WRF990SLAM00 Whirlpool - freezer section not cold enough

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WRF990SLAM00 this is the "do not EVER buy another Whirlpool Corp appliance for as long as you live" example. Whirlpool, Maytag, KitchenAid, JennAir, Amana, Gladiator GarageWorks, Inglis, Estate, Brastemp, Bauknecht, Ignis, Indesit, and Consul

19.5 months from purchase - compressor fails. Whirlpool "that's unfortunate"
3 months later - main power supply board fails. Whirlpool "too bad for you"
4 months later - crisper/deli/meat drawer control fails. Whirlpool "that's why we warranty things for 18 months."

So we gave up and bought a Samsung and could not be happier.

The Whirlpool, know known as the Failurator, is relegated to the garage where it has managed to keep cold things cold and (not yet anyway) caught on fire and burned the house down.

But since the first repair one thing as been consistent: The Freezer, even when set to it's lowest temperature (1 degree) can not completely freeze water. At best water gets "icy" and crunchy but never solid.

On the old top freezer units that are still running 10,20 30 and 40 years later, there is a simple vent system that circulates cold air between freezer and refrigerator (meaning that the temperature differential is a mechanical process) but I see no such air channeling on the Failurator.

How do I debug the freezer not being cold enough?

 

[Dan O.]

How do I debug the freezer not being cold enough?

The freezer should be able to reach well below 0 deg.F. If it doesn't, one of the first thing that will be needed is to access the evaporator coil in the freezer and look at the frost pattern on it before any defrosting is done to the fridge. If you can, post a picture of what you find.

Here are some of the conditions to expect:



Dan O.

 

[rickgburton]

The sealed system uses linear compressor to drive the refrigeration cycle and this style often fails....,a lot. Refrigerant is pumped through the condenser and drier to a 3-way valve. The 3-way valve aligns to allow refrigerant to either the Refrigerator Compartment or Freezer Compartment evaporator, depending on which is being cooled. A check valve is positioned at the outlet of the FC evaporator to prevent refrigerant backflow during RC cooling.

The RC Evaporator Fan and the Pantry Air Baffle are located in the evaporator cover assembly in the RC . They control airflow to the two temperature controlled zones, the RC and the Pantry. The RC evaporator fan is a variable speed fan. It is supplied with constant 12.7 VDC power from Orion board (P16-4). The fan is switched On and Off by a 12.7 VDC gating signal from the main board P14-3. The gating signal is adjusted based on temperature to change the speed of the fan between HI (3450 rpm) and LOW (1725 rpm). The RC fan is On any time the Refrigerator is cooling the RC.