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Frequently Asked Questions About Domestic Refrigerator Repair:

Freezer thaws daily

I have a freezer problem which I hope your book might help with. I first noticed that my ice cream was sometimes solid and sometimes soft. I have a Kenmore side by side refrigerator/freezer which I bought used. It freezes well, but tends to cycle - the frozen foods will thaw then freeze solid at least once or twice a day.

I called the shop I bought it from, but have gotten limited help. They had me clean the coils, and check the compressor fan, which was running when I looked at it and seems to turn easily. The fan inside the freezer blows air out. There was a cardboard back covering the compressor and fan, with only a few small holes punched in it for ventilation - I enlarged these to increase air flow around the compressor.

Despite all this, the problem continues. The shop says the problem is probably intermittent, and wants me to bring the unit in (on the roof of my Toyota I suppose).

If you think your book might be of help, please let me know how I can get a hold of it.

Thanks for being so explicit, I get so many emails saying only; "My fridge is not working right, what do you think it could be?".

First I must warn you that cutting the ventilation holes larger in the compressor cover is not a good idea. The engineers design the air flow very carefully so that the compressor and condenser are running at the temperatures they should be. Perhaps you could block some of the holes off now so that the same amount of air is vented as was designed. This cardboard cover is something a lot of homeowners make mistakes with which causes premature burnout. Stated simply, if more air is vented out the back cover then less air will flow past the condenser. See attached diagram Fig 3-16. Air on these designs is supposed to come in on one side of the kickplate and exit out the other.

Note: Fig 3-16 is in the Section 3 article "Condenser Fan Motor"

The first thing that comes to mind in your situation is perhaps the defrost thermostat is stuck closed or one with a higher value was used somewhere along the way. To determine if this is the problem, (I know this may be a hassle but ), place a thermometer inside the freezer and try to log exactly when the thawing occurs. If it happens as regular as clockwork, then this suspicion is correct. Your unit cycles into a defrost cycle every 6 hours for 21 minutes. If not this then---

-- as much care and attention as I have taken to write this manual to cover all circumstances, intermittence as I have found, is one of the hardest things to track down, especially on refrigerators. There are just so many variables involved. Unless you thoroughly understand what is going on with every working device on the unit, it would be almost impossible to trace.

My book does have a troubleshooting chart called "intermittent operation" on which you can check for the most obvious causes. I’ve attached it to this email so you can take a look at it. Of all the 11 charts in this manual I do have to admit this is the hardest one to follow.

So, I have to be honest with you that I’d like to sell you a copy of my book but it might not be of much help in this case. Intermittence can be hard to trace even for the most skilled technician.

Just some advice, be as observant as you can before you call someone, every small detail is important to solve this problem. (eg. when the freezer is thawing is the compressor in fact running, or is it just the fans?) Is the fan underneath, called the condenser cooling fan, running when the freezer thaws?

Try to find the best tech you can. I have an article back at the web site that may help, called "Finding the Best Technician Possible for your Repair". Also, unless you are really remote you should be able to get one to come out to your house instead of hauling the refrigerator in. I've always found problems like this are the easiest to find in the environment the unit usually works in.