- Year Repaired: April 2021 – Present
- Symptoms: Maytag 2010 refrigerator with bottom freezer. The freezer was cold but the refrigerator was warm. The fan motor in the freezer compartment was not blowing cold air up to the refrigerator section.
- Cause: Frayed wire on motor windings (see right image)
- Outcome: Replaced evaporator fan motor
- Material Cost: $80 – $150
- Time: 4 hours
Notes
First the compressor and compressor fan at the back/bottom of the fridge were checked for functionality. Aside from some corrosion on the pipes and dust, the fan was spinning and the compressor was whirring and heating up. The resistance between the 3 pins of the compressor were 12, 7, and 5 ohms, showing the compressor was good.
To access and check the fan motor, the freezer drawers, cover, and rails needed to be removed. Then the sharp sheet metal cover needs to be removed. The wire harness holding the motor was removed for testing. The motor pins were tested with a multimeter and then plugged into an outlet, but the motor failed both tests. Upon removing the tape around the motor copper windings, it was obvious that the metal windings had severed. (After stripping the wire coating and twisting the wires back together the motor worked again!) However, a new motor was purchased and after putting it back in to the fridge everything was working well.
The coolant pipes had about a 4″ ball of ice built up around them. Since it wasn’t interfering with the operation of the fridge, it might have just been a part of the regular defrost cycle. If this becomes an issue, future recommendations point to moving the defrost sensor to the output coolant pipes vs. the input coolant pipes to extend the defrost cycle.
The Handyman Dan London 