Refrigerator question

[The Money Monk]

My fridge is starting to get wonky on me, and isn't cooling down properly. It is keeping it cool, but not as cold as it should be, needs to be. I thought maybe it needs something like a refrigerant recharge, but the freezer seems to be working fine. If it is a coolant issue wouldn't it affect both?

[mustachecat]

We just had this issue. It turns out our defrost timer was broken.

Ultimately, our landlord called in a repair guy, but try repairclinic.com for DIY solutions.

[The Money Monk]

yeah that's the advantage of renting. Thanks for the info, I'll check it out.

[TheDude]

Clean the coils too. Probably won't fix the issue but important for efficiency.

[The Money Monk]

We just had this issue. It turns out our defrost timer was broken.

Ultimately, our landlord called in a repair guy, but try repairclinic.com for DIY solutions.

Watched the video on that site, that repair seems very simple. The problem for me is always the diagnostic aspect; I trust my self to be able to do a lot of repairs if I know that is what actually needs to be done. But finding out what actually needs to be done is the hard part.

[gonzy]

Had same problem last year turned out to be dust around heat exchanger have now put on annual maintenance schedule.

[The Money Monk]

Had same problem last year turned out to be dust around heat exchanger have now put on annual maintenance schedule.

I will check that too, thanks.

But my guess would be that if that was the problem it should be affecting the freezer too, right? or do they have separate heat exchanges?

[Bakari]

There is just one heat exchanger.

It cools the freezer only.
The fridge is cooled by routing a little of the freezer air into the fridge with a damper.  The slider/knob in the freezer that adjusts freezer temp is really directing more or less cold air into the fridge.
The main temp knob in the fridge adjusts the actual thermostat.

The last reason I had a call for a cold freezer and warm fridge, it turned out that the air vent between fridge and freezer was blocked by ice, due to a clogged drain hose.  Found the end of the drain hose, cut off the tip and cleaned it out, melted the ice with a hairdryer, worked as good as new.
Defrost timer could cause the same issue, though it would eventually effect the freezer too.

To find the problem, just start taking stuff apart.  If you find ice built up somewhere, thats a big clue.  A lot of times you can figure out how things are supposed to work just by taking them apart (or, at least, I can)

[Nords]

To find the problem, just start taking stuff apart.  If you find ice built up somewhere, thats a big clue.  A lot of times you can figure out how things are supposed to work just by taking them apart (or, at least, I can)

And for those concerned about trial&error exploratory surgery on their food preservation system, there's always the helpful troubleshooting resources of the Samurai Appliance Repair Guru at FixItNow.com:
http://fixitnow.com/kitchen-appliance-repair-help/refrigerator-repair-faq/