Compressor runs for 5sec.

You are either low on freon refrigerant, or your compressor is frozen (usually due to low freon) or your compressor is bad. the motor will cycle on and off even though the compressor is not working. the refrigerator away from the wall and look compressor will be a nerf football sizedand usually black cylinder. It could be very hot or cold/frozen. can also unplug the refrigerator leave it for a few hours and plug it back in if it work you are low on freon. You need a repairman

the ptc overload/relay on the compressor is bad and not starting the compressor,remove back cover unplug the ptc off the compressor and replace it with a new exact replacement part

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!

Check if fan in freezer is running as well as fan by the compressor and the compressor itself. Check for any frost buildup on evaporator cover in freezer.

it can be a defective thermistor,a defective cold control or compressors short cycling(not running long enough) or the evaporatorin the freezer is frozen up and cant keep temps constant

most likely the start device is bad,look at the left wall inside the fridge near the cieling,you should see a model number,call your parts store,give them the model number on the machine,there is other letters after the g and tell them you need a start device.unplug the machine,until you get the part so you don't damage the compressor,it's not cooling anyway and thhe freezer feeds cold air to the fridge side,a fan blows cold air from freezer to fridge so next time if the freezer has a problem the fridge side is gonna have a problem too,unclip the metal clip and slide the start device off,read the instructions and it will tell you how to install the new device

two options...one drain hole blocked in freezer,clean with copper wire/bleach to clear gunge.
two outside temp too cold i.e. unit in garage/outhouse( too cold for compressor )
also check seal to doors.air leaks...

Freezer defrosted everything fan continues to run but will not freeze. Compressor is cycling enough to keep refigerator section cold. 106 Series Kenmore. Turned up thermostat to keep fridge cold and a shorter intermittent compressor cycle run

your relay and overload on side of compressor is bad.you can replace with original parts or a 3-n-1 hard to start.

it can be two things the refrgerator probably has a small refrigerant leak therefore it ices up, or the defrosting heater on the begining of the coil is faulty.