New Refrigerator Making Loud Noise... Won't run ??

[billt460]

August 22 we purchased a new 26 cu. ft. Frigidaire Refrigerator / Freezer. It's not even a month old. For the last few days it was making a very loud buzzing sound, then yesterday it quit working all together, and the "High Temp" light came on. It was 40F inside the freezer.

I tried resetting it per Frigidaire's instructions, by unplugging it for 10 to fifteen minutes, then plugging it back in. This is supposed to "reset" everything. That accomplished nothing. It's dead as a doornail, and we lost all of our food.

I called Lowe's where we bought it, and they said they only have a 48 hour return policy on appliances. And told me to call Frigidaire, and gave me their customer service number. She also said it was up to them to issue a replacement voucher before Lowe's would even order another one.

So I'm basically screwed with no fridge until they send someone out to look at it, and either fix or replace it. (I'm going to call them as soon as they open this morning).

Does anyone know what could have failed? A 48 hour return / replace policy is ridiculous. When they delivered it, they told us to wait at least a day for the freezer to cool down enough to put food in it, and to start making ice.

 

[dogdog]

not too sure where your fridge would fail... check if your compressor is running ? the fan to cool the condenser and compressor is running and not blocked the air from circulating, like minimum of 3" or 4" away from the wall? Had something similar with the GE profile but that is more than 10 Yo the issue was the fridge got pushed too close to the wall, and some one forgot close the door tight or the cats were playing and kicked the door ajar. either case the compressor over worked and heatup. causing the starter relay and capacitor to go dead. The fridge still goes high temp sometimes , but that might be other problems. with either the sensor or defroster or that fan inside the fridge.

The Kentmore, is similar, starter relay going bad and the cap is 1/2 of its stamped value. I replace those and seems to be fine now. but still a loud noise from the fridge sometimes... pretty sure its not the compressor anymore.

as far as lowes, I think they are POS in appliance. the store manger that I dealt with (lisbon, ) is power tripping POS that make up their own rules and BS.. I would call lowes corporate and ask them what exactly the rules are on appliance returns. The corporate side, in customer service tends to be more helpful..... I bought two appliance with them, one is that GE water heater (2012)... fan broke on delivery, immediately called them and they told me the same story that I need to contact the manufacture for warranty... that is within 2 hours after delivery. POS store (specific)... but at the end I got that water heater free. sort of. The second time last year.. I bought a GE electric stove from their website out of that same store. Guess what stove is all bang up glass shars and chips. dents and everything.. called up the store for return. tried to tell me the same story... called corporate. and call that power tripping MOFO out full of lies.

anyways try calling corporate and see what they can do for you, especially if you bought their extended warranty plan.

the take away Never buy any appliance from Lowes.

 

[ratflinger]

GE French door unit make a lot of noise, however, they don't freeze over like the Samsungs.

 

[TRWham]

In my experience, the most common cause of refrigeration failure is an iced evaporator. The sound you heard may have been the evap fan hitting accumulated ice on the coil. Once an evaporator is truly frozen, the defrost heaters will never catch up, and you need to leave it off for at least 24 hours ( a little longer is better) to clear all of the ice. Given that you are waiting for service anyway, keep the door propped open and try it after a day or so. Keep an eye on the drain pan to see if it is overflowing.

Most of my experience is in commercial refrigeration, but we did have our home refrigerator ice up about 6 months ago when the door was left ajar. After about a day and a half, I plugged it back in and have had no issues since, other than a heightened awareness of the fridge temp.

 

[BillK]

August 22 we purchased a new 26 cu. ft. Frigidaire Refrigerator / Freezer. It's not even a month old. For the last few days it was making a very loud buzzing sound, then yesterday it quit working all together, and the "High Temp" light came on. It was 40F inside the freezer.

I tried resetting it per Frigidaire's instructions, by unplugging it for 10 to fifteen minutes, then plugging it back in. This is supposed to "reset" everything. That accomplished nothing. It's dead as a doornail, and we lost all of our food.

I would have called as soon as it started making noise and gotten a repair guy on the way. Might have saved your food.

I called Lowe's where we bought it, and they said they only have a 48 hour return policy on appliances. A 48 hour return / replace policy is ridiculous.

Personally I cant imagine expecting Lowes (or anyone else) to take it back after almost a month ? If you bought a new car and it stopped running after a month would you expect the dealer to take it back ? No, you get it to the dealer and have them fix it.

 

[TRWham]

GE French door unit make a lot of noise, however, they don't freeze over like the Samsungs.

My GE Twin Chill certainly did freeze in the fresh compartment. The freezer was fine, but with only one compressor we still had to shut down the entire unit to clear the ice.

 

[Bill Bowman]

So, is there no warranty on it?

 

[billt460]

So, is there no warranty on it?

Yes, of course. But trying to deal with Frigidaire is a lesson in futility.

 

[Bert_]

No idea what the problem with yours is but my advice is to buy the cheap white fridge with the freezer on top. They last pretty good.

 

[BillK]

No idea what the problem with yours is but my advice is to buy the cheap white fridge with the freezer on top. They last pretty good.

Our Kenmore is 47 years old Every time I see a thread like this I feel blessed that neither I or my Wife need crazy newfangled appliances As long as it keeps the food cold we are good to go.

 

[ratflinger]

My GE Twin Chill certainly did freeze in the fresh compartment. The freezer was fine, but with only one compressor we still had to shut down the entire unit to clear the ice.

Well, I certainly don't like hearing that.

 

[billt460]

Someone is coming out Monday morning to check it out. We'll see what happens.

 

[billt460]

I have a feeling this has something to do with it not getting proper ventilation. Something might be freezing up. (Just a guess on my part). I say this because I placed a small fan on the countertop next to it, blowing down behind it almost 3 days ago. And it has been running fine ever since. Dropping ice every 70 minutes. (Freezer easily maintains -10F).

But this is NOT a fix. To be honest it's nonsense. My house is 33 years old, and has had fridge / freezers operating just fine in the same place this one has been all along. Including the last 5 years I've been here.

But at least it might be helpful for the guy to diagnose the problem when he gets here on Monday.

 

[Oceandweller]

I'd go out and buy a temporary fridge off craigslist for 100$. In fact I have three 25 cubic foot fridges two in the house and one in the garage because of your exact predicament and had two deep freezers go out in ten years. The three freezers are about 10 CF total volume and the garage fridge is great for drinks but I am outside a lot so I go through a ton of water and its nice having frozen ones.

 

[dogdog]

I have a feeling this has something to do with it not getting proper ventilation. Something might be freezing up. (Just a guess on my part). I say this because I placed a small fan on the countertop next to it, blowing down behind it almost 3 days ago. And it has been running fine ever since. Dropping ice every 70 minutes. (Freezer easily maintains -10F).

But this is NOT a fix. To be honest it's nonsense. My house is 33 years old, and has had fridge / freezers operating just fine in the same place this one has been all along. Including the last 5 years I've been here.

But at least it might be helpful for the guy to diagnose the problem when he gets here on Monday.

You will be frustrated if that guy is from factory services, holy fk I have issues, when my water heater went bad, took them 3 months to order parts, charged the insurance $400 just to show up. Imagine the hot water heater needs 3 months to repair dead in the middle of the winter. lol factory repair services or something.

 

[930dreamer]

I'd be on Lowe's a** over this. You're not returning because you don't want it, you're returning it because it doesn't work after thirty days.

 

[billt460]

I agree. But after 48 hours they hand you off to Frigidaire..... Which is a nightmare. I finally got a local guy here who is good to deal with.

I'll never buy another appliance from Lowe's again. I would rather pay more up front, and deal with someone that services what they sell.

 

[Snapped-off]

Did you pay with a credit card that offers a warranty?

 

[billt460]

Did you pay with a credit card that offers a warranty?

Just a standard Visa. I really don't know if they offer anything like that or not.