Need some expertise since I'm not much of DIY guy.

Symptom: Fridge (whirlpool side by side) is a bit warm (65F, bottom drawer is cool at 45F though). Freezer and ice maker working fine (at least for now). I can hear a fan somewhere on the freezer side. But I can't feel cold air coming into the fridge through the vent (even though the fridge is a bit warm).

Interwebz suggest that one possible cause is that the air diffuser / damper is broken - in my case, stuck mostly closed (sounds like it could be stuck mostly open which would freeze stuff in the fridge).

Help:
1. Should I remove the diffuser and check it before ordering a replacement ($150)? How would I check if it's bad? Or should I just order the replacement part and replace to test it? If I remove the part first, can I just put in some sort of partial block (tape some cardboard or styrofoam?) to cover the diffuser hole halfway?

2. Anything else I should check for possible replacement before ordering parts? Thermistor(?) or something?

3. Other things I should check (and how to test) - perhaps it's not the diffuser?

Thanks!

following:
no solutions here:

ours is starting to not cool. for two days we smelled a weird chemical smell and all our food got contaminated with the smell. The smell is going through containers (milk, butter, etc) The temp is right at 40F.

Garbage day today and all the food in the garbage smells like the chemical. I was told it wasn't freon/refrigerant.

Whirlpool finally sent someone out today (they were supposed to be here last Friday) and he said everything looks fine, it's not cooling for some reason and your drip pan is dirty. He said he'd have to call Whirlpool and get back to us. Meanwhile, we're on day 6 of no fridge.

Before you take anything apart, pull it out from the wall and check the coils for dust/dirt build up. Pull the front kick plate off and check there as well. If there is any build up, use a shop vac to clean them up and see it it makes a difference.

Not saying this is the most likely cause, but since it is still somewhat cooling, it is the simplest first step to try and should be done regularly anyways.

Doesn't sound like your evaporator fan blowing air into the fridge is working. Also, wouldn't hurt to remove the refrigerator back panel and see if the evaporator is frozen.

Rather than anything mechanical it could be simply that due to movement of items within the freezer and/or the fridge, that air vents have become blocked. Check that your various cold boxes have not reached their steady state (jammed full) before unscrewing everything. After rearrangement/removal (eat up a few of those frozen pizzas) wait at least through one defrost cycle before the repair decision point.

I long for the olden days when combo refrigerator/freezers each had their separate cooling machinery rather than the cobbled together sharing of the fridge vampiring off a certain percentage of the freezer.

https://appliantology.org/

search your model number and make on this forum, it will generally come up with the problem(s) and what to look for.

That's not a little warm, that's a food poisoning closet. Food in Danger Zone over 40 starts to double bacteria rapidly. At 65, you might as well put it on the counter.

Go carefully....

Had the same problem recently with my GE French door (freezer bottom drawer). Freezer worked fine, but fridge was warm. First thing I looked at was the evaporator fan and that was the problem. Ordered a new fan online and it was a quick easy fix.

Plenty of how-to videos online.

How old is the fridge?

We just replaced a dying ~25 year old GE side-by-side with another GE side-by-side.

Thanks guys.

Fridge is about 25 years old.

I think the evaporator fan was suggested as a possible cause but I could hear a fan running and I could feel cold air get blow out of the outlet on the freezer side. I think the air duct branches off into the damper / diffuser leading to the fridge section.

So, I'm guessing / hoping that the evaporator fan is okay and it's the damper that is broken.

But I'm not sure. Ordered the damper for now. If it doesn't fix the issue, I'll need to troubleshoot some more - perhaps either the thermistor and/or the evaporator fan. Perhaps I'll try replacing both next (if necessary).

Trying to avoid buying a new fridge - I think this fridge will have less chicom parts than a new fridge. Hoping to get another 10+ years out of it?

I don't have much food in the fridge - mostly stuff like mayo, ketchup, soy sauce. Jar foods. That should be okay, right? Or should I be thinking about throwing everything away?

They mayo definitely should go, or use it for potato salad at a picnic for people you hate.

I'd get some coolers and ice and pile other opened items or meats into them. Or knock on a neighbor's door. Some condiments might be ok, but depending on how long this goes on that becomes a no as well.

If it’s got dairy or eggs, then throw it out.

Opened ketchup will be fine for a few weeks. Mustard should be good for a month. Soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce does not need to be in the fridge.

I wish you luck getting 10 more years out of a 25 year old fridge.

quote:

Originally posted by Cookster:
How old is the fridge?

We just replaced a dying ~25 year old GE side-by-side with another GE side-by-side.

My GE side by side lasted 19 years, bought a new GE side by side about nine months ago. I like it.
I couldn't stand having a freezer on the bottom.
25 years is pretty good life for a fridge.
I have one in my laundry room that is at least 45 years old. Ice cold, never done a thing to it. It's a Rangaire.

When mine was warm while freezer was working the appliance repairman said door switch was bad and keeping the interior lights on when the door closed, causing the problem. He put in a new one, said I was lucky the compressor hadn’t blown from overheating and told me to aim a fan at it and not open the door for 3 hrs. I thought he was nuts but 3 hours later it was good as new.

You can email your model number to me at the one in my profile and I will walk you through diagnosing it.

Thanks Brad! Very kind to offer your expertise!

My fridge is approaching 30 years. I expect it to fail soon. Kenmore

I thought I needed a new fridge not to long ago, same issue. Disassembled and cleaned what I could, thencalled a "tech." He said it had a refrigerant leak; when he went to charge, I asked him if he's putting dye in...he said he didn't have any, fortunately I did. Next day, no dye found (and still running warmer than it should have). Good guy, he wound up refunding me and telling me in need a new refrigerator.

I unplugged it for a couple hours, & then decided to plug it back it...working normal (even too cold) since.
Found out, the computers in the newer refrigerators (probably 15-25 years old) are like your phone and need a reboot occasionally, and leaving it unplugged longer than the service visit have it extra time to discharge the capacitors and reset the system.

Do refrigerators still have defrost timers?

If yes that might be the problem.

Got a new damper installed; a little bit of incompatibility pains between new and old part but made some minor mods and got it done.

Seems like there is some air flow where there wasn't before. Not sure if it's the right amount but at least there's flow. Will check for function in a few hours.

Fingers crossed, hopefully all is fixed.

Thanks again to all and especially to Brad for the offline expertise.