours turns out better than ours.

Don't have a magic wand, but over the past few years I've gotten into the habit of checking you-tube for stuff like this and found just what i was looking for.

And if that fails, you can watch some cat videos.

Sounds like either a refrigerant leak or failed compressor. A 4 yr old is probably worth fixing if the rest of it is sound. Sears "used" to have a pretty good appliance repair team but these days, who knows?

Research the model no. and if you find that it is a troublesome unit, kick it to the curb. However, in that same search you will find fixes — there are always fixes. Some better than others. 2015 ought to have some kind of control board and these get parted out and/or refurbished by the eBay types.

Good idea. I’ll have to pay the $100 diagnostic fee and hope for the best. If a $2k refrigerator craps out after 3.5 years, I won’t be parting it out, I will be leaving it at the doorstep of my local Sears...

Feel your pain but....


Are there still Sears retail locations open? I thought they were done

Yep, my 30 cu ft Kenmore Elite is 4 years old and has died 3 times.
I paid for the extended warranty. Last month it got a new compressor.

Every time it is about a week before they can send a tech out, then they have to order parts and that is usually another week,

The last 2 times it went out I go to Craigslist and buy a temporary fridge for under $100 then re-sell it when they fix it. Such a pain in the ass.

Most all Sears in So Cal are still here.

Not the main stores - but the hardware, appliance centers all are...

If I was King I'd force all manufacturers to recycle their appliances that are more expensive to repair than to replace.

Is the compressor cycling at all? If so I'd guess it's tripping on a pressure switch. Could be stuck in a defrost cycle if the unit has defrost for the freezer??

THe compressor runs constantly.

Its not stuck on defrost (my first thought) because the defrost heater is room temp. The evaporator coils are also room temp.

Any oily residue around the compressor or solder joints.

Nope. No evidence of leaking at all.

Does it run on 134a?

We got a commercial pepsi cooler a few weeks back on craigslist. Was cold when we got it, wasn't when we got it home....

Replaced all the electrics for $20 off Amazon, nada....

Got a $4 bullet piercing valve, tapped into the copper fill line on the compressor, added 3-4 oz of 134a, and bingo, runs icy cold.

Look it up on youtube, for $20 or so, you could fix it.

Good luck

Really strange! If it's low on gas the compressor should cycle off of the pressure switch.

(note: Out of habit I was mistakenly calling R134A "freon" which is actually R12. My mistake.)

AFAIK almost all the consumer goods and autos have been switched from R12(w/chlorine) to R134A by the year 2010 or so.
https://refrigeranthq.com/r-134a-refrigerant-history/

R134A is made of smaller molecules and will leak out of R12 systems.
R134A is not as efficient and needs higher pressures to produce the same results.

sometime if you flip it upside down
that will clear an oil clog and or get the gas/liquid back where it needs to be
the drill is flip it for an hour then back rightside up DONOT TURN IT ON right a way

let it sit for another hour or longer so it gets back to normal then plug in and see if it will cool
maybe voodoo but I have seen it work esp if the unit was moved or laid down

I have heard of this for an RV fridge (absorption refrigerator) but never for a normal vapour compression cycle refrigerator. For an RV refrigerator, that can help get the absorbent, refrigerant and assist gas back where they belong. You still need to know where to start.

As a side note. the compressor is mounted on springs inside the "can". Transporting a fridge on the side or back might result in a compressor that clunks on startup and shutdown. I wouldn't advise flipping your refrigerator upside down.

THe whole thing is weird.

I didn't find any electronically actuated valves.. ...and all the mecanical bits appear to be doing what they are supposed to. ...and the only moving part you can't see is the compressor because its sealed.

So my guess is the compressor is running, but its not functioning somehow. Bad "piston" or some such.

A pressure test would eliminate that factor.
Low refrigerant will freeze up the expansion valve, but it has to start working first.

Liquid oil can clog but it's supposed to drain back after a few hours.

My guess now is that the delivery guys transported it on its side, liquid oil instead of oil vapor got into the compressor, it hydro-locked somewhat when they dumped it into place it and immediately plugged it in, and so the compressor pump eventually broke internally as you mentioned.

That or there is a leak somewhere.

Its been working for 3.5 years though?

A compressor is basically a pump, so it can still run but not actually compress the Freon. I suspect that’s what is going on here, and unfortunately it requires you to cut out and re-solder in a new compressor.