WRT318FZDM02 Whirlpool freezer fridge not getting cold enough

[Rockfridgeissue]

Model Number

WRT318FZDM02

Brand

Whirlpool

Age

1-5 years

Hi I bought a fridge and think I got sold a lemon. It is not getting cold enough. On recommended settings the freezer is only 10 celcius. I have taken it apart and think I see the issue and just hope it is repairable. Can someone look at the pic and advise please?

Corrected model number

 

[Jake]

The model number you posted is for a Range, not Refrigerator.

Jake

 

[Rockfridgeissue]

Thanks it is: WRT318FZDM02

 

[Jake]

Thanks!

10 degrees celsius is 50 degrees fahrenheit.

From your photo above, that indicates a sealed system problem, BIG MONEY to fix it, unless you have a sealed system warranty, check your owners manual and see.

Did you buy this refrigerator used? If so, from where?

Jake

 

[Rockfridgeissue]

Thanks for the reply Jake. It is under warranty for sealed system. I have begun the process on this. Bought it in usednanaimo.com in 'great working condition' what a jerk. So tempted to dump it on his property. What recourse would you take on this? I already contacted him and he does not answer, I know where he lives.

 

[Jake]

You can contact the BBB and file a complaint or the Federal Trade Commission or Small Claims Court.

Jake

 

[ChicoQuente]

Hi Jake, I have this exact same fridge and have been noticing a mix of problems lately. The fridge has been freezing some of our produce and even the occassional liquid product when sitting on the bottom shelf. The mid and upper shelf of the fridge have been fine however. Just today I started to notice that some of the freezer items did not seem to be frozen anymore, I appear to have caught them as the thaw was just beginning fortunately so no lost items. I began to check a few things pieced together from other posts you have responded to.

I checked the control board and I do not see the "R" or "W" markings which leads me to believe the board may need a replacement as it would be an unlabelled or "R" board? However my serial number is well outside the listed range as it VS701. So I'm not sure if that is a route to go.

The fans are running without issue.

I then took the freezer back cover off and found a ton of ice on the right hand side. I am attaching an image. As it looks worse than the OP's image I am guessing I am screwed? We bought our home with this fridge included, flipper obviously put the cheapest they could get in. The manufacture date is 2017 which is the same year we moved in, however we of course have no receipts or warranty as we did not purchase it ourselves.

Do you have any recommendations for me? Is this fridge garbage at this point? Your initial reponse leads me to believe this will be an expensive fix so I guess I am wondering is it even worth doing?

Thanks.

 

[Jake]

Yours is also a sealed system problem, check your owners manual warranty, some of these models have a 5 year warranty on the compressor/sealed system.

Jake

 

[ChicoQuente]

Thank you for the advice @Jake I just pulled out the manual and looks like I am S.O.L. as the only mention of warranty if a single page saying "limited one year warranty" and it does not go in to specifics on systems or parts covered.

Is it worth calling in a repair technician or will the cost likely be too high to warrant the repair? I'm not eager to purchase a new fridge however I also do not want to pay more on a repair than is reasonable.

 

[Jake]

Its depends, since your in Canada I don't know how much they would charge. Here in the USA sealed system repairs range between $300 to $600.

Jake

 

[ChicoQuente]

Thanks again @Jake. That is definitely pretty expensive. It's a holiday weekend here and I really don't want to pay "emergency" repair rates as we can get by with another fridge we have for the time being until we can call around on Tuesday. Is this an issue that there is nothing for me to bother further testing? Like thermistors, etc? I am an electrician and have a quality Fluke meter but just don't know enough about refrigeration to know where any of those components could be the problem here or if this is basically a leak? Any electronic component I am completely comfortable and capable of replacing but don't know where they could be the cause or not. Would any components we worth testing myself? So far I've verified 120V going to the compressor but have not gone any further. I have also checked regularly and the compressor never gets anywhere past "warm to the touch" in my opinion, nothing like the intense heat my failing AC compressor put out last year.

Furthermore I ended up finding a more indepth warranty page for our model on the Whirlpool website which DOES state sealed system has 5 year warranty however you require the receipt. Unfortunately the appliances were purchased by the person that flipped our home before we bought it we have no receipts. We are the only people that have ever used it and it was manufactured in 02/2017 so we are going to call Tuesday and see if they will help us at all, however my expectations are quite low on the end. But it's yet another reason I don't want to spend a fortune on a Sunday to have it fixed to find out Tuesday they would have helped us out (long shot, I know!)

Thank you for all that you do to help us out here! It is much much appreciated.

 

[Jake]

No, nothing else to test. Yes, contact Whirlpool Canada at 1-800-807-6777 and give them the model and serial number of your refrigerator and they will let you know if the sealed system warranty will be applied to yours.

They usually go by the serial number for warranty work.

Jake

 

[ChicoQuente]

Hey @Jake,

Let me start off by saying thank you very much for your help and responses thus far. I truly appreciate it as appliance repair is not in my wheel house. I am terribly sorry to keep hounding away at you with questions but was hoping I could ask one last thing.

Thanks to your responses we found out we ARE covered for 5 years with the sealed system. We have a tech scheduled for Monday. The catch is that if it is NOT the sealed system the fee is $129 + tax. We’ve missed a large chunk of income over the last year due to layoffs so we’re trying to be as cautious here as possible. Of course if they come and say it is not the sealed system our options get tricky when we’re already down $129. I am fully comfortable and capable of replacing anything in the fridge aside from the sealed system.

Is there any chance our issue is a defrost problem? I can’t trigger a manual defrost as our fridge refuses to enter the diagnostics option so I have no way to test that. Could Whirlpool turn around and say our board is the issue? Do you think there’s any chance our board being faulty could cause this issue or is a sealed system problem the only think that could lead to this ice build up?

We unplugged the fridge over the weekend to defrost the fridge and it has now been plugged back in for 4 days. Ice has formed again but nowhere near what was there before as seen in my last picture. I am attaching a new photo taken today that shows what things look like after 4 days of being on. Of course I have no idea how long that last mass of ice was accumulating for as it was only discovered once we were having a frozen fridge. I should note, in case it is of importance that since plugging it back in we have kept very minimal items in it in case it drops too cold again. We lost enough food the first time around that we didn’t want to lose much. Since plugging back in this weekend there’s primarily been about a half dozen drink containers and some leftovers. The freezer has strictly had ice packs sitting in it.

I really do appreciate your time. My wife and I are grateful to have someone providing such help to us. We just want to minimize the risk of spending $129 needlessly as if we end up needing a new fridge anyways that’s extra $129 is going to hurt a bit at the moment.

Thank you again.

 

[Jake]

I need to know what the freezer temperature is at right now in Fahrenheit please. LOL

Get a freezer thermometer and put it in the freezer if you don't know the temperature its at right now.

Jake

 

[ChicoQuente]

It is currently 14.7F and the dial is set to the “min” position, and has been since plugging it back in on Sunday.

The fridge is 35.2F also to the minimum of 5 settings (min as in least coolest temp)

 

[Jake]

Its too warm in the freezer, the freezer should be 0F.

So yes, its still a sealed system problem.

Jake

 

[emilymlayton]

Hello,

We are experiencing a very similar issue with our 2017 Whirlpool WRT318FZDM02 freezer (pictures attached). Like @ChicoQuente, we did not purchase this refrigerator ourselves, rather it came with the home we bought (moved in in August 2021), and so we don't have a receipt or warranty information. We will contact Whirlpool with the serial number tomorrow to see if we have the 5 year sealed system warranty. In the meantime, I was wondering if you could share where you found the in depth warranty page on the Whirlpool website @ChicoQuente?

Thank you for your help!
Emily

 

[Jake]

Hi Emily,

Here's your owners manual: WRT318FZDM02

Your warranty is on Page 19.

Jake