KSSC48QVS03 KitchenAid Refrigerator stops cooling after unplugged one month

[hulaomr]

Model Number

KSSC48QVS03

Brand

KitchenAid

Age

6-10 years

Hello,

I want to thank you in advance to anyone who can shed some light on this.

I have a fridge (KitchenAid model KSSC48QVS03) that has been working good for one (1) year. The appliance was in the house when I moved and I suppose has not been repair before.

We went out during four (4) weeks and unplugged the refrigerator in order to save energy and perform a deep clean after coming back. The condenser was clean due to some dust as the interior.

After plugged in and running for 24h it is not cooling the fridge and freezer. I unplugged the unit, wait for one (1) hour and plugged it back in, and same situation.

The energy consumption device shows a current of ~0.64A with a peak of ~2A when turn the unit. Additionally, during June and after plugged, the consumption (by day) is show in the following pictures:

June (working normally)	August (after unplugged during July)

Both graphs show a base consumption around ~0.65A.

I disassembly the unit and perform the following evaluations:

1. Compressor. It seem working. I can feel the vibration and is hot (I still can touch indefinitely without burning). All the pipes are neither hot or cold.
2. Condenser. The pipes temperature is same as the environment.
3. Condenser fan. Its working (visual inspection).
4. Evaporator. The coils seems good.
5. Evaporator fan. Its working (visual inspection).
6. Defrost pipe. The temperature is same as the environment.
7. Air door (between freezer and fridge). Its working (visual inspection).
8. Thermistors. The impedance is around 2.4K ohm, matching the specifications at environment temperature (~25 degree Celsius).
9. Diagnostics. Pressing buttons MAX COOLING and ON/OFF at the same time for 3 seconds, allows to perform following tastings:

The results are as below:

Test	Result
Freezer thermistor	"01" normal range
Refrigerator thermistor"	"01" normal range
Evaporator fan motor	"--" the fan started and stopped ok. The results doesn't match with any of the table. Perhaps, a different model/number
Condenser fan motor	"--" the fan started and stopped ok. The results doesn't match with any of the table. Perhaps, a different model/number
Compressor	Shows "02" and after some time (minutes) it turn on and shows "01" indefinitely (25 minutes and later the diagnostic is stopped)
Air door	"01" the door open and close (visual inspection)
Bimetal/defrost heater	"02" bimetal open

Below some images of the refrigerators.

Evaporator	Evaporator thermal image (temperature around 28 and 31 degree Celsius). Nothing hot neither cold.
Condenser unit	Compressor
Control panel. The led (over temperature) and temperature numbers "21" are blinking.	Condenser coil
	I will attached more picture in next message (maximum 10 pictures)

I'm following the user manual "TECHNICAL EDUCATION, KAR-11, JOB AID 4317326A, 2001 K MODEL BUILT-IN SIDE-BY-SIDE REFRIGERATOR WITH VARIABLE CAPACITY COMPRESSOR".

I have no more options than to evaluate to understand where the problem is.

Any advise would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks, Hu

 

[hulaomr]

Following previous post, I will attached additional images here.

Panel control (video)	Unit image (top fridge)
Compressor specs label	Inverter spec label

Compressor thermal image	Condenser fan motor thermal image (the pipes are at ambient temperature)

Thanks again, Hu

 

[hulaomr]

Below some questions:

1. What is the recommended procedure to evaluate any refrigerant leak in the system. The device doesn't have any pipe connector, at least, visually.
2. If the device has been working fine for years, what are the most commons cause of malfunction after unplug it one month?
3. Is the temperature numbers "21" a diagnostic code?
4. I have a freezer (brand new) model FFFU16F2VW where the compressor and (some of the) pipes are very hot. I must expect the pipes in my fridge with issue to be hot as well (KSSC48QVS03). Which are the reasons behind this situation?
5. Where can I find (or share) the user service of this particular device? I had found the following which not match exactly with the model number (KSSC48QVS03). For example, test result for the evaporator and condenser fan mismatch with the expected results ("--" vs "01", "02")

 

[hulaomr]

As complement to previous images, I attached the refrigerator energy consumption once glugged in (Amp) after 30m unplugged. After that, it keep around ~0.65A.

 

[Jake]

Ok, If the compressor is running and there is no frost on the evaporator coils then you have a sealed system problem.

The sealed system consists of the compressor, condenser, evaporator, heat exchanger, filter/drier and refrigerant. Common problems with a sealed system are bad compressors, refrigerant leaks, and system restrictions.

You need lots of prior hands on experience to determine which it is. There are so many situations involved in the sealed system, we really don't get into sealed system repair here. Sorry.

Jake

 

[hulaomr]

Hi Jake,
Thanks for reviewing the situation and feedback. Appreciated.
Hu

 

[Jake]

Anytime!

Jake

 

[hulaomr]

Just an update regarding this situation.
A technician came today for review the fridge. After checking the electric signals (compressor, inverter, etc…) not issue was found.
At this point, the pipes were modified to add service valves in order to measure pressures and to add refrigerant.
The dryer/filter was changed as well. They noted some oil there, which denotes a possible leak.

The fridge is cooling now.

Their service include three month warranty in order to evaluate the system and repair any additional leak if there any.

The fact that the fridge lost refrigerant due to lack of operation is unclear to me. Maybe an independent fact around the situation and it will fail even if the device continues connected/ON. Jake, please, may you comment about this?

Thanks

 

[Jake]

Then its a leak, you'd need a leak detector to find the leak and fix the leak, if not it will leak out again over time.

Jake