My new fridge is driving me nuts!
Would love some expert advice.

My 4-month old whirlpool side by side has never cooled the fridge side enough. The freezer section is fine.

Whirlpool servicemen have made three separate visits, but this problem still persists. They have replaced both the thermostat and defrost timer, although there has not been any frost buildup in freezer.

And still, with Fridge temp setting maxed out, it will not get below 39 degrees, and that is only at first door opening in the morning, after being closed up overnight.

Then, as soon as we open the door a few times, the fridge stays no cooler than about 41-43 degrees til bedtime, and of course our food goes bad very quickly. It's just my wife and I, so the door gets opened only occasionally throughout the day.

Since our last service visit, I have tried to research possible causes myself. One thing I know. The cold air entering the fridge when the fan is running is almost non-existent when the freezer door is closed, and the air flow greatly increases as soon as the freezer door is opened. So I strongly suspect a blocked return air vent as a possible cause.

I have completely defrosted the entire unit, to check for and eliminate any ice blockage within the return air port, but there has been no evidence of any ice there at all.

And even after a total defrost, the temp problem in the fridge still exists. And, the cold air flow entering the fridge is minimal with freezer closed, but increases dramatically when I open the freezer door.

Today after a total defrost, with power off and both doors open, I removed the coil cover in the freezer and tried to blow cool air into the fridge return vent (using a hair dryer) and then feel that air coming out in the freezer side, but I could not feel any significant air flow anywhere.

So now I am wondering whether this unit possibly has a defective return air port with a blockage or other problem inside the wall between the fridge and freezer.

Can someone tell me where the return air port from the fridge empties air back into the freezer?

And, is there a simple way for me to check whether air can freely flow through that return air duct between the fridge and freezer?

And, if there is a blockage inside the wall, do I just need to force Whirlpool to provide a new replacement, or can that issue be repaired satisfactorily?

One other thing I have noticed. After a total defrost, once both doors are closed, unit is turned back on and the fan has run for a short while, attempting to cool fridge back down, I have noticed that the fan might shut down for awhile, even though the unit is nowhere near cooled down yet.

Is it possible, if the return air is indeed blocked, that a vacuum created within the closed freezer (due to the blocked return air passageway), is making the freezer fan work too hard after running for awhile and causing it to intermittently shut down and start back up?

Am I barking up wrong tree?
Is there another problem that would explain my symptoms?

As a newbie here, I apologize for the length of my first post. But I want to provide as much info as possible, so you techies can digest this situation and spit me back some great answers (and maybe some questions as well).

Thanks in advance.
Will greatly appreciate any and all advice on this aggravating issue with my new fridge.

:D


harold (louisiana)

Thanks Denman.
Just checked the inside fridge tag, and it says Model WRS325FDAW04.

The freezer works fine. Temp gets to near 0 F, even with diffuser set at maximum air flow into fridge.

The air diffuser at top sends very good cold air flow into fridge with freezer door open, but the flow is significantly diminished flow with freezer door closed, which is why I suspect a problem with the return air vent near the bottom.

The bottom vent does not go straight thru the wall into freezer. It appears to go down and into a wall passageway, and I am unable to find where that passageway opens into the freezer. I suspect some kind of blockage or breach in the return air duct within the wall, which prevents air from free flow back into the freezer side.

I know it is not an ice blockage.

With fridge completely defrosted (room temperature for 8 hours), doors open, power off and freezer coil cover removed, I tried blowing cool air into the lower vent opening in the fridge with a hair dryer, but I could not feel any air coming out in the freezer side anywhere.

How can I find where that vent comes out in freezer? Is their a diagram for this model somewhere that can be checked?

And if the air duct inside the wall is blocked or broken, can that be repaired?

Thanks again for any helpful advice.

harold (louisiana)

Yes, I removed the louver, which revealed a styrofoam block that allowed two small air passages straight down in the wall. Did not try removing foam, as it is larger than the cutout to the fridge.

Pretty sure the passage comes out at rear of freezer under coils just to right of coil drain pan. There were some small pieces of foam there and around drain hole. But I could not feel any air flow there while forcing air into the lower vent on fridge side.

I believe there is a clog within the air vent duct running inside the wall, and the return air flow to the freezer is insufficient to allow the fan to move enough cold air to fridge side.

Sure wish I knew how that return air passage runs in the wall from fridge side to freezer side, and whether it might be possible to clear out that passage.

Thanks again, Denman.

My same local whirlpool-authorized service guy came back today.

He confirmed the problem with the non-functional air return. He tried to run a small flexible tube through it to clear it, but could not get the tube to go past about the first 4 inches. He said he thinks the air duct makes a couple of turns inside the wall, which makes clearing it almost impossible.

So then he called Whirlpool national service tech and reported the problem to them. Also told him he tried to run a tube through to clear the obstruction but tube would not go through, so he is not able to repair the duct inside the wall. The whirlpool tech had no other suggestions to offer my service man to try to fix the problem

So finally my service guy asked Whirlpool tech to authorize a replacement unit for me. The Whirlpool tech then told him he will have to meet with his supervisor and get back with how they want to handle this situation.

My service guy thinks it's a straight forward non-repairable problem, and Whirlpool will have to authorize a replacement. I'm not quite as optimistic.

I will report back here when I know their decision. Thanks again. Glad I found this great forum.

harold (louisiana)

You are welcome

And thanks for getting back to us. Now when others search for a similar problem they will see what actually worked instead of just suggestions about what could be the cause.