Anyone a whirlpool repairman?

[j_k_bisson]

Hello to all. Looking for some help on my Whirlpool side by side fridge. Just wondering if there are any appliance repair men/woman here. If so please respond. My fridge (GS2SHAXLB01) stopped freezing last night. Yesterday noticed a burnt electrical smell in the kitchen. We could not locate the source then, but we deffinately know where it came from now. There is nothing like gettig up in the middle of the night and stepping into a puddle of water in front of a fridge. And the the thing that will really wake you up is when you open up the door and a gush of water envelops your feet. So before I strat tearing into the fridge controls tonight, I was wondering if anyone can point me in the right direction as to the cause.

The fridge's cooling fan is running air over the coils. I can hear it. But can not hear the compressor running. If there is someone that this is their profession wouldn't mind helping me, please let me know. Or this is going to turn into the next major project of mine.

 

[642mx]

Re: Anyone a whirlpool repairman?

It sounds like the same thing that happened to mine. I noticed that everything in the freezer was thawed and then noticed the fridge side was warm.

My neighbor is a HVAC guy and came over... he did some checks with a meter and found the compressor "starting device" was burned up. He removed it and we could smell that freshly burned up electronics smell.

I think it was mounted on the side of the compressor, and was $50.

Our fridge is only 6 years old... I kind of expected a little better from a well known name brand that I gave a premium price for. Oh well, $50 and a case of beer is all it cost me for the repair.

 

[oops!]

Re: Anyone a whirlpool repairman?

how old is the fridge?

two things to check....the thremostat.....(the electrical one in the freezer) and the defrost timer.......the timers can be tricky to find. they hide them all over.
unless your fridge has a ton of extra carp on it ...like the internet....and a ton of other stuff......they are pretty simple..

after checking those two......in your freezer...there is a heating element....and i hi limit thermal.....the heating element will be easy to spot if its toast. the hi limit thermal.... a small round disk...one inch tall....will need a continuity check...( it has to be cold or cooler to have the circut open....if the circut it closed...it thinks the fridge is too warm...and turns off the defrost heater and compressor

 

[bigdee]

Re: Anyone a whirlpool repairman?

You said cooling fan is running? If that is true you can rule out the thermostat and focus on the compressor....most likely the start relay(sometimes called potential relay) located on compressor. This is a relay that senses current of starting winding in order to switch over to the run windings after a short delay. They usually do stink when they fail.

 

[dwco5051]

Re: Anyone a whirlpool repairman?

Got to agree with bigdee. The condenser fan running rules out a wiring problem in the control circuit. If there is an internal problem with the compressor it could have burnt up the overload protector, otherwise probably the start relay.

 

[j_k_bisson]

Re: Anyone a whirlpool repairman?

Looked into it last night after work. Did not do any continuity chack on the compressor. I say that it was getting juice as it was hot. The started relay had the tell tale sign of black smoke damage. The kit is only $50. So I am going to replace that part first. Is there ay kind of check I can run on the compressor?

 

[j_martin]

Re: Anyone a whirlpool repairman?

Should be a 3 pin connector on the compressor. One is common, one goes to the run winding, and one to the start winding. Should be continuity in both. It would be normal for the compressor to heat up and trip an overtemp switch if the starting circuit is open. (relay, etc)

I think you have 2 problems. The starting device, which used to be a relay, but now they use a device that has low resistance when cold, and goes high when it heats up.

The other is that when it failed, there should have been a small amount of ice melting, not a huge amount. Something is wrong with the defrosting system. That involves a timer a heating element, and a thermostat in the evaporator coil. The diagrams should all be on the back of the fridge.

hope it helps
John

 

[j_k_bisson]

Re: Anyone a whirlpool repairman?

Well found the relay part locally. Will pick it up after work today. So we'll know by tonight when I plug it in again.

 

[bigdee]

Re: Anyone a whirlpool repairman?

Should be a 3 pin connector on the compressor. One is common, one goes to the run winding, and one to the start winding. Should be continuity in both. It would be normal for the compressor to heat up and trip an overtemp switch if the starting circuit is open. (relay, etc)

I think you have 2 problems. The starting device, which used to be a relay, but now they use a device that has low resistance when cold, and goes high when it heats up.

The other is that when it failed, there should have been a small amount of ice melting, not a huge amount. Something is wrong with the defrosting system. That involves a timer a heating element, and a thermostat in the evaporator coil. The diagrams should all be on the back of the fridge.

hope it helps
John

"The starting device, which used to be a relay, but now they use a device that has low resistance when cold, and goes high when it heats up" Just a good example of a "bean counter" cheaping out. The older style relay was almost bullet proof. These newer ones are resistance heated bimetal strip contacts mounted in a plastic enclosure. Heat & plastic are a bad mix.

 

[paultjohnson]

Re: Anyone a whirlpool repairman?

I googled Appliance Forums... when I had some fridge issues, I cant remember which one, but I got answers directly from a repairmen at a parts place. Worked well, might try that........

 

[j_k_bisson]

Re: Anyone a whirlpool repairman?

It ended up being the motor start relay. Pluged in the new part and the fridge works. Thank god!!!!! Now on to much more important things. Like a 225hp Evinrude motor rebuild!!!!! Thank to all for the much appreciated help. This is what these forums is all about. Helping your fellow man.