Egads, now my freezer won't freeze, and not it's not that it won't defrost, it actually isn't freezing. The coils are warm to the touch and everything in it has melted. Of course, the fridge gets it's cold air from it so it's warming up too. The fan in the unit is blowing, the lights are on, but no one is home... or rather no cold air is. Any troubleshooting tips? Just great, got laid off three weeks ago and now this....

By the way, this model is a S/S model, all fans are working, and the fan in back of the freezer inside is working...everything seems to be working fine but I don't know how to test the compressor??? Just pulled it out, cleaned it up, the compressor fan is not running at all, the compressor itself is not running. The exchange pipes to/from the compressor - one is warm the other is hot. Any suggestions? Will post photo in a bit.

Okay, as I said, everything internally seems to be working fine, no compressor start, no compressor fan running. I see from my photos that it's thermally protected, may have overheated (lots of dust in there), so will cool it down and see if it restarts, but at this point I doubt it. I've taken photos to show conditions after I vacuumed and blew air through it with my compressor to clean it all out.

Okay, now that it's all cleaned up inside and out, it's running for a while until it gets good and cold, then it shuts off again, gets back to almost warm, then kicks back on. I don't hear any clicking noise from near the compressor like I've read about in other threads, but am thinking it's a thermo-break of some kind. Since the compressor shows that it's thermostatically controlled, how do I find out if it's really getting too hot or if there's a thermistor or thermatic relay of some kind?

When the compressor and fan kick on, they are nearly silent. The compressor gets the out-pipe good and cold, but I don't know enough about it to troubleshoot further.

Ok Robinh,

Take the compressor start device relay off and shake it as described here:
[FIXED] How to replace a (Whirlpool/Kenmore Model 106) Refrigerator Start Relay

Here's the relay/overload kit for your model you can order:
Manufacturer part number 12002783 is RepairClinic item number 1194748
12002783

Jake

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Why so many parts in the kit?

lol, thats a good question, I guess so they can cover many models, it comes with instructions.

Jake

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Okay, the old relay showered me with blackened bits of something, and rattled like a baby's toy. So it was obviously bad. Got the new one in hand and now know the difference. The entire kit is needed to replace the one I had. I'll post pics with assembly instructions in a while, probably this evening when I'm back in. Was a bit of a challenge to figure out but a big "ah ha!" once I did.

Sounds good Robinh.

We all love the pics here, upload as many as you want.

Jake

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Appliance Repair School 1987-1988
Star Appliance Tech. 2 yrs. 1988-1990
Wards Appliance Tech. 11 yrs. 1990-2001
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Jake's a genius! As usual, he's saved me tons of time and maybe tons of money.

Jake, the replacement kit comes that way to facilitate a better connection all the way around. I'll explain it in the message below, along with my pictures, so that anyone else who runs across this and needs a replacement will understand why it's in four parts, compared to the older one which is all in one.

First off, follow Jake's suggestions and his link he's given for removing the existing compressor start relay. It took a bit of tugging, but it wasn't that difficult to remove. Make sure you write down the wire connections!!! Mine may not have the same colors or connections as your's, so make sure you identify what goes where. On mine, there are three connections - a connection at the bottom with a blue wire (plugged in horizontally, or parallel to the floor), a white wire (plugged in vertically, or parallel to the sides of the fridge), and a connection with two orange wires (also veritcal, next to the white wire).



I've also shown the wire connections in the photo above. This is the original that I removed, Tough bugger, but I got it out!! See my edited picture below for the location before I removed it - not much room to work in so be careful, and make darned certain the power is off!!!



Notice the black tabs next to the original install in the photo above (I circled them) - you'll be working with those at the very end of this project! Next photo shows the cover for the replacement unit. It shows on it the install instructions for the cover, and the black tabs in the photo above are what hold this cover in place. There are several ways to route the wires out from under this cover, but I suggest using the slot on the right side of the cover and run the wires out through it, that way you don't accidentally pinch any of them.



Next I wanted to show a comparison between the original and the replacement kit. The replacement kit consists of a jumper wire, two connections to the compressor, and the cover. The original is a single solid unit.



In the next photo you can see how similar the components of the replacement kit are to the original. With the replacement kit, the bottom piece has one hole in the center with two wings that extend upward. These wings have notches in them to accept the post on the compressor when this piece is pressed into place. You must install this piece first! If you don't you won't get a good contact on the second piece. You very simply slide this white and black piece onto the bottom pin on the side of the compressor tank, with the wings above. You'll immediately notice that they fit there perfectly outside the two top posts. Next slide the black piece with two holes onto the top two posts on the compressor tank. Notice, there is a small tab between these two holes - in my picture I've intentionally shown this piece upside down This tab must go down towards the single hole in the white piece you've already installed. It locks the white piece into place. If you try to install it the way I've shown in this photo you will bust either the top two pins or the piece you've already installed, so make sure you have it orientated correctly.



Now that you have those two pieces installed, you need to plug the extension wire onto the smaller post of the upper replacement part. In the very first picture above, I've circled in blue the smaller pin. The original wiring harness has a smaller connection that can not go directly onto the new piece, so you have to connect those wires to the extension wire, then plug it into the replacement piece. It keeps you from getting the wires on the top of this plug crossed. Notice on mine, it's two orange wires, but your's may have a different color. After connecting that up, go ahead and connect up the other wires to this replacement unit.



On mine, I did a test assembly on my dining room table before putting them into the back of the fridge. Notice again, I've got that upper piece upside down and you can see the tab sticking up from it. That's wrong! Make sure that tab is facing down towards the other piece that is white! I went ahead and connected the extension wire to it prior to installing it and it may make it a bit easier for you too.

Once you have these items installed on the side of your compressor, you simply slide the black cover in place until you hear it click. It is held in place with the black tabs I mentioned above. That's it, took longer to figure it out and document this than it did to do the entire job!!!

Thanks Robinh, good job.

Jake

__________________
Appliance Repair School 1987-1988
Star Appliance Tech. 2 yrs. 1988-1990
Wards Appliance Tech. 11 yrs. 1990-2001
Sears Appliance Tech. 4 yrs. 2001-Oct. 2005
Jake's Appliance Repair Nov. 2005-present

If you need more repair advice help on your appliance, click Here

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