Frequently Asked Questions About Domestic Refrigerator Repair:
Bottom freezer Amana, freezer section works, fridge section does not, technician says it’s the compressor!!
Dear Fridge Dr., Can you tell me why my 5 year old Amana with a freezer on the bottom can't cool as it should even with the setting on max? My appliance guy says the compressor must be bad, but that seems strange since the freezer is fine and keeps things frozen solid. This has been going on for several months and I hate to buy a new one if there is a simpler solution. Thanks for your help!
Sounds to me like your technician may need some extra business. This is how frost free refrigerators act when they build up frost where they shouldn't, or your fan motor may be weak. If it was a faulty or weak compressor the freezer section wouldn’t be cold enough.
First make sure it’s not just a wrong setting, this refrigerator should have two controls, one in the freezer and one in the refrigerator section. First make sure they are both about mid-point. I say this because if you turn some types of controls all the way up you choke off the air circulation completely. If you have the controls set mid-point for a day or so and you still are having the same problem---
If the fan in the back of the freezer section is blowing whenever the compressor is on, try turning it off for 24 hrs with the doors open and let it thaw out.
If it works well for about a week after you do this you know for sure it's not defrosting.
If the same condition persists maybe there is another problem but I highly doubt it's the compressor at only 5 years old.
Hope this helps and please let me know the results,
Well, we just turned off the fridge for 24 hours and turned it back on, only to find that it is still just barely cooling. We left it run for a day since. The freezer is still freezing just fine. In other words, nothing changed. Any more ideas? I really do appreciate your being willing to offer any suggestions. Thanks,
Alright, well we now know it's not a defrost problem. There should be a fan running in the freezer section whenever the compressor does. Does the fan actually run? You should hear it when the door of the freezer compartment is open.
If you do hear the fan then for some reason the air is not getting from the freezer section into the refrigerator section. Perhaps use the advice in my article back on the web site about finding the best technician and get a second opinion.
Hi, thanks for your help, this problem was a hard one to solve but your advice helped us greatly!! We phoned another technician and it seems our fan was blowing, but not hard enough. He said these fans really have to blow hard on refrigerators with the freezer in the bottom, seems ours was weak. Incidentally the first technician said a new fan motor was included with the $450 compressor replacement, is this true?
No.
Note: It’s obvious this customer was being set up for an expensive job that didn’t need to be done. It appears the first technician even knew it was a weak fan motor all along, because fan motors are never included with the compressor.
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