Fridge not working in old Whirlpool fridge-freezer..freezer works fine

[ekon]

[INDENT]Old (1992) Whirlpool ARG 917 built-in. F/F has worked perfectly all those years.

However, today noticed fridge was warm i.e. not cooled. I altered thermostat setting to 5/max.cooling (only the one temperature adjuster inside fridge compartment)..left it a while..made no odds. Fridge light is on and with that single control knob in the fridge you can switch whole machine on/off if you down below “1”.

Freezer is fine.

Think this is a cooling panel type fridge ( but panel not visible being behind back wall of fridge..i.e. no fans/ducts blowing cold air from freezer (not a frost-free freezer..too old.)

Any ideas? Thanks for reading
[/INDENT]

[electrofix]

have you checked the freezer temp

these old units send the gas to the freezer first so and lack of gas or compressor problems normally show up in the fridge first as the unit cant get the freezer cold enough to have anything left over to cool the fridge

freezers should operate at -18 or below. The probem is it could be -7 and still be frozen but the food would then be unsafe to keep long term

Dave

[ekon]

Thank you Dave..sounds eminently logical. So the coolant(?) that’s pumped(?) up from the freezer unit to the fridge (fridge is up top on this unit) is not cool enough to cool the fridge adequately? Fridge ceased to be cool a few days back..as a cup of tea with just-off milk evidenced!

Just put a digital thermometer in freezer..will post when its had chance to cool properly.

[ekon]

minus/- 17.5C would probably go a bit lower if I left it more than 10 mins

[electrofix]

well thats not bad

Have you got a model no ?
or and 12nc number

Dave

[Tony R]

Sounds like the unit has lost some of its refrigerant or the compressor has become weak and not pumping the gas correctly, gas can leak out slowly and the first sign is an ice block build up on the rear wall in one spot, of course it could be the thermostat, but if it turns off just below 1, I assume you can hear the compressor which on a higher number would make the compressor run all the time as the stat recognizes the fridge is not cooling, if the compressor is shutting down early could be stat at fault.

[ekon]

>electrofix – thanks it’s a 1992 purchased Whirlpool ARG 917 built-in… also says “Type CB281W” and TR915020546 on the spec plate in fridge compartment..oh and Made in Italy. Not sure what a “12nc number” is? It’s a single compressor f/f unit first sold in 1990. Never had a moments trouble with it. Would like to fix rather than replace if possible and not prohibitively expensive.
> TonyR..thanks..what I meant above/below was that you can switch it all off using the dial knob which runs 5,4,3,2,1,0.5, <, then a black dot is off. Fridge light goes out & everything stops.
No ice block on wall (do you mean in the fridge or freezer part? ..but no ice blocks anywhere). We were away for six weeks Feb/March..and it was empty/switched off for the duration. It started up fine and for the last 6 weeks it’s been working normally..until a few days ago (the freezer is not all iced up and in need of a thaw).
I notice the back wall of the fridge about half way up gets warm now and again..but not all the time?? Freezer is full and given current situation don’t want to thaw it all out as nowhere to put food in freezer. Have another fridge so no big deal.

Assume the stat controls both the fridge and freezer temp simultaneously?..ie move dial to say 4 and both fridge and freezer run colder?

[Tony R]

Yes higher number both sections get colder, there should be an even frosting over the back wall of the fridge, is this occurring and is the compressor running constantly ? if the compressor shuts off on its own at the highest number set ( coldest ) before a good layer of frost has formed ( to cool the fridge ) then it could be the stat, if no frost forms with compressor running, then its likely gas or compressor fault, if frost does form all across the back wall of fridge, again it could be the stat not restarting compressor after it cuts out for the fridge “off cycle ” defrost.

[electrofix]

looked but its too old to have anymore info apart from a list of part numbers

Dave

[ekon]

thanks TonyR and electrofix.>TonyR ..I will turn up to max(5|) and so max coolness…and see what happens.The freezer was fine on temperature.i.e. -17.5C

[ekon]

left digital max-min thermometer in freezer for about 30 mins..reading on “MIN” is -30C!

[electrofix]

well if it gets down to -30 there cant be anything wrong with refrigeration gear

you have come to the end of my ideas as fridges are not my main area. maybe one of the fridge boys would care to comment

Dave

[ekon]

“cant be anything wrong with refrigeration gear” – tha’ts what I thought..TonyRs post prompted me to set stat to 5 /max cold maybe thats why ist colder than the other day..or maybe I left the thermometer in longer!!.
Thank you electrofix for all your help..much appreciated in these strange times. Pretty old and have been self isolating for 2 months now..don’t even know if I can get a pro out to look. I have another fridge though!!..and I’m loathe to mess to much as the freezer is full.

[ekon]

[INDENT]Having bought a analogue thermometer it shows the freezer is about -30C. It’s off the scale of the analogue one i.e. its below -20C which is the lowest temperature shown on the dial. I get the -30C reading from my digital thermometer though its not meant for freezers! (when I take it out of the freezer the LCD screen shows nothing..it comes back as it warms up. But as its a max/min I can check the historical minimum when all’s visible again and that’s -30.

So the freezer is way too cold and the fridge is too warm..presumably the coolant is not flowing properly..but what could be stopping it going up to the fridge’s cooling panel? The freezer is working well (too well!!.. on the normal stat setting that the unit’s been on for 18 years.) I’m a bit baffled..I think the single thermostat controls the temperature of both parts of the unit (fridge and freezer) simultaneously..i.e. you turn dial to maximum 5 and the fridge and the freezer both get colder together.

I suppose the lack of delivery of coolant to the (hidden) fridge cooling panel could be a blockage of sorts, an air-lock???, or a thermostat related issue. I am no expert (quite clearly) but it’s odd. If it was a faulty thermostat wouldn’t either both boxes (fridge and freezer cabinets) be either too cold or too hot..or not working at all.

I’m just wondering if the very low freezer reading is because the compressor is running for too long or even24/7..but then if so why wouldn’t the fridge also be very cold??

Baffled like I said![/INDENT]

[electrofix]

you have gone beyond my knowlege now and with little or no tech it makes things difficult

hopefully one of the refrigeration guys may see this and have an idea

Dave

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