Refrigerator won't turn off.

[simple_gifts]

Seems my fridge won't shut off. Stuff in the freezer is still frozen, the air blowing doesn't seem to be particularly frigid. Fridge area still cold; the fridge is mostly empty; freezer FULL. I unplugged it for a while and then plugged it back in; area around the freezer door is HOT. Someone I know mentioned something about the defrost timer or thermostat are the most common problems. I have a multimeter and will be pulling it out away from the wall tomorrow after work to check for frozen coils. I turned the temp up, but it still won't shut off. I understand low freon can also cause this?

Whirlpool of +20 years.

Would appreciate some guidance; thanks

-Thomas

 

[abycat]

most likely cold control. Could be a frosted up evaporator. caused from bad defrost timer. there should be a box in the back with a small round thing you can turn with your finger. Turn it until the fridge stops running. It should now be on defrost. If you don't hear crackling from inside the freezer the defrost element is bad. it is a real pain to change them but can be done. I've done at least 20 in my career. If it doesn't shut off while turning that round thing replace the defrost timer. Very simple to do. If you have to replace the cold control that is not that much fun either.

 

[abycat]

Also don't stuff your freeze full. The air won't be able to get to the fridge. And make sure the temp probe is out of the little plastic holder. If it's inside the fridge will never think it's cold enough.

 

[JHZR2]

The sides of the unit around the front door are hot? We had one do this, I think the fan went bad iirc.

 

[Donald]

20 yr old refrig? Maybe be time. Newer ones are more energy efficient.

 

[Dave Sherman]

Make sure you don't have a clogged evaporator drain. This happened to me once, and eventually the evaporator turned into a solid block of ice. Similar symptoms, running constantly, not getting very cold.

 

[Nayov]

Originally Posted By: Donald
20 yr old refrig? Maybe be time. Newer ones are more energy efficient.


This right here. Mine wouldn't shut off, but wouldn't really freeze food solid. Messed with it, decided to buy a new one and the power bill has gone down dramatically. Incredibly, the very next month the power bill was just under $20.
Today's fridges are amazingly power efficient. I did the math, and figured my refrigerator would pay for itself in a year and a half. Also got a $100 rebate from some kind of gov't (the horror!) energy efficiency program.

 

[Donald]

In NY the power company will buy an old refig for $25 or so.

The really energy efficient ones (Liebherr) have a compressor for the cold and a compressor for the freezer. Both are variable speed and can come on and super cool when you just dump in food from your car and then go back to normal speed.