970-420626 Kenmore Fridge not cool enough in refrigerator section only

[boudro]

Model Number

970-420626

Brand

Sears Kenmore

Age

More than 10 years

Have a kenmore fridge model # 970-420626 that's cooling the freezer just fine, but only goes down to 40 degrees no matter what you do . Evaporater fan works quite well.

Turned freezer temperature in refrigerator section to coldest level. and tried different positions in freezer section but can not get if below the 40-42 degree mark in refrigerator section.. Would the cold control be defective

or it be low on freon. Any help would greatly be appreciated..Thanks

 

[Dan O.]

Being a Canadian model, there isn't a lot of information on its design available to us to look it up. What little I could find is that it is a top-freezer model. On those, all cooling takes place in the freezer and a small portion of that cold air is circulated throughout the fridge section to cool there.


Look for a blockage in the air ducts between those 2 compartments and operation of the fan. One common blockage is a frozen defrost water drain trough in the freezer. Is there any ice on the floor of the freezer and/or frost or ice on the ceiling of the fridge section toward the rear.

This link is pertinent to your message. It is supplied by the message author. Please read it.

LINK > My frost free refrigerator is not cooling properly. What might be the problem?


Also, is it being used in a heated room and not a garage, etc.? If used in an unheated garage and it gets cold, that's likely the problem.

Dan O.

 

[boudro]

It is being used in a normal heated townhome. Also evaporator coils is defrosting properly, no ice buildup whatsoever. Also it is blowing the air from up above down below, you can feel it. Doesn't seem to be obstruction.

Thanks For replying.

 

[Dan O.]

If it's not an air blockage someone needs to evaluate the frosting on the evaporator coil.

evaporator coils is defrosting properly, no ice buildup whatsoever.

When operating properly the evaporator coils are supposed to frost evenly across its whole surface. Before any defrosting, take a photo of the frosting on the evaporator and post it here for evaluation.

Typical Evaporator Frost Patterns


Dan O.

 

[boudro]

Ye, we didn't see a light coating of frost , so is possibly a lack of freon? Thanks

 

[Dan O.]

If the freezer is below freezing (you said, "freezer just fine") the evaporator coil has to frost. That is where all cooling takes place. Maybe you checked it right after a defrost?

Let it run for a couple days again. Post a photo of the frosting of the evaporator and we'll try to suggest a cause. It needs to be inspected before any manual defrosting is done.

Dan O.