FunChefChick
Premium Member
- Model Number
- GS6NBEXRL01
- Brand
- Whirlpool
- Age
- More than 10 years
Short version: My fridge was short-cycling for a while and I knew it was an ominous sign. Last week my freezer started being too warm and when I cranked the controls to FULL cold, it got colder, at least so far. Now the fridge is too warm and I'm trying to troubleshoot and/or wait to see if it recovers. Is it worth trying to replace . .. maybe the run capacitor? Or just limp along until I can afford to replace the appliance?
I inherited a 2005 Whirlpool fridge which came with my house 3 years ago. I noticed some months ago that the fridge/freezer seemed to be "short cycling" - mainly because I noticed my ice kept melting and refreezing and I mean constantly, and I could hear the fridge firing up pretty frequently. No frost or ice buildup that I can see. Life has been busy; I ignored it but made a note to investigate when time/life permitted. Otherwise fridge/freezer seemed fine. I also realized that this fridge/freezer was almost certainly a refurb/scratch-dent model which the builder put in, as the year of manufacture predates the year the house was built and I have no idea about its history. (And also noticed that the manufacturer's sticker for the dishwasher had been removed, and it's also no longer working very well .. so yeah. New dishwasher and fridge have been on the list to budget for/replace as soon as possible)
Last week I noticed that my freezer was too warm. Ice cream was pretty soft; I put a sensor in the freezer and the temp read around 8-10 degrees, where I expected it to be 0 degrees F. I cranked the controls up to max cold, and it's now been back down to 4 degrees, sometimes lower. Seems okay for now. But also . . . planning to replace fridge soon-ish when budget allows. I don't love the layout and I miss the french door model I used to have anyways.
Today I went to grab a soda from the fridge and .... it is NOT as cold as it should be. Put sensor in the fridge - two, actually - and it was reading 43 or 47 depending on which one we believe. I usually set mine around 35 or so . . so this is too warm.
I cranked up the fridge controls to FULL COLD and I'm waiting - hoping - that the fridge temp drops back down below 40 if I'm lucky. It seemed like it was dropping ... but now it's reading between 48-50 on all 3 shelves. Sigh. (Yes the door has been closed the whole time while waiting). Quick online search suggests replacing the run capacitor. Which I don't know how to do, but could try.
My question is: is there trouble-shooting I should do? Should I reboot the thing? Or is there a chance that if it loses power that it doesn't fire back up after and I've got a completely dead fridge at that point, as opposed to the limping-along fridge I have now?
I've got a backup freezer to store my freezer contents ... but no backup fridge. And I'm a good couple of weeks away before I can afford a new fridge (at least, the kind I would want). Troubleshoot? Parts? Or just limp along and hope it survives until a new fridge can arrive? Is it time to start moving all the things which can be frozen to the backup freezer ?
I don't know anything about fridge/freezer repair so . .. please be kind.
I inherited a 2005 Whirlpool fridge which came with my house 3 years ago. I noticed some months ago that the fridge/freezer seemed to be "short cycling" - mainly because I noticed my ice kept melting and refreezing and I mean constantly, and I could hear the fridge firing up pretty frequently. No frost or ice buildup that I can see. Life has been busy; I ignored it but made a note to investigate when time/life permitted. Otherwise fridge/freezer seemed fine. I also realized that this fridge/freezer was almost certainly a refurb/scratch-dent model which the builder put in, as the year of manufacture predates the year the house was built and I have no idea about its history. (And also noticed that the manufacturer's sticker for the dishwasher had been removed, and it's also no longer working very well .. so yeah. New dishwasher and fridge have been on the list to budget for/replace as soon as possible)
Last week I noticed that my freezer was too warm. Ice cream was pretty soft; I put a sensor in the freezer and the temp read around 8-10 degrees, where I expected it to be 0 degrees F. I cranked the controls up to max cold, and it's now been back down to 4 degrees, sometimes lower. Seems okay for now. But also . . . planning to replace fridge soon-ish when budget allows. I don't love the layout and I miss the french door model I used to have anyways.
Today I went to grab a soda from the fridge and .... it is NOT as cold as it should be. Put sensor in the fridge - two, actually - and it was reading 43 or 47 depending on which one we believe. I usually set mine around 35 or so . . so this is too warm.
I cranked up the fridge controls to FULL COLD and I'm waiting - hoping - that the fridge temp drops back down below 40 if I'm lucky. It seemed like it was dropping ... but now it's reading between 48-50 on all 3 shelves. Sigh. (Yes the door has been closed the whole time while waiting). Quick online search suggests replacing the run capacitor. Which I don't know how to do, but could try.
My question is: is there trouble-shooting I should do? Should I reboot the thing? Or is there a chance that if it loses power that it doesn't fire back up after and I've got a completely dead fridge at that point, as opposed to the limping-along fridge I have now?
I've got a backup freezer to store my freezer contents ... but no backup fridge. And I'm a good couple of weeks away before I can afford a new fridge (at least, the kind I would want). Troubleshoot? Parts? Or just limp along and hope it survives until a new fridge can arrive? Is it time to start moving all the things which can be frozen to the backup freezer ?
I don't know anything about fridge/freezer repair so . .. please be kind.
