Here's the question: who should I call to repair this thing?
An authorized Whirlpool repair place, right?
I want to get a decent deal, not be overcharged.
It's a pretty new, fairly nice $1000 side-by-side, with icemaker and water through the door, or I would just buy another one. It is no longer under any sort of warranty that I know of.
Thanks for all and any help, you guys are great!
P.S. The AC is still working, yay!
Is it safe to assume you don't want any advice on how to fix it yourself. That would naturally be the least expensive route costing only the part price and maybe a generic repair manual (in most cases the parts list, exploded view and schematic are in the owners manual or stuck to the back of the unit or tucked into the bottom chassis or online at the Mfg website). To bridge the few days it will take you to figure it out and acquire the part, get a few blocks of dry ice and pack the freezer.
A first test might be to hotwire the compressor around the thermostat so that it runs without the normal controls. If the freezer starts to cool then it is not the cooling loop but one of the control mechanisms or sensors. You would need a schematic to know how to do this.
If you want someone to repair it (and get it done ASAP) then you have to have a little faith that the company you call is competent and honest. If you want a specific recommendation for your actual location then try that website
"pipedown" wrote >>
We actually have an old one--really old, like, from 1950--we are using now. I think your suggestion is a good one, but not for us. I would lose so much money in the time I worked on the repair, it would not be worth it. (I have my own business and am swamped.) The other thing is ... I am a mechanical retard and so is my husband, %/
But thank you for taking the time to explain this.
I will follow this advice, thanks so much!
Most refrig, the "sealed system" is five year warranty. What I'd do, look in the phone book under refrigerators service, or appliance repair. Explain you'd like prices for someone to come out. Tell em, if it's sealed system problem, you'll pay the trip charge, and then call Whirlpool.
I've worked on enough refrigerators. It's easy enough to tell.
Since the compressor is part of the sealed system, if you rewire that, you kiss your warranty goodbye.
Thanks, good to know. I have to dig out the paperwork for the unit, anyway.
At 4 years, it is still a good unit that probably has 10 or 15 years of life left. It may be something as simple as the evaporator fan or defrost time, a $50 part plus the cost of a service call, maybe $100 to $150 more. Cheaper than a new unit.
Yes, this is what we were hoping. I'll have someone come out this Friday if I can get anyone.
Find an old (as in been around for a while) independent appliance sales/service place. I find that most of them rely on their reputation to keep the doors open so the are a little less likely to screw ya than the rent-a-techs from the big box places.
Steve B.
Yes, Steve, I think this is a good idea. We had an old business like this that took care of our furnace until it closed. The man who owned it actually came out and serviced our furnace. He had put it in for the original homeowner years ago. We have "clueless" written all over us, but he never soaked us. thanks.
I should have some time available. My basic trip charge is $60. Figure a buck a mile from Rochester NY, calculated one way. Plus parts and labor.
I found a family-owned appliance (and AC and heating) repair company that has been in business here for over 20 years, called Wednesday, and they came out today, 15 minutes earlier than expected!
The thing that was broken is a little plastic thing that looks like a fuse or one of those adaptors you plug into a two-prong outlet to make it take three prongs. He told me the name and I forgot what it is. He handed it to me, and said, "shake it, and you'll hear that it's blown." It rattles, almost like a blown lightbulb. (It is beige plastice with an orange dot on it and says "made in Mexico" on one side.)
He said it was a cheap piece of junk on this particular model, and he recommended a "start kit" that he used on all Whirlpools with this problem. The start kit part number is RC0410. He charged $65 for the call, one half-hour labor $40, and $73 for the start kit. $178 total!
What do you all think? I thought under $200 was pretty good. He said if it had been the compressor it might have been more like $500+.
"compressor start relay".
For me, it woulda been $60 for the trip charge (local to me). $50 labor for an hour labor, and $40 for a hard start kit. Sounds like I'm too cheep. You did OK. I looked up that part number on the net. Same start kit that I use.
Thanks, Norman! It sure is nice to have the fridge working again!
Who you calling Norman? My name is right below this text. Hint.... begins with C.
Slight brain malfunction. *blush*
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