Kenmore 106.64872401 Does Not Maintain Cold Freezer

This refrigerator does not maintain cold in the freezer compartment.

If I unplug the fridge for a day, then plug it in, the freezer initially gets very cold (say, -5 F). However, if I leave it running, it then warms up to around freezing, even though I haven't changed the cold setting.

Any idea what might be wrong?

Thanks for any help you can give.

Wayne

 

The first thing you need to do is to open the back cover in the freezer to see if the evaporator (cold coil) is getting frozen over. You also need to confirm that you have blowing cold air inside the refrigerator side. Hold the door/ light button in when checking.

Typically if there is no moving air..... both the fridge and freezer will get warm.

 

The coil in the freezer definitely is not getting frozen over. Took the back off the back of the freezer compartment and it's completely free of frost.

The fan in the freezer compartment blows really well, but the air flow into the fridge seems very weak. Is there another fan drawing air into the fridge? Is the fridge thermostat supposed to work independent of the freezer thermostat?

I've checked it periodically over the past week, and it seems that the temp in the fridge stays fairly constant, but the freezer temp oscillates between about 20 F and -5 F, even though I have not changed the fridge or freezer settings.

Wayne

 

I cannot find any info on this unit.
The 106 indicates that it is made by Whirlpool.
Saw one for sale and it was a top mount but I could not see in the picture what kind of temperature and defrost controls it used.

Need some background.
Is this unit new to you?
How did you notice this temperature swing?
Is the temperature swing causing a problem?
Does it go to 20 and stay there or does the temperature swing cycle every day or so?

I think the problem may be related to the defrost.
Units defrost every 8 hours of on in old units with a defrost timer, some units use 6 or 8 hours of compressor on time, also there are units that are controlled by an electronic board and they use different schemes to calculate when to defrost.

But what is common to just about all of them is that the actual defrost time is constant usually around 30 minutes.
The way it works is the defrost cycle starts. Compressor, compressor fan and evaporator fan shut off. The defrost heater heats up. There is a defrost thermostat clipped to the top of the evaporator coil. This open just above freezing re: no ice on the coil and kills power to the heater. The defrost cycle then continues for the rest of the half hour but the heater is off. The unit then finishes defrost and goes into cool mode.

It could be that the defrost thermostat is not opening and therefore too much heat is getting into the freezer.
The defrost thermostat should be 0 ohms (closed) when frozen and infinite ohms (open) at room temperature.

 

Appliances sold in Canada are not always shown on the mainstream parts lists.

It may pay to buy the manual for $10...... Service manual purchase

 

We've had this unit for over 10 years.
We noticed the problem when food in freezer began to thaw.
The temperature cycles back and forth over time.
This unit does not have a defrost feature.