Sears Kenmore Refrigerator Troubleshooting Freezer working refrigerator side warm not working repair

My 10 year old Sears Kenmore refrigerator has been flawless until now. My freezer was working perfectly but the refrigerator side was warm. The narrowed it down to poor air circulation. My return vent was iced over creating a negative pressure situation preventing new cold air from entering. Once the ice was cleared the cold air started flowing again. I suspect the problem is my kid leaving the door partial open sometimes. The warm air entering creates condensation that turns into ice. Glad this was a no cost repair. If you found this video helpful or would like help fund future experiments. please donate below.

Good Book

Patreon

Paypal

Sponsors:

[peaches]

Dude, I just spent 2 hours breaking at all the ice that was stuck in the vents, back panel, all top freezer area, boiling hot water and pouring over ice avoiding electrical components, cleaning spilled water and giving the fridge a good clean while im at it and putting food back in and my goodness gracious I am in debt. I owe you. You saved me lots of $$$. My fridge is cooling like when we first got it!

[siobhShaft]

Took me awhile to diagnosis no airflow in the fridge. After I did and found this video I tried with both fridge and freezer doors open, the air was blowing good. I dumped hot water down the return vent and instantly got cold air! You saved me thousands of dollars! My wife was ready for a new fridge :D

[josegalvan]

You are a damn angel, I was halfway thru a tear down and I happened to come across your video. I’ll be drinking a cold one in your honor tonight

[leeannflores]

Here I am in 2023 with a Kennore side by side with this same issue 🤣🤣. My refrigerator is 18 y/o with the same issue and I removed everything and let the ice build up thaw out. Worked like a charm and I’m gonna keep running with this till the wheels absolutely fall off!

[peanutchino]

Same issue.. my fridge didn’t blow out cold air… when freezer door was closed.. I tossed in cup of boiling hot water on the bottom vent.. instantly heard like ice drop or something and poof cold air at the top. Will let it run and see In the am.. if this works.. Then amazing!!!! Wow Props to you!! Saved me thank

[daviddesaintgermain]

Thank you so much after all those videos once I found this one found that extra vent that was frozen over and now my fridge works perfect again save me a thousand

[MattFaust]

Thank you this fixed my issue and saved me from wasting money on a service call!

[jamash]

You’re a lifesaver. I just want to thank you for your technical knowledge and easy explanation and diagnosis. Your video was straight to the point and help to save me a ton of money.
Other videos want you to change your compressor start and conductor. It took me less than 30 minutes to solve the problem

[mozhk]

exactly the same problem that I was facing. thumb up!

[stinkyfreds]

Thanks for video same problem top and bottom fridge ducts frozen solid. Saved$$$. All other components working properly.

[redskins]

Thanks for posting! Top vent and bottom vent were both my issue. Top was closed and bottom full of ice. About to turn the fridge back on, fingers crossed that did the trick!🤞🏼

[rmedina]

I owe you a beer my friend.. This was exactly the issue I was having. Closed door = no flow. Open door = Flow..

[Shockeclipse]

I really hope this is the fix for mine. My door suctions closed super hard so I'm wondering if there is a pressure issue going on. Same thing as you though, chuck of ice up top in the freezer, coils not overly frosted, I did change the defrost controller out. top vent seems to blow cold air into fridge but when its closed It doesn't get colder than 52 degrees.

[derk]

Thank you for taking the time to make this video

[Eric-qkbk]

Okay. I had this problem with a fridge I recently took out of storage. I...
1) Unplugged the fridge.
2) Removed the back of the freezer panel.
3) Unplugged the wiring harness.
4) Noticed the fan wouldn't spin freely.
5) Removed the fan/ motor.
6) Removed the small electric motor.
7) Took the two small long bolts holding the motor together.
8) Cleaned the rust and residue of the magneto ( part surrounding the small motor) and the small motor.
9) Put the motor back together and tried successfully to spin it.
After I felt it spinning with no resistance, I reassembled the motor back into the surrounding bracket,
plugged the fan blade back onto the small shaft, the bracket onto the panel, plugged the panel back in, and screwed it back into place.
10) I cleaned out the stained porthole for transferring the cold freezer air down into the lower section of the fridge...
Now it runs GREAT!!
I hope this learning experience helps!!

[aletheiaquest]

This is the exact issue I'm having now, and have been dealing with it for about 10 days. When I open the freezer door, I get airflow out of the top vent coming into the fridge, but with the freezer door closed, I can barely feel anything. I tried your hot water trick, but the water is just pooling in the opening. I sucked out as much water as I could and then used a blow dryer for about 10 minutes, but it didn't help.

Do you have any other ideas on how to open up that frozen return air vent? Maybe I should just continue to try hot water?? I've already cleared out the drain from inside the freezer because it was frozen over. Water drained into the pan afterward. I just can't get the water to drain out from this return air vent from the fridge. Thanks to anyone who helps me. I truly appreciate it.

[tarshalroper]

Thanks man it worked exactly like your video. Appreciate it.

[DavidMorales-zqiw]

Thanks a lot, i was breaking my head looking for the problem!

[daviddesaintgermain]

Looked at a few videos did everything they said still wasn’t getting airflow came across this video. I found that that extra vent was also frozen so I did what you did and now I do feel some airflow, but it doesn’t feel that strong. Not sure if it’s fixed yet, got a wait a few hours and we’ll see if everything’s cold.

[thirdgear]

thanks for sharing! I have the same issue.