weird Refrigerator-TV problem

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BRN 22 years ago

Hi all,

Actually, I think this is more of a refrigerator problem, but it does affect my TV. Anyway, here's the deal. My relatively new Kenmore fridge, with icemaker, (about 3 years old) has started to make these very quiet noises. The noise sound like a fan, cycling on and off, with the cycles lasting about 2-5 seconds apiece. It is intermittent, so that you could stand next to the fridge for 5 minutes and not hear anything, but it does happen frequently enough that we notice it.

You can only hear it when standing right next to the fridge, compared to the compressor sound, which is louder and doesn't cycle as frequently.

The TV comes into play because when the "fan" in the fridge starts up there is a lot of interference on the TV. A lot of noise (sound) and horizontal jaggedy lines on the TV, making it essentially unwatchable. When the fan cycling go off, the picture goes back to normal. Unplugging the fridge fixes the TV, but that's obviously not a long term solution.

All this is a relatively recent development. I suspect I could get some kind of electrical filter for my TV to cut down on the interference, but am wondering what could be wrong with the fridge? I'm thinking something's wrong 'cause it never did it before.

Thanks in advance. Sorry for the long story:-)

Bart

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Mad Mac 22 years ago

Bart, what we need from you is some more info:

Model/serial numbers (should be in the refrigerator compartment on a label) - model number will begin with three digits (probably 106. or

253.) followed by eight digits.

Type of unit (Top/Bottom freezer or Side by Side)

Where does the "fan" noise seem to be coming from? Inside, rear, bottom?

How often does it happen?

Is the unit working normally otherwise - ice cream firm, drinks cold, food not spoiling?

Get back to us with these answers and we'll see what we can do for you.

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BRN 22 years ago

See answers below...

----- Original Message ----- From: "Mad Mac" Newsgroups: alt.home.repair Sent: Thursday, November 06, 2003 11:49 AM Subject: Re: weird Refrigerator-TV problem

**Model # 106.70289990 **SN EJ4704412

**Top freezer

**Sounds like it's coming from inside, but it's pretty hard to tell. The sound is very soft and difficult to localize.

**Hard to tell. We can only here it when we're standing right next to the fridge. Wecan also tell if it's happening if we happen to be watching TV. It goes on/off for about 10 minutes. Maybe happens every 30 min. but that's a real guess.. Again, it doesn't sound the same as the compresser (which we can here across the room).

**Seems to be working normally. It's a bit worrisonme that it's recently started and of course it's pretty annoying when watching TV (makes it mostly unwatchable).

Thanks in advance for any help.

BRN

>

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wooomen 22 years ago

WHAT??????? Why in the heck do you have your tv inside your refrigerator? Isn't it too cold to stay in there to watch an entire football game, or do you just watch half the game?

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Stormin Mormonn 22 years ago

New one on me!

Well, the parts that come to mind are

1) Evaporator fan 2) Condensor fan 3)ice maker 4) defrost timer 5) Compressor

the challenge is to figure out which one..... and then have it replaced.

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BRN 22 years ago

Not so bad in the refrigerator section. Pretty cramped and cold in the freezer part though.

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Dan O. 22 years ago

All the fans on a refrigerator should run constantly whenever the compressor is running and not cycle on and off otherwise.

The icemaker however may be energizing the water fill valve for approximately that length of time periodically when the icemaker is filling. It is located at the back of the fridge at the bottom. You can read about how appliance water fill valves work at the following link:

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If an evaporator (freezer) fan motor's bearings were worn, it could cause strange sounds periodically. You can see the one used on your fridge model at the following link:

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A problem in either of those components might cause TV interference (although I've never come across such a case). You're going to have to isolate which might be responsible or change one at a time until you're confident that the cause has been replaced.

JMO

Dan O.

- Appliance411.com

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mark Ransley 22 years ago

For your frige to interfere with your tv its likely a component such as a capacitor has or is going bad, something that filters RF .

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weird Refrigerator-TV problem

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