morabu Posted August 13, 2015 Report Share Posted August 13, 2015 My 4 year old refrigerator is not cooling. It's not making and weird noises or anything. I need someone who's not going to charge me a stupid amount of money to diagnose/fix it. If i can buy a replacement fridge for $700-800 i'm not paying $350-400 to fix this one. If i can get it fixed for a decent price all the better though. i'm in Galloway. Thanks, J.R. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigOxley Posted August 13, 2015 Report Share Posted August 13, 2015 currently shopping myself, i'd be interested too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acklac7 Posted August 13, 2015 Report Share Posted August 13, 2015 Not cooling period? or not cooling to safe/acceptable levels? (below 40) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Posted August 13, 2015 Report Share Posted August 13, 2015 If I can't fix it with a multimeter and google I usually just replace it. Had a $500 stove that I traced the issue to the control board, new board by itself was $290 from the cheapest source, just went and bought a new stove. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rustlestiltskin Posted August 13, 2015 Report Share Posted August 13, 2015 One simple thing to do is pull it out from the wall and check to see if the condenser is covered with dirt/dust. (the radiator looking thing with the fan blowing into it). When these get clogged up with dirt it prevents cooling of the refrigerant and thus can't continue to cool your fridge. Just a easy suggestion for you to check. I've seen TONS of freezers, fridges, etc. have this as the problem. Dirty condenser 99% of the time. To clean the condenser you just use an air blower and clean out the fins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STEVE-O Posted August 13, 2015 Report Share Posted August 13, 2015 Buy mine and not worry about it again??? Do you happen to have the extended warranty by chance on yours? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cstmg8 Posted August 13, 2015 Report Share Posted August 13, 2015 What brand/type? There are a number of brands in that time frame with bad evaporators that are free to repair. Second on the condenser cleaning, it's amazing how much dust/dirt/hair they draw off the floor. Do Not Call capital city appliance, they suck. Look them up on BBB if you want, no company should respond to customers that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morabu Posted August 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 13, 2015 it's a GE side-by-side (without an extended warranty). if i need to buy a new one (hopefully not) i'm only looking to spend about half of what your asking for your fridge Steve-O it is a barely below ambient temps in the fridge. i removed the panel in the freezer and the radiator is not clogged with ice. i don't have a voltmeter and wouldn't really know what i was doing with it, if i did. i am going to remove the rear panel and check the condenser now, i guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbs3000 Posted August 13, 2015 Report Share Posted August 13, 2015 does it look like this? http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e391/Turbs3000/00e0e_anw9S0L4Oeh_600x450_zpsyeililyr.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morabu Posted August 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 13, 2015 not identical, but super similar. mine is stainless, with a digital display with the water dispenser. probably same internals though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbs3000 Posted August 13, 2015 Report Share Posted August 13, 2015 They are one of the most fail prone fridges in history. the amount of them that didn't make it past 5 years is unreal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morabu Posted August 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 13, 2015 so after removing the back, the condenser was absolutely covered with dust. to the point of not seeing any fins at all, just a cylinder of dust. i have cleaned it out with a feather duster and compressed air. it looks WAY better. now the wait to see if it starts getting colder. anything else and i'm probably going to need a reference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Karacho1647545492 Posted August 13, 2015 Report Share Posted August 13, 2015 When my clothes dryer went kaput I had the same reaction. Then I got online, searched the problem and the model number and it turned out a common fail point was 2 specific solder points on the control board. Got myself a soldering kit, watched 3 youtube videos on "how to solder you circuit board without destroying it" and fixed it on the first try. Total time invested: 3 hours including disassembly/reassembly, going to store for materials, etc. Total cost invested: about $25 As someone else said, a multimeter and google have pretty much replaced the handyman in today's world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rustlestiltskin Posted August 13, 2015 Report Share Posted August 13, 2015 so after removing the back, the condenser was absolutely covered with dust. to the point of not seeing any fins at all, just a cylinder of dust. i have cleaned it out with a feather duster and compressed air. it looks WAY better. now the wait to see if it starts getting colder. anything else and i'm probably going to need a reference. If this ends up being the culprit then I'll PM you the address to drop off the case of beer at :gabe: jk I don't live in Columbus. Funny about this though is the fact that if you called a tech to come out before investigating and this was the problem, he would've spent 5 min blowing it out then charged you $100 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acklac7 Posted August 13, 2015 Report Share Posted August 13, 2015 For what its worth I was betting on it being the Condenser Too- Had to clean mine after identical symptoms 2 months back. Make sure you defrost every last bit of Ice that has formed on the coils inside the Fridge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morabu Posted August 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 13, 2015 well....looks like it didn't fix whatever is going on. probably something more serious (mechanical/electrical). looking up prices on a couple different sites. Condenser - $330 Compressor - $220 Motherboard - $150 on top of an entire fridge full of food is wasted. SMDH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acklac7 Posted August 13, 2015 Report Share Posted August 13, 2015 Evaporator Coils (inside the fridge w/your food) are almost surely solid blocks of Ice. Hit them with a heat gun or a hair dryer untill every last bit of Ice is gone (it can take a surprisingly long time to melt all that solid Ice) I'm 90% sure your problem was the dirty Condenser which then caused the Evaporator coils to turn to Ice. Exact.Same.Thing happend to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rustlestiltskin Posted August 13, 2015 Report Share Posted August 13, 2015 Evaporator Coils (inside the fridge w/your food) are almost surely solid blocks of Ice. Hit them with a heat gun or a hair dryer untill every last bit of Ice is gone (it can take a surprisingly long time to melt all that solid Ice) I'm 90% sure your problem was the dirty Condenser which then caused the Evaporator coils to turn to Ice. Exact.Same.Thing happend to me. This. Once condensor is clogged, evap coils freeze up causing lack of cooling. I'd check this out then go from there. Gl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbs3000 Posted August 13, 2015 Report Share Posted August 13, 2015 is the food all trash or is it still salvageable? You can come drop it by my garage fridge in grove city, I promise to only eat some of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morabu Posted August 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 13, 2015 i wish the food was salvagable. it's all trash. i appreciate the offer though. fridge died out sometime last night. taking off the cover inside the fridge was one of the 1st things i did. the evaporator coils had no ice on them what-so-ever. i'm leaning toward the compressor being shot. or maybe a slow leak in the freon and it is finally empty? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Limitedslip7 Posted August 14, 2015 Report Share Posted August 14, 2015 If you decide to buy a new one, hit me up. I can get you discounts on Whirlpool/Maytag appliances. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2 Sweet Posted August 14, 2015 Report Share Posted August 14, 2015 If you decide to buy a new one, hit me up. I can get you discounts on Whirlpool/Maytag appliances. Nice! OP, you should take him up on his offer :thumbup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tshensley Posted August 18, 2015 Report Share Posted August 18, 2015 This was just posted on slickdeals for a nice cheap fridge in stainless. http://slickdeals.net/f/8047881-kenmore-25-cu-ft-side-by-side-refrigerator-stainless-steel-672-49-free-shipping Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShoMeSomeFun Posted August 18, 2015 Report Share Posted August 18, 2015 I had a fridge with trouble cooling. Compressor is easy to troubleshoot with a multimeter, just google the ohm range it should be in and the test points. Literally takes 2 minutes with the back panel off. Mine turned out to be a faulty flap that sends air to the freezer and fridge (90 bucks) and a corroded relay that provided power to the compressor (29 bucks). I got the fridge free b/c of this and fixed it myself. Definitely worth the time. It was my first time fixing a fridge so im no expert but i do have experience with wiring diagrams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbs3000 Posted August 18, 2015 Report Share Posted August 18, 2015 This was just posted on slickdeals for a nice cheap fridge in stainless. http://slickdeals.net/f/8047881-kenmore-25-cu-ft-side-by-side-refrigerator-stainless-steel-672-49-free-shipping That seems like a pretty solid deal I may have to pick that up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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