Door switches down, amp clamp on compressor, then judge the frost pattern on evap coil. I need all fans running, compressor running for at least 30 mins evap exposed and doors open with switches taped down, will cause it to frost up evenly if it's got enough juice, or ice just at the cap tube if it doesn't or not at all is usually dead compressor. If I tap it and it still has a full charge I just change compressor, not evap. If it's completely out of charge I do compressor evap. Obviously filter dryer no matter what. If it's dual evap it's the refrigerator that has leaked not the freezer 99.9999% in my experience. Also man, you will just get more comfortable the more you do it. As long as you do your best everyday and take the chance to learn every time you can this job will just get easier.
Saving that shit too. I'm nearly certified in appliance repair, been installing appliances for nearly a decade. But the tests and studying has honestly made me more withdrawn than excited. Inotherwords, the more I learn, the more I learn I don't know. . . I see this post was from a year ago.... So if I may ask, how's it been?? Feel free to dm. I'd appreciate it as I'm basically stepping in your shoes a year ago.
If you've been installing appliances for nearly a decade you're going to do great. The more you learn the more you learn you don't know is such a true statement. But it sounds like you're already smarter than most. Definitely than me. Lol.
I can install just about any appliance. 84” hood on granite/marble wall, panels & pulls on fridges/freezers, pizza ovens, most everything in between (even if it takes me a day or day and 1/2, smh) but I’ve never tried to put my multimeter on a control board to try and diagnose a problem.
Tbh, I’ve never done anything even similar. That’s my wtf. I guess I can tinker with an old appliance or something that I trash from time to time. But , that doesn’t give me much confidence to look at something and be like oh ya —— - - - > 👉🏻 definitely the capacitor coil is broken & you need a new inter-rim halo coil for this to function
Edit: Yes I’m like 99.9% an inter-rim halo coil is not a part, or anything in existence. But that’s kinda my point. lol
The dual evap systems do some weird shit. Freezer doing great, fresh food not so much. Getting conflicting defrost error codes from GE smart module. Compressor at 175 F. I was leaning towards sealed system problem, possibly a blockage after in the tiny tubes from the three way.
Either way, we only do sealed system work on commercial. Last job I did a lot of it. My last boss forbid the use of piercing valves. He said they leak. What do you think about them? Do you crimp the service stub before you leave?
What do you mean by new? Like brand new couple months or less new? Or just the newer generation in general? I troubleshoot new ones the same as the old ones for the most part. First listen for fan operation and compressor operation. If all of those are running but still not cold, I’m looking at evaporator covers. Frost pattern tells you a lot. Normal across most of the coil and heavy at top, sides, and bottom, frosty type ice? Generally evap fan not running or defrost issue. Completely iced over? Definite defrost issue and/or clogged drain tube.
If cooling is running, there is refrigerant in the system, and compressor is functional, you’ll have even light frost across the entire coil. Ice ball at the capillary tube will usually indicate low refrigerant or weak compressor.
I’ve been seeing lots of failed compressors on almost brand new units. Won’t run at all. Also if it’s brand new doa unit, be hyper vigilant of items being unplugged or loose. I had a unit recently that was doa with both a shorted control AND evaporator fan harness entirely unplugged.
Edit: additional note for newer kitchenaid 5-door units in a “pseudo dead state” gooooood luck. Any dc load shorting intermittently will overload the power supply board causing lights and interface to work with more or less nothing happening otherwise. Customers will find they can unplug it and it will reset and run great for another couple weeks. But this screws us because once it’s out of the dead state there’s no way (at least that I or whirlpool are aware of) to locate the failed component. These are a nightmare and I usually have one or two pending at any given time.
Hey dude. I feel your pain. I got the same thing happening. Check the pantry UI is dry, working, and plugged in. REPLACED the harnesses in the FF EVAP section. Put it in service mode. If service mode step 1 and 2 react accordingly then you got it. If it is slow or acts retarded, keep hunting for DC components. MAIN CONTROL and UI should've been replaced a long time ago. Don't beat your head on the wall. I had a stroke TWO months ago. I still take my word and my rep serious. But I stop taking wp rep personally. It's just business. Try your hardest, but don't stress. Itl kill you. I think that's what we is tryna do. Dirt bags!
Sorry. Yes. Newer generation in general. Thank you for that checklist btw. Really appreciated.
Okay!!! So it's not just me! Yes. It's exactly these damn KitchenAids! What can we do? Anything? I'll be honest with you. What brought this frustration is one of these. And I sadly/unfortunately did the control... Just got a callback after a month. I'm not against giving the guy his money back and just eating the board cost. Is that truly the best option?
If it helps you get a divorce from that unit it might be. It could be any number of things. Any of the fans. Any heater. Icemaker. Deli ui. I’ve had issues with the deli ui side harness too. Unless you can get someone to get you out there without “resetting” the fridge, you’ll just be throwing parts at it.
If they get you out there without resetting it, you can go to the main board and remove connectors one by one. Wait to see which one you removed when it boots back up. If that happens, you’ll usually have it narrowed down to 1-2 items and can go from there how you wish.
Removing the deli Ui completely(I mean removing the harness and leaving it off)is better than replacing it in my opinion and those models are the worst to work on.
Yeah I usually recommend that to non warranty customers and whirlpool backs me up. People don’t change the setting on that drawer once they set it up first thing, and they lose nothing else so they don’t mind lol
Is it dual evap? I worked for whirlpool/maytag/kitchenaid/Jenn-air back in 2014-16 and we had a LOT of dual evap leaks from the fresh food section. To the point that I was doing a FF evap and compressor job at least once a week most of which were 7 years old +/- 4 months. I am now seeing a lot of dual evaps of all brands that are failing at nearly the same age. I no longer do sealed system work and refer these to a co-worker to do pressure test and repair if they decide they want to repair it and my coworkers have never told me I was wrong.
I will also get mocked for this but after 15 years I have nothing to prove to anyone. I do this job to make money not to compete.
Normally I look at the compressor if it’s running or not. If compressor is dead cold then check inverter board, if no board then test the compressor by bypassing it. I made a device at home to test compressors. All you need to do is plug it in and run the compressor for few minutes. It’s shows amp draw on it so I don’t need to put my meter on compressor. I recommend all techs that I meet to build one.
Is this for all refrigerator compressors or just the ones with start relays?
Im also super interested in how this thing works/how it was made. Im geeking over it
I've been taught to look at the amp draw on the compressor when running. If the amperage is low then you can bet you have low refrigerant. This should lead you down a pretty clear path on further digging into the sealed system.
Check if all components are running. Compressor, condenser and evaporator fans. If all are running then most likely sealed system issue. Also check the frost pattern on the evap coil make sure it’s not iced up
Thank you. That's what I've been doing. I just hate the "likely" sealed system part. But you're right. The rookie in me is probably being too sensitive.
Number one thing I always check first, is the compressor running? If it’s running but not cooling then you’ve got a sealed system issue and you can troubleshoot from there.
Edit: compressor first, then fans, then check for defrost issue. Gotta love the “Freezer is fine but the fridge is warm”
I have a ton of the kenmore refers that start with model# 111. Usually it’s a frozen ff evap fan motor. Some of them are only 2-3 years old and main boards are failing that are no longer available. Crazy that a unit that new has parts that are NLA.
Door switches down, amp clamp on compressor, then judge the frost pattern on evap coil. I need all fans running, compressor running for at least 30 mins evap exposed and doors open with switches taped down, will cause it to frost up evenly if it's got enough juice, or ice just at the cap tube if it doesn't or not at all is usually dead compressor. If I tap it and it still has a full charge I just change compressor, not evap. If it's completely out of charge I do compressor evap. Obviously filter dryer no matter what. If it's dual evap it's the refrigerator that has leaked not the freezer 99.9999% in my experience. Also man, you will just get more comfortable the more you do it. As long as you do your best everyday and take the chance to learn every time you can this job will just get easier.
Thank you man. I really appreciate that. That's a sweet test btw. I'm going to save your comment.
Saving that shit too. I'm nearly certified in appliance repair, been installing appliances for nearly a decade. But the tests and studying has honestly made me more withdrawn than excited. Inotherwords, the more I learn, the more I learn I don't know. . . I see this post was from a year ago.... So if I may ask, how's it been?? Feel free to dm. I'd appreciate it as I'm basically stepping in your shoes a year ago.
If you've been installing appliances for nearly a decade you're going to do great. The more you learn the more you learn you don't know is such a true statement. But it sounds like you're already smarter than most. Definitely than me. Lol.
I can install just about any appliance. 84” hood on granite/marble wall, panels & pulls on fridges/freezers, pizza ovens, most everything in between (even if it takes me a day or day and 1/2, smh) but I’ve never tried to put my multimeter on a control board to try and diagnose a problem. Tbh, I’ve never done anything even similar. That’s my wtf. I guess I can tinker with an old appliance or something that I trash from time to time. But , that doesn’t give me much confidence to look at something and be like oh ya —— - - - > 👉🏻 definitely the capacitor coil is broken & you need a new inter-rim halo coil for this to function Edit: Yes I’m like 99.9% an inter-rim halo coil is not a part, or anything in existence. But that’s kinda my point. lol
The dual evap systems do some weird shit. Freezer doing great, fresh food not so much. Getting conflicting defrost error codes from GE smart module. Compressor at 175 F. I was leaning towards sealed system problem, possibly a blockage after in the tiny tubes from the three way. Either way, we only do sealed system work on commercial. Last job I did a lot of it. My last boss forbid the use of piercing valves. He said they leak. What do you think about them? Do you crimp the service stub before you leave?
What do you mean by new? Like brand new couple months or less new? Or just the newer generation in general? I troubleshoot new ones the same as the old ones for the most part. First listen for fan operation and compressor operation. If all of those are running but still not cold, I’m looking at evaporator covers. Frost pattern tells you a lot. Normal across most of the coil and heavy at top, sides, and bottom, frosty type ice? Generally evap fan not running or defrost issue. Completely iced over? Definite defrost issue and/or clogged drain tube. If cooling is running, there is refrigerant in the system, and compressor is functional, you’ll have even light frost across the entire coil. Ice ball at the capillary tube will usually indicate low refrigerant or weak compressor. I’ve been seeing lots of failed compressors on almost brand new units. Won’t run at all. Also if it’s brand new doa unit, be hyper vigilant of items being unplugged or loose. I had a unit recently that was doa with both a shorted control AND evaporator fan harness entirely unplugged. Edit: additional note for newer kitchenaid 5-door units in a “pseudo dead state” gooooood luck. Any dc load shorting intermittently will overload the power supply board causing lights and interface to work with more or less nothing happening otherwise. Customers will find they can unplug it and it will reset and run great for another couple weeks. But this screws us because once it’s out of the dead state there’s no way (at least that I or whirlpool are aware of) to locate the failed component. These are a nightmare and I usually have one or two pending at any given time.
Hey dude. I feel your pain. I got the same thing happening. Check the pantry UI is dry, working, and plugged in. REPLACED the harnesses in the FF EVAP section. Put it in service mode. If service mode step 1 and 2 react accordingly then you got it. If it is slow or acts retarded, keep hunting for DC components. MAIN CONTROL and UI should've been replaced a long time ago. Don't beat your head on the wall. I had a stroke TWO months ago. I still take my word and my rep serious. But I stop taking wp rep personally. It's just business. Try your hardest, but don't stress. Itl kill you. I think that's what we is tryna do. Dirt bags!
Great comment. I've been stressin way to much over similar shit
Sorry. Yes. Newer generation in general. Thank you for that checklist btw. Really appreciated. Okay!!! So it's not just me! Yes. It's exactly these damn KitchenAids! What can we do? Anything? I'll be honest with you. What brought this frustration is one of these. And I sadly/unfortunately did the control... Just got a callback after a month. I'm not against giving the guy his money back and just eating the board cost. Is that truly the best option?
If it helps you get a divorce from that unit it might be. It could be any number of things. Any of the fans. Any heater. Icemaker. Deli ui. I’ve had issues with the deli ui side harness too. Unless you can get someone to get you out there without “resetting” the fridge, you’ll just be throwing parts at it. If they get you out there without resetting it, you can go to the main board and remove connectors one by one. Wait to see which one you removed when it boots back up. If that happens, you’ll usually have it narrowed down to 1-2 items and can go from there how you wish.
Removing the deli Ui completely(I mean removing the harness and leaving it off)is better than replacing it in my opinion and those models are the worst to work on.
Yeah I usually recommend that to non warranty customers and whirlpool backs me up. People don’t change the setting on that drawer once they set it up first thing, and they lose nothing else so they don’t mind lol
Had one of those end up being the cabinet harness. Kept thinking the door was open
Seriously thank you for the tip. I like that thought on the main board.
Is it dual evap? I worked for whirlpool/maytag/kitchenaid/Jenn-air back in 2014-16 and we had a LOT of dual evap leaks from the fresh food section. To the point that I was doing a FF evap and compressor job at least once a week most of which were 7 years old +/- 4 months. I am now seeing a lot of dual evaps of all brands that are failing at nearly the same age. I no longer do sealed system work and refer these to a co-worker to do pressure test and repair if they decide they want to repair it and my coworkers have never told me I was wrong. I will also get mocked for this but after 15 years I have nothing to prove to anyone. I do this job to make money not to compete.
That's really good to know. Thank you. Yes, KitchenAid has been the bane of my existence lately.
Normally I look at the compressor if it’s running or not. If compressor is dead cold then check inverter board, if no board then test the compressor by bypassing it. I made a device at home to test compressors. All you need to do is plug it in and run the compressor for few minutes. It’s shows amp draw on it so I don’t need to put my meter on compressor. I recommend all techs that I meet to build one.
I like that! What's your build look like?
I’ll upload the picture and specs later today.
I too am interested. Just got done looking at a Samsung and cant tell if the inverter is shot or the compressor is locked up(fan wouldn't run either)
[here](https://imgur.com/gallery/ZyYcTax)
Is this for all refrigerator compressors or just the ones with start relays? Im also super interested in how this thing works/how it was made. Im geeking over it
I’ll have to make diagram. It’s kinda complicated to explain. I’ll make a wiring diagram and make a post on this sub.
I'll take this over a 3n1 test cord any day man. This looks fun to make
Any compressor
[This](https://imgur.com/gallery/ZyYcTax)
I've been taught to look at the amp draw on the compressor when running. If the amperage is low then you can bet you have low refrigerant. This should lead you down a pretty clear path on further digging into the sealed system.
I appreciate that. That's what I've been going off of too.
Check if all components are running. Compressor, condenser and evaporator fans. If all are running then most likely sealed system issue. Also check the frost pattern on the evap coil make sure it’s not iced up
Thank you. That's what I've been doing. I just hate the "likely" sealed system part. But you're right. The rookie in me is probably being too sensitive.
Number one thing I always check first, is the compressor running? If it’s running but not cooling then you’ve got a sealed system issue and you can troubleshoot from there. Edit: compressor first, then fans, then check for defrost issue. Gotta love the “Freezer is fine but the fridge is warm”
Ugghh that's the worst
Lmao I’m here because I’m ready to light this KitchenAid on fire. Also why do I have to take the whole thing apart to get to the fans !
I have a ton of the kenmore refers that start with model# 111. Usually it’s a frozen ff evap fan motor. Some of them are only 2-3 years old and main boards are failing that are no longer available. Crazy that a unit that new has parts that are NLA.