Kenmore 73502 / 73504 / 73509 Bottom Freezer Refrigerator Logo
Posted on Oct 03, 2008
Answered by a Fixya Expert

Trustworthy Expert Solutions

At Fixya.com, our trusted experts are meticulously vetted and possess extensive experience in their respective fields. Backed by a community of knowledgeable professionals, our platform ensures that the solutions provided are thoroughly researched and validated.

View Our Top Experts

Freezer not cold enough; fridge OK

My Trio won't make ice.  Freezer stays at about 25 degrees regardless of control setting.  Fridge maintains 40 degrees at mid setting.  Shouldn't the freezer be close to zero?  Is there a way to check the temperature sensor in the freezer?

  • 1 more comment 
  • cokoliso Oct 06, 2008

    The rest of the story:  I replaced the evaporator fan earlier, because the fridge was reaching room temp.  We emptied the ffridge and freezer and it sat there 2 days before I could get the replacement fan.  The temperature sensor in the freezer was frosted up, and the tubing and defrost stat were in a block of ice when I first noticed the warm fridge and took the back panel inside the freezer off (and of course the evap fan wouldn't turn unless I flicked the blade).  So it was unplugged a good long while, and when I installed the new fan, everything seemed to work - fridge cold, freezer freezing.  But no ice being made - so I put the remote sensor for my digital thermometer in there.  Only 25 degrees, and I think the icemaker won't function if it's above 10 or so.  And zero is the recommended temp for storing frozen foods.  So the constant 25 in the freezer makes me think the thermistor or whatever temp sensor down there could be bad, or I guess the control board. My digital thermometer reads -5 deg in my other freezer.

  • cokoliso Oct 06, 2008

    It has been running with the new fan for 6 days now!  The compressor was replaced last November...I wonder if it was charged adequately.  

  • Anonymous Mar 28, 2014

    refrigerator is at normal temperature of 40 degrees

×

1 Answer

Anonymous

Level 3:

An expert who has achieved level 3 by getting 1000 points

All-Star:

An expert that got 10 achievements.

MVP:

An expert that got 5 achievements.

Vice President:

An expert whose answer got voted for 100 times.

  • Master 750 Answers
  • Posted on Oct 03, 2008
Anonymous
Master
Level 3:

An expert who has achieved level 3 by getting 1000 points

All-Star:

An expert that got 10 achievements.

MVP:

An expert that got 5 achievements.

Vice President:

An expert whose answer got voted for 100 times.

Joined: Sep 11, 2008
Answers
750
Questions
0
Helped
491093
Points
2063

Hello cokoliso,
Welcome to Fixya

You said, your Trio won't make ice. Freezer stays at about 25 degrees regardless of control setting. Fridge maintains 40 degrees at mid setting. Shouldn't the freezer be close to zero? Is there a way to check the temperature sensor in the freezer?

To check the temperature you can buy a refrigerator thermometer at the hardware store.
Ask if it can be used in the freezer too!

The fridge sounds slightly to cold and the freezer not enough.
Fist look in your freezer and check if the articles there are full to the max and covering the air vents usually found in the rear of the freezer.If so clear an opening for the freezer to breath.
Refrigerators and freezers usually share the cold air and I've seen this be the problem on many occasions.
If freezer was not I blocking the vents or even full to the max.

Then pull the plug out or if you can not reach the plug, trip the breaker off for 5 minutes and see if this resets the system.BUT do not plug the fridge back in before at least 3 minutes.

Let me know how it goes and send me any questions.
Thank You, Huuum
Please remember to leave a rating .


  • Anonymous Oct 06, 2008

    Well you did okay finding the bad parts.
    But if you read the user guides they tell you it takes 24 hours to get to operating temperature.
    It's been 24 hours now,right?
    How is the temperature today? Monday 5 pm

    Huuum
    Remember to leave a rating!


×

Add Your Answer

×

Uploading: 0%

my-video-file.mp4

Complete. Click "Add" to insert your video. Add

×

Loading...
Loading...

Related Questions:

0helpful
1answer

Why won't my refrigerator and freezer stay below 50 degrees?

Barbara, does it stay at 50 degrees even if you set it lower? I have a similar problem but temps. look ok.
0helpful
1answer

GE Profile Refridgerator side warm, freezer ok?

Fridge gets cold air from freezer to cool it. Your freezer is fine but not enough cold air is getting into fridge compartment. U have some dampers or louvers that direct air flow to fridge and if they are not set properly cooling will not be adequate. Check those out.
0helpful
2answers

Freezer turns of in cold weather

Many residential refrigerator / freezers are designed to work at temperature considerably above above freezing. Most modern refrigerator / freezer have a single electric thermostat - located in the fresh food compartment. This lone thermostat will control the compressor to keep the fridge (fresh food) section at the desired temperature (usually between 34 - 38 degrees F). The freezer will get colder regardless of how cold it is already whenever the fridge thermostat turns the compressor on.

Now that you see how the thermostat works, let's look at what happens when the fridge is placed in an unheated space - like a garage. In winter time, the temperature can drop considerably below 38 degrees. If the outdoor temperature remains cold enough, for long enough - it will affect the thermostat in the fridge. The temperature inside the fridge could drop below 38 degrees, preventing the thermostat from telling the compressor to turn on. Meanwhile, the temperature in the freezer compartment slowly rises from the normal -10 to 0 F degrees. It will continue to rise until it is the same temperature as the fresh food compartment or until the thermostat in the fresh food compartment tells the compressor to turn on again. This means the freezer contents will thaw.

If the temperature in the garage is even in the 40 to 50 degree range, the loss of cold in the fridge may not happen often enough to keep the compressor coming on often enough to keep some freezer items frozen solid - such as ice cream. Remember, water freezes at 32 degrees F, other products may require lower temperatures to remain frozen, and could thaw at 28 or other temperature.

Good luck!
4helpful
1answer

Too cold

If the unit seems to be running non stop, you may have a bad cold temp control. If you have ice cream in freezer, it will likely be rock hard, that you need a chisel to scoop. if your ice cream is ok, its likely not the temp control. On your GE, in the fresh food section, do you have a canopy on the ceiling of fridge, and likely covers the whole top back portion of your fridge? If you do, there is a damper door inside, that breaks off its hinge, and stays wide open, allowing cold air from freezer to constantly be pulled into fridge, freezing food. If you do have this canopy, it will need to be replaced, as you cannot reattach the damper to its hinge.
1helpful
1answer

Freezer in the gararge redfrigerator quits working when outside temps get real cold

hello. this is a common problem. The thermostat for a refrigerator/freezer is in the refrigerator part. Normally the refrigerator is kept at around 40 degrees. The compressor turns on as required to maintain this tempearture. The evaporator coils are concentrated in the freezer side, so that the freezer stays at around 0 degrees while the fridge side is held at 40.

If the ambient temp is around 25 degrees, the refrigerator compartment will get below the setpoint of 40 degrees, and gradually continue down towards 25 degrees. The compressor will not have to run at all to maintain this. In fact, the compressor is designed not to run, once the refrigerator compartment gets below the setpoint, for fear of freezing the contents of the fridge.

The lack of circulating refrigerant due to the non-running compressor means that the freezer compartment will gradually warm up to 25 degrees.

If the unit were just a freezer, it would work fine in the unheated garage. If it were just a refrigerator, it would not run in these conditions, and the contents would eventually freeze, but it is otherwise OK.

Regards, Joe PS kindly rate my answer. Thank you.
0helpful
2answers

Refrigerator too warm on coldest setting

The refrigerator coos from the bleed over from the freezer, See if the fan in the freezer is working properly and the crossover duct/vet is not obstructed or close.. Ck to make sure the control in the fridge is working,
0helpful
1answer

New whirlpool refrig. freezer ok at 0 but refrig

The freezer get the first crack at cooling and combination units have a fan and adjustable vents to steal some of the cooling capacity for the refrigerator. The vent are normally located in the back of the refrigerator compartment and with these, you can balance the cooling capacity between freezer and fridge. I recommend you swap your thermometer back and forth until you get the balance you want; typically the freezer should be at 5 degrees F or below and the fridge at 35-40 degrees F. Adjusting the control for temperature and having the vents set to supply the cold air you want in each compartment should give you the range you want in each.
0helpful
1answer

MAYTAG REFRIGERATOR ICE MAKER NOT WORKING, AND REFRIGERATOR ONLY COOL WHEN TURNED UP TO HIGHEST LEVEL. FREEZER IS COLD

Is the freezer cold enough to make ice maker operate. 10 degrees or less.
The fridge gets its cold air from the freezer through a vent between the freezer and fridge.The fan in the freezer blows air through it. There is a flap you adjust with the fridge temp. control. Make sure it's opening and closing when you adjust the fridge temp .

.
If the evaporator coils behind the back panel of the freezer are icing up because of auto defrost failure that will stop the circulation of cold air and eventually affect the freezer too.

check defrost timer, defrost heater, defrost thermostat. In most newer models the timer has been replaced by an electronic control board. If the heater and thermostat are ok it’ll be the control.
1helpful
1answer

Superba kitchenaid fridge not very cold, freezer is fine

do you have any frost build up it the freezer back wall... fan blowing in freezer and in back ...condeser coils clean... if all the above is ok ...must have temp. sensor or themostate cold control problem
Not finding what you are looking for?

887 views

Ask a Question

Usually answered in minutes!

Top Kenmore Refrigerators Experts

vince

Level 3 Expert

2530 Answers

Cindy Wells

Level 3 Expert

6688 Answers

Johnny 1000

Level 2 Expert

94 Answers

Are you a Kenmore Refrigerator Expert? Answer questions, earn points and help others

Answer questions

Manuals & User Guides

Loading...