Thread: Fridge and freezer both died

Model Number: JCB2388ARQ

Brand: Jenn-Air

Age: More than 10 years

Hello,

So my parents have a 10.5 year old Jenn-air JCB2388ARQ side-by-side refrigerator that recently died. For a while it had a slow water leak from underneath the unit, by the freezer compartment. Don't know if that's related, just figured I would throw it out there.Up until a couple of days ago, both the freezer and the refrigeration unit worked fine. All of a sudden, both the freezer and refrigeration compartments stopped working completely.

My parents have a warranty service provided through their utility provider, and they sent a tech out to take a look. He determined that the failed part was a compressor "rotor" (sorry, he didn't give a written diagnosis which I found odd, so I am going by what my mom remembers), and compressor parts are not covered under the warranty.

I am fairly mechanically inclined, but HVAC stuff is definitely not my forte. There is a switch or relay that I can hear click periodically. I opened the panel in the back of the freezer, and the fan above the radiator-style apparatus is going, but there is no cold air coming from the pipes.My question is, what is the compressor "rotor"? I checked on a few different parts sites, and found a compressor and condenser no problem, but could not find anything called a rotor. Also, is this part replaceable with standard hand tools, or does the R134 aspect require custom tools? I searched for a service manual online but cannot find a link anywhere.

FYI, I checked out the backside of the unit. The black compressor is warm to the touch. The unit next to it (condenser?) has a fan that is blowing at a good clip, but none of the copper lines feel cool or cold to the touch. The switch/relay also sounds like it is going off about once a minute.

Thanks for the help.