Bad Evaporator Fan or Defroster?


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Old 07-21-17, 07:05 PM
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Bad Evaporator Fan or Defroster?

Hi Folks,

I'll cut to the chase-10 year old Kenmoore refrigerator, just moved into house. About a month after moving in, freezer was cold, fridge was warm (>45 degrees, set at 33). Coils were iced over. Thought I had a bad defroster. Service guy came out and determined the continuity in the defroster was good and the thermostat was good. However, outside coils were extremely clogged with pet hair (previous owner). Cleaned outside coils, put everything back together, everything is running fine (fridge temp at 33). Two days later, fridge seems to be running warm again (40 degrees, set at 33). Inside coils do not appear to have ice buildup and freezer is cold.

He noted during the service that the evaporator fan is surging a bit and may not last long. Could this be the root of the slowly warming fridge (since service 2 days ago)? My AC also went out the day after, so I'm trying to figure out what will go out next.
 
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Old 07-21-17, 07:35 PM
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Not sure what he meant by surging but a problem fan will cause the fridge to run warm especially if it doesn't start when the compressor does.

It should be near the evaporator coil. You should be able to hear it running and fell the air coming into the fridge.
 
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Old 07-21-17, 07:59 PM
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Thanks Pete. The fan seems to run fine, and I can feel air coming through the diffuser. The tech basically said the fan didn't have much life left based on "surging" he observed. I assume he meant intermittent periods of full power.

I guess replacing that is the next step? I assume this isn't a compressor issue given that the freezer is cold?
 
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Old 07-21-17, 09:10 PM
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If this is a newer fridge.... it could be a DC fan. Those will do strange things.
AC type fans either just run slow or they won't start when they get real cold.

What is the compressor doing ?
Does it appear to be cycling normally or running almost continually ?

Usually a compressor issue is a hard starting problem.
You'd hear a lot of clicking coming from the compressor area.

If the sealed system had a leak.... the compressor would run continuously, the fridge gets warmer first, the cold coil would only be partially frosted.... just the top or bottom.
 
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Old 07-24-17, 07:19 AM
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Thanks. I'll start with the fan. The compressor seams to be running normally. I don't suspect a sealed system leak as the coils are not frozen and the compressor is not running continuously.
 
 

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