My Whirlpool fridge which was bought in 1986 recently had a compressor fan breakdown. When the compressor turned on, the fan would just sit there most of the time until I manually gave it a "push". Then it would start running.
I had the fan motor replaced and thought my cooling problem was gone. But then I noticed there was a problem with the defrosting system. Frost was visible on the air-flow vent in the refridgerator section and also in the freezer air flow vent.
I manually defrosted it by turning it off and letting it drip for a few hours. I did this twice , but each time the same thing would occur. It wouldn't defrost on it's own.
I decided to take the back wall off in the freezer to take a look at the defrost timer etc......
(my fridge is a bottom freezer model)
Of all things, I couldn't get the wire rack support off the side of the freezer wall. I didn't want to break it, so I gave up and put the screws back into the back freezer wallplate.
After that, it started working and defrosting on it's own. Maybe I knocked something back into place? It's been 2 weeks now, and the freezer runs between 5 and 10 below Zero. The fridge section runs at about 38 to 40.
My question is this........how much of a rise in temp is normal during the defrost cycle? For over a week , I didn't even stock the fridge up with food for fear it would break down again. I just went shopping and plan to get the mini 5 cubic foot fridge out of here.
During my trial period, I noticed that at times the freezer would go up to 30 degrees. And this was during non use.......just a quick peek to check the temp of the freezer and fridge section. Is this normal? I would just like to know how many degrees is normal for the fridge and freezer to rise during the defrost cycle. I was told this fridge runs on an 8 hours defrost cycle. I don't know if it's totally controlled by how long the compressor runs, or it there's any kind of thermostat involved also.
I like this fridge, and would rather not buy a new one. I like some of the new french door models with the full width deli-tray, but what I DON'T like is the PULL OUT drawer freezer. I like a door, not a drawer. I hope the drawer fad dies out before my fridge does. Thanks.........