Skip to main content

Kenmore is a popular appliance brand commonly sold by Sears, but Sears does not manufacture any of the appliances themselves. Instead, they source that out and have other manufacturers make their appliances for them. Kenmore refrigerators are made by a variety of different manufacturers including LG, Electrolux, GE, and Whirlpool.

115 Questions View all

Kenmore French Door Bottom refrigerator not cooling, freezer is fine

Kenmore French Door Bottom Refrigerator is not cooling. The freezer section is fine, it does its job but the refrigerator section is warm. It was bought three years ago so there’s no Warranty that can help it.

Answered! View the answer I have this problem too

Is this a good question?

Score 0
1 Comment

Any repair and disassembly guides for the the above (Kenmore French Door Bottom Refrigerator)?

by

Add a comment

1 Answer

Chosen Solution

Hi @iotriton

What is the model number of the refrigerator?

Can you hear if the evaporator fan is running?

The evaporator fan will run as long as the compressor is running and both the doors are shut.It will stop when a door (either door) is opened

Without knowing the model number the following may not work but if the refrigerator/freezer have visible door switches located in the door jamb, when the compressor is running open the freezer door and then manually operate the door switch. If there are lights in the freezer compartment they should turn off but more importantly the evaporator fan which is located with the evaporator unit behind a panel inside the freezer compartment at the back will start running again. Check if you can hear it stop and start or feel the air from the vent when the switch is released and operated.

If there are no visible door switches (they could be concealed magnetic reed switches - depends on model), then listen closely and check if you can hear the fan stop and start when you open and close the door.

Do not confuse this fan with the condenser fan which is located beneath the compartments near the compressor and can run whether the doors are open or not.

If you can’t hear or feel the evap fan running at all, it may be iced up, it may be faulty, the door switches may be faulty or there is a problem with the power to the fan.

Remove the panel to reveal the evaporator unit and the fan.

If the fan is iced up then there may be either a problem with:

the defrost heater, located under the evap unit preventing sufficient ice from melting during the auto defrost mode, causing a build up of ice until it covers the fan

a blocked drain tube, located under the evap unit preventing the defrost meltwater from draining to the evap pan located below the compartments near the compressor resulting in a build up of ice

or

the control board auto defrost mode operation malfunction.

Also if the fan is iced up do not use a hair dryer on hot to melt the ice. Use it on the coolest setting for short periods at a time only, if at all - be patient, open the door and let it melt ;-), as the evap unit can be damaged if it gets too hot. Usually it is only thin aluminium and expensive to replace.

If the fan is not running and not iced up there may be a problem with the door switches. Check if the compartment lights (if also in freezer) go on and off when the switches are operated and released.

If the fan is running and not iced up etc there may be a problem with the air damper. This closes and opens to control the amount of cold air flowing into the refrigerator compartment from the freezer compartment.

All this depends on the model because some fridges have two evaporator units each with its’ own fan. One for each compartment but the principle of operation will be the same, except for the air damper connection between the two compartments. The evaporator fan is used to drag air across the freezing cold evaporator unit and blow it into the compartment(s) to cool them down to the set temperatures.

Hopefully this is of some help

Was this answer helpful?

Score 0

3 Comments:

@jayeff

Sorry for not replying but I had issues with my android

(five years old).

Refrigerator Model # is: 253.7041341B

My Lady friend (it's her refrigerator) tried the diagnostics from the manual but I'm not sure if it worked at all. I sent her your instructions but I'm not sure what she did.

Again, thanks for your input and if you have anything else, based on the Model #, we'll be thankful if it helps solve this mystery.

by

Hi @iotriton

No problems.

Here's a link from a parts supplier that shows the most likely reasons for the symptoms you described, which basically match what I thought.

If you click on "Sections" there are the parts layout diagrams so that their location can be more easily found.

Also there are other suppliers of parts that may suit better. Just search for "253.7041341B parts" to get results

by

Bought Kenmore Elite French door model #79573167.610 in11/2018. Has had mother board replaced, compressor replaced and now needs another compressor. Very disappointed in this make. I wil be buying another fridge but it definetly will not be a Kenmore which is really a LG

by

Add a comment

Add your answer

Mike Diaz will be eternally grateful.
View Statistics:

Past 24 Hours: 0

Past 7 Days: 2

Past 30 Days: 21

All Time: 3,748