Help diagnosing problems with refrigerator

[Brent Bolin]

Hello All,

I have a Kenmore refrigerator (596.50392001) It's approximately 10 years old.

When the problem starts the water dispenser stops working. This also stops the ice cube maker. It doesn't stop refrigerating but is noticeably less.I had the same problem about 5 years ago. Cost me about $400.00 to get fixed. I don't recall what was replaced. If the refrigerator is turned off for a period of time it will fix itself. Appears to be a freezing issue.

This refrigerator is not worth spending that kind of money again. If I can fix it myself I will keep. Otherwise sounds like refrigerators have become disposable items.

Any input would be appreciated.

[Duff]

The water line on my kenmore is controlled by a remote solenoid near the bottom of the fridge. When I trigger the water dispenser, I hear a distinct click as the solenoid is energized.

Listen for the click.

1. If you hear the click and there is no water, the most likely cause is a frozen waer line. Reinsulate the water line.

1. If no click then bad solenoid.

[willshak]

on 10/23/2008 8:45 AM Brent Bolin said the following:

I don't know the particular fridge, but my Kenmore did the same thing. I was still under warranty, when I called for service. The serviceman used a hair dryer on the tubes inside the fridge. The problem is that once the ice tray is full, or the water dispenser is not used for a long period of time (we never used the dispenser), the water stops running and freezes up in the pipes. When you turned the fridge off, the ice melted and the water flowed. The fridge will require regular maintenance, which would be to occasionally empty the ice tray, or run the water dispenser, so that the water doesn't become dormant in the pipes.

[Don Young]

In addition to the other good advice you have, check the defrost drain to be sure water is not collecting in the refrigerator. You may have a problem with the defrost timer, heater, or thermostat. These are fairly easy to troubleshoot and repair.

Don Young

[Ed Pawlowski]

Or the evaporator fan between the compartments

[Old and Grunpy]

call mechanic and you do not need any advice he will do the rest tony-s

[trader4]

The key here is that the refrigerator performance also decreases when this happens. That makes it sound like an automatic defrost problem. If it doesn't defrost and it ices up, it could freeze the water line and at the same time, because not enough air is moving past the cold coils, the refrigerator section isn't as cold as it should be.

To defrost, they just use a simple electric heater element controlled by a timer that turns it on once every day or two. If you put the make and model number in one of the online parts shops, you can get blow up diagrams that show where the parts are located. If you do it yourself, it's a relatively cheap fix, if that's what it is and you can isolate it.