Whirlpool refrigerator not cooling


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Old 07-23-18, 09:39 PM
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Whirlpool refrigerator not cooling

I received a complaint from a tenant indicating that the refrigerator was not cooling, but the freezer seemed fine. I did some research and determined that it might be the bimetal thermostat and/or the timer. I ordered both parts and installed them today. After removing the refrigerator's back panel, I needed to manually defrost the unit to gain access to the thermostat's wiring. After I cut the old thermostat out and stripped the wire back, I noticed that the wiring on one of the two wires (brown wire) was noticeably darker. I cut the insulation back an additional inch and the discoloration was still present. I proceeded with the installation, but now I'm worried that the wiring was corroded on the old thermostat and that might impact the performance of the new one. After I installed the thermostat, I installed a new timer. I put the unit into defrost mode, but the defrost heater did not start up. I just have a few questions:

1. Will the darker (possibly corroded) wiring on the old thermostat conduct electricity properly? Does the new thermostat have a chance of working with the old wiring? Should I have cut the wire back even further or did the corrosion possibly extend up several inches?

2. When I forced the refrigerator into defrost mode (by manually advancing the timer), the defrost heater did not heat up. Did the warmup in the freezer (from the repair process) prevent the defrost heater from starting up? Or, should the defrost heater have started its' process regardless of the freezer temp? Was this failure to start possibly caused by the corroded wiring?

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to monitor the situation since the repair, because this is a rental unit.

Whirlpool (Kirkland Signature sold by Costco) model # ST14CKXKQ03

Thank you.
 
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Old 07-23-18, 11:30 PM
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The wiring should be ok.
The freezer temp needs to be below 40 degrees or so for the thermostat to close.
 
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Old 07-24-18, 09:22 PM
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Hi Pete, Thank you for your response. I really appreciate the feedback. Thank you!
 
 

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