Model 596.73503200, about 14 years old.

Of course the fridge decides to die while I'm out of town. Wife called me to report freeze is thawed and all things warm. No cold air. She's emptied most items to see if the lighter cooling load would help. No dice.

I get home tomorrow and will dink around with it. Before I pull the plug (literally), what should I look for?

She says it's running (making noise ). Compressor motor/fan? Fan on evaporator coils?

Suggestions?

Thanks

I had a Kenmore about that age fail to keep cooling a few years back. I found that the condenser fan motor had started to crap out. I pulled out the manual and found the part number and ordered a new motor. The install was quick and easy. Fridge is still going strong and is now about 20 years old. Hopefully it's something simple like that for you.

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:
I found that the condenser fan motor had started to crap out.

So pull the fan motor and bench test it somehow? Apply 120v to it?

quote:

Originally posted by Russ59:

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:
I found that the condenser fan motor had started to crap out.

So pull the fan motor and bench test it somehow? Apply 120v to it?

Well, if it's not running, it's kaput. What I meant by starting to crap out in my case was that I could spin the fan by hand and it would start and run for a bit but ultimately stop again. It also ran slow. I think if you get down and look at it, you'll know pretty quickly if it's bad or not.

Agreed.

Not sure about funny noises. But I had to replace a relay or solenoid of some sort - seems like it was a known / common problem. New version of the relay has worked fine since. $40 part, easy to replace. Whirlpool OEM.