Kenmore Elite Refrigerator stopped Cooling

Elite, huh? Sounds fancy.

Is your coil clean?
Had a fridge that had one in the back and underneath.
Always keep the back clean but didn't know about the one underneath.

Just replaced our Kenmore fridge. Only six years old. Been loud as hell for the past two years. Had to replace the freezer coil, a thermostat and the French door seal in the past year to the tune of $1,200. Water and ice stopped working a week or two ago. Quote was another $300 to switch out an actuator button with no assurance it would fix the problem.

Couldn't see investing any more money and grabbed Consumer Reports and went shopping. New one arrives this week.

There is something to your story, this thing has kept cold for a long time but would freeze up the freezer and there would be water leaking out of the fridge.

Not a GFCI issue.

Unplug for a few hours and bang wife....plug back in and if it doesnt work, who cares

Oh that's just a simple Whirlpool top freezer, bottom fridge?

Uses a good embraco compressor, doubt that is the problem, would at least drop that to the bottom of the diagnostic flow chart.

If you want to fix this yourself, first you have to decide, is it a cooling problem or a defrosting problem.

Is the freezer working?
If so you do not have a cooling problem.

Is there frost in the freezer on the back wall?
If so you do not have a cooling problem.


If the answer to both of those is no then you have a cooling problem.

Your compressor is given power from the control, the power flows into a relay and also to a capacitor for starting. you then in addition have the neutral running through an overload. A failure of any one of these three can cause the compressor not to run.

Touch the compressor, if it is very hot to the touch, likely you have a bad capacitor or relay, as it get's power but cannot start. If it is cold to the touch, likely it is a bad overload or a shorted relay.

You always replace the relay and the overload as one. The capacitor you don't have to replace, but it's cheap if you are DIYing it.

4387913 - Start Relay and Overload (retail $53, can find for less)
WPW10662129 - Capacitor (can find for less, retail $25.99)


Of course before you change the parts on a cold compressor, you want to make sure you have power (110-120Vac) going to the compressor.

If you do not then the problem is the electric control board.

Overpriced for these units.
WP2304093 - Main control board (retail $236.55)

Sadly just a few years ago a simple mechanical timer did all the work of that control board. The timers still sell for less than $15 Wholesale.



Your machine power is routed to and from the main control. If your compressor doesn't have power to it, before replacing the control, jump the connector labeled "line" with the connector labeled "comp" if the compressor kicks on you have proven your control board to be the culprit.

When I diagnosis a machine I start at the control. with a meter from the control I can check the compressor, the relay, the defrost system and all the thermistors.
In your case, if I had a warm freezer/ cold compressor, I would jump the compressor at the board and see if it runs before I went changing parts.




Steps to take

1. Determine if cooling problem or defrost problem
2. If cooling problem , check compressor for hot/cold
a) if cold check for power
b) if warm replace relay components. (clean your coils too, they likely caused the relay failure)

3. If no power to compressor check board and jump relay connector.



In a cooling failure, it's going to be one of those parts, UNLESS, the compressor is running. Then it's a sealed system failure and a very expensive repair.

(rare though)

(If it's a defrost failure, remove back freezer panel and melt all ice with a hairdryer or with water spray. a wet dry vac would help too, then come back here for those steps>

What are the larst problematic fridges out there?