Kenmore 596.66253401 - Freezer working, Fridge not getting cold

[Norman Dacanay]

Model Number

596.66253

Brand

Sears Kenmore

Age

6-10 years

Hello kind strangers,

My Kenmore's fridge portion is not getting cold. The freezer is working like a champ, but the cold air does not seem to be reaching the fridge portion.

What I have already done:

-opened up the back and cleaned the vents and fans
-placed hand on compressor and it is very warm but not hot
-fan beside the compressor is working well and I have cleared it up of a lot of dust and debris
-checked for ice build up on coils and pipes, but did not observe any ice build up anywhere
-checked to make sure that the damper door was clear and functioning. Yes to both.
-tried my best to see if there was any obstructions in the channel from the damper to the freezer by slowly lowering a flexible rod and there doesn't seem to be any obstructions
-checked to make sure that the fan in the freezer portion was working and that ice build up in the area was kept to a minimum

Please let me know what else I can do and how to troubleshoot.

Thank you!

 

[Jake]

Hi,

The Air Duct that runs from the freezer up to the refrigerator is located on the far left side of the evaporator behind that freezer panel, its a square duct tunnel, at times I find these clogged with ice/frost and not allowing air up to the Refrigerator, Did you check that yet?

Look at this photo:



Jake

 

[Norman Dacanay]

Thanks for the input Jake. I haven't checked that yet, but fortunately the air is now venting properly to the fridge and it is nice and cold. I don't know if it was the result of the cleaning and troubleshooting I did. The only thing I did, but didn't mention was before going to bed last night I cranked the cooling for both the fridge and freezer to max (7), whereas they were set to 6 and 5 previously. I don't know if this caused the air to flow properly as these were the settings that were in place when I received the fridge 4 years ago.

 

[Jake]

Ok Norman, sounds like cleaning and troubleshooting, or setting it cooler fixed it.

Let us know if the problem returns.

Jake