I was going to put a fridge in the new barn, have one that is not cooling, compressor and fan inside unit is running, I replaced the defrost timer and the T-Stat, still not cooling, I have less than $20 in parts, but am I wasting my time and $$ on this unit, Frigidaire, about 6 years old. The temp switch (Cool-Colder-Coldest) is on Coldest and the switch is closed. I cant get it any cooler than 70*. Is it ready for the fridge graveyard? or am I missing anything?
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Fridge not cooling
- Thread starter dw1
- Start date
Jeremy77
Well-known member
I think that as long as the compressor and fan motor are both good, it'd be worth troubleshooting. I'm the farthest thing possible from an appliance repair guy but I've found YouTube to be very helpful in fixing problems with my appliances in the past.
Also, whats the ambient temp. in the Barn? It could be struggling against the external temperature if it's in a very hot/enclosed area.
Also, whats the ambient temp. in the Barn? It could be struggling against the external temperature if it's in a very hot/enclosed area.
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LS6 Tommy
Well-known member
Huh. I just posted here and it disappeared. Oh, well.
How does the condenser coil look?
Tommy
How does the condenser coil look?
Tommy
Check to see if the condensing coil fan is running if it is equipped with one. Make sure the door switch for the fridge light is working. Take a temperature probe from the freezer compartment and make sure you have no blockages to the frig. Look at your frig gasket. With what you already looked a these are the last steps.
Its actually not to hot here today 78*, condenser is clean. I have a mini fridge in there that I am using right now, its cooling just fine. With this fridge running for the last two days after replacing those parts, its approx 70* inside it.
Is the freezer to fridge vent froze shut? Might have to defrost the freezer or pull it apart and have a look
Freezer was unplugged for a week while I waited for replacement parts, the vent is wide open, the fan inside the freezer is running. I have cleaned the unit inside very thoroughly (dont tell the boss, I dont want her to know I can do that)
anyway, with compressor running, its still not cooling.
MattVette89
Well-known member
Did it cool before?
I always check the coils to see if they are dirty.
A few months ago my parents' fridge wasn't cooling - turns out the schrader valve was leaking slowly and it lost the charge.
I always check the coils to see if they are dirty.
A few months ago my parents' fridge wasn't cooling - turns out the schrader valve was leaking slowly and it lost the charge.
Charles (in GA)
Well-known member
Did it cool before?
I always check the coils to see if they are dirty.
A few months ago my parents' fridge wasn't cooling - turns out the schrader valve was leaking slowly and it lost the charge.
If it has a schrader valve on it, it means it has already been worked on in the past. They don't put those on new ones, service people have to add them when they service them the first time.
Charles (in GA)
Well-known member
When I was looking at fridges seven or eight years ago, I was told by everyone I talked to in appliance sales to stay as far away as possible from Frigidaire, that the compressors were Tecumseh made and were pure junk and failing like crazy. Sounds like you might have one that lasted a while before it quit pumping.
MattVette89
Well-known member
If it has a schrader valve on it, it means it has already been worked on in the past. They don't put those on new ones, service people have to add them when they service them the first time.
Thank you for that info. It may have already been repaired once before, although it was a relatively new fridge.
Check here as well:
http://www.fcappliance.com/refrigerator_not_cold.html
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Kaizen
Well-known member
yeah junk it. you went through what I would. (fan running, compressor running, no ice in path)
if the lines are icing up probably out of frigerant or low. sad but a repair will probably be 200 bucks and I'm sure you can get a craigs list one for way less.
if the lines are icing up probably out of frigerant or low. sad but a repair will probably be 200 bucks and I'm sure you can get a craigs list one for way less.
LS6 Tommy
Well-known member
When I was looking at fridges seven or eight years ago, I was told by everyone I talked to in appliance sales to stay as far away as possible from Frigidaire, that the compressors were Tecumseh made and were pure junk and failing like crazy. Sounds like you might have one that lasted a while before it quit pumping.
Stop taking what salespeople say as Gospel. They know SALES. Tecumseh compressors are pretty damn good...
Tommy
Jeff Ivers
Well-known member
I don't know the construction of your unit. I just had a problem with my garage refrigerator that I traced to a bad cold control - equivalent to your temp switch? In my case the capillary tube had broken off, and upon dis-assembly, discovered a severely burned contact.
Milton Shaw
Well-known member
- Joined
- Feb 11, 2011
- Messages
- 4,838
Frigidaire frigs are bad about stopping up the freon system with crud in the dryer cap tube or leaking all the freon out. Unless you have the parts and freon already and know what you are doing I would replace the unit with another used one. 7 years old is about the life of that brand from what I saw as an appliance repair tech. Their systems had a lot more crud (sludge, metal, paint) in the systems than GE had and caused a lot of problems in the frigs and freezers.
Charles (in GA)
Well-known member
Stop taking what salespeople say as Gospel. They know SALES. Tecumseh compressors are pretty damn good...
Tommy
Sales people were just citing the high failure rate compared to other brands they handled.
At least one Internet blogger doesn't have much good to say about any of them, but seems to think that the Fridgaire was worse than the others. As the blogger notes if you read thru what he has to say, what applies this year, might not next year. Companies are constantly making stuff so it lasts just longer than the warranty and then if the failure rate is too high, they improve just enough to keep them working for a while. (my opinion)
LS6 Tommy
Well-known member
Sales people were just citing the high failure rate compared to other brands they handled.
Exactly. That's how they get you to buy the ones THEY want you to buy. Slow moving or leftover stock. One of the oldest tricks in the book. Salesmen generally have ZERO to do with service and returns. More often then not, they have no product knowledge other than what the catalog says...
Tommy
Charles (in GA)
Well-known member
Exactly. That's how they get you to buy the ones THEY want you to buy. Slow moving or leftover stock. One of the oldest tricks in the book. Salesmen generally have ZERO to do with service and returns. More often then not, they have no product knowledge other than what the catalog says...
Tommy
Guess I should clarify, this was at Lowes and the sales people handle the appliance returns and really could care less what you buy, just that you are happy. I always (almost) buy off the scratch and dent line. I bought a fridge for the shop in about 2010 to replace the old one that I had moved from the house out there about three years earlier. The old one was a 1985 Kenmore coppertone. The replacement was a relatively cheap GE from Home Depot. On a 10% off energy star sale, and then got a $50 debit card from the state for scrapping out an old energy hog model (that was dead... shhh don't tell them that). They bought one out from the back, sales guy was at the register with me and looked at the bottom front of the box "oh ****" and cut it open to find the door dented (not bad) from a forklift tine. "we'll get you another one..." and my reply was "oh hell no you won't........ call the manager and get me a discount on this damaged one." They gave me 10% off for the damage. Their system doesn't allow for taking 10% off (energy star discount) then another 10% (for the damage) so they had to take 20% off, which if you know your math, is more than taking 10% twice.
Oh, then they told me they did not do free delivery and pickup at my zipcode, so I had it loaded in my pickup and took it home. Took the '85 model to scrap. It had a porcelain on metal liner and was heavy and brought good money along with some other scrap I took that day.
Thanks for all the info, I will pull my parts that I installed and scrap the unit. The power company here was giving $50 for old/used refrigerators and some type of credit/rebate for some new ones, I will check that out also.
LS6 Tommy
Well-known member
Guess I should clarify, this was at Lowes and the sales people handle the appliance returns and really could care less what you buy, just that you are happy. I always (almost) buy off the scratch and dent line. I bought a fridge for the shop in about 2010 to replace the old one that I had moved from the house out there about three years earlier. The old one was a 1985 Kenmore coppertone. The replacement was a relatively cheap GE from Home Depot. On a 10% off energy star sale, and then got a $50 debit card from the state for scrapping out an old energy hog model (that was dead... shhh don't tell them that). They bought one out from the back, sales guy was at the register with me and looked at the bottom front of the box "oh ****" and cut it open to find the door dented (not bad) from a forklift tine. "we'll get you another one..." and my reply was "oh hell no you won't........ call the manager and get me a discount on this damaged one." They gave me 10% off for the damage. Their system doesn't allow for taking 10% off (energy star discount) then another 10% (for the damage) so they had to take 20% off, which if you know your math, is more than taking 10% twice.
Oh, then they told me they did not do free delivery and pickup at my zipcode, so I had it loaded in my pickup and took it home. Took the '85 model to scrap. It had a porcelain on metal liner and was heavy and brought good money along with some other scrap I took that day.
Thanks for the update. I asked a few of the vendors I deal with and they all pretty much told me what you said. They also said the issue isn't so much with the compressors, but poor manufacturing. The Frigidaire 15-18 cubic foot rfrigerators ar made in USA. The rest of them in Mexico. Hope the bad ones aref rom the latter...
Tommy