Kenmore elite refrigerator?

Question

my refrigerator and freezer wont keep anything cold.

its cooler than room tempt. but wont keep and thing frozen, or keep milk from spoiling.. any idea what the problem could be and if so how can i fix it, please explain in terms that someone that knows nothing about refrigerators would understand.. thank you:)

Answer 1

My guess would be the PTC start relay on the compressor has failed and the compressor is not running.

I think dirty coils can make them fail sooner.

Answer 2

how old is it? when is the last time you cleaned the dust out from under and behind it? do you have a bunch of stuff piled on top of, or along side the fridge on the counters? are you blocking the vents inside the food and or freezer compartments with a lot of food? or, on the other end of the spectrum, is there hardly anything in the fridge? have you moved any levers controlling the air flow in the food compartment, if yours has them?  your fridge needs plenty of air flow under and around it to cool off after it removes heat from the contents inside it, (that's right, they don't make cold, they remove heat). there are fins or coils under or behind it, and they have to be kept clean and free of dust and pet hair. you will probably find the cover at floor level on the front pops off for easier cleaning, and you can buy a brush at the hardware store the will help clean the coils off, too. if you haven't done it in a while, or have never done it, pull the fridge out into the center of the room, so that you can work on it from the front and the back. if you own a shop vac, or can borrow one, they will make it easier to clean. after you clean it as good as you can, put the vaccuum hose on the discharge side of the vac and blow out the coils, too. you'll be surprised how much more comes out! then clean the space where the fridge goes, before you put it back there. put it back, and plug it in, it will probably work like new again when you are done. if it still doesn't work, you'll have to call the repairman, at least you won't have to pay the repair guy to clean it, if this was all that it needed. good luck, hope this helps you fix it.

Answer 3

how old unit?

Answer 4

In general, this problem is caused by a dirty condenser.  This is something that is easy to check.  The condensing unit is either behind the grill at the bottom of the unit, or its on the back of the unit.  Either way, check for dust accumulation and clean away the dust.  

I'm not sure about the Elite edition, but some fridges have a condenser fan.  If this is the case, make sure it runs while the unit is running.  If the condenser fan is not working, then that is something that has to be fixed.   If your condenser is not dirty or if it is but cleaning it  doesn't take care of the problem, call a service technician.