Residential Fridge Not Cooling

[Carbide]

After much trial and error, I've found that my residential whirlpool fridge is not cooling while it's in the "cubby hole" in the slide out. If I pull the fridge on to the living room floor then it's cooling and freezing just fine. Is this just due to poor air circulation behind the fridge when it's in the enclosure? This seems like a pretty big design flaw if it doesn't cool right in warm weather.

This issue is consistent while on generator power or shore power. Doesn't matter what my power source is.

2020 Thor Outlaw Class A 38MB.

[GTM41261]

When you pull it out are you plugging it in at the cubby hole location. If no then I would suspect loss of power at that outlet.

[EA37TS]

I’m on my second Motorhome with a Whirlpool residential refrigerator in a cubby hole. Neither has ever had an issue cooling regardless of outside temperature. The current fridge is 3 years old and has been used in temps over 100 degrees.

[The Gritz Carlton]

Residential fridges are almost a closed unit other than the evaporation tray underneath. It could be a loose connection in the 120V receptacle. When you push it back in...something pushes back against the plug and causes a disconnect. That's what I would check first. Take that outlet loose and check connections. There's been too many built like this with no similar posts that I've seen for it to be a design flaw. Something is interfering with the power under pressure.

[Carbide]

Yeah I even tried it in different outlets and it has the same issue. Must be the fridge connection.

[dkoldman]

I had a 20 year residential fridge in my garage for years, temps well above 110. One day it stopped cooling and I was like great time to chunk it. I get it outside in sun light and saw a lot of dirt / debris so i decided to rinse off. Saw a very small fan and decided to plug it back in in the driveway and sure enough that little fan did not come on. I am gonna sound like the Damn Duck, but I bought a $8 fan off ebay and a few days later it was freezing and cooling like brand new. That fridge is 30 years old and still going.

So I say yes, you have a circulation problem. But my question is why now as cubby hole is the same. Look for that fan outside or find out from Mfg what is acceptable ambient temperature for it to cool properly.

[The Gritz Carlton]

True story: we had a house fire in 2001. Burn out inside but didn't burn down. Only thing in house still alive was the 12 year old fridge. All smoked up but light was on. I kept it in garage as a back up for 15 more years until it finally crossed over the Freon Bridge.

[HMCSW]

Originally Posted by Carbide

After much trial and error, I've found that my residential whirlpool fridge is not cooling while it's in the "cubby hole" in the slide out. If I pull the fridge on to the living room floor then it's cooling and freezing just fine. Is this just due to poor air circulation behind the fridge when it's in the enclosure? This seems like a pretty big design flaw if it doesn't cool right in warm weather.

This issue is consistent while on generator power or shore power. Doesn't matter what my power source is.

2020 Thor Outlaw Class A 38MB.

WE have a whirlpool residential in cubby and works well. My GUESS is it is a one off issue and no real idea what.

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by The Gritz Carlton

True story: we had a house fire in 2001. Burn out inside but didn't burn down. Only thing in house still alive was the 12 year old fridge. All smoked up but light was on. I kept it in garage as a back up for 15 more years until it finally crossed over the Freon Bridge.

Gosh I hope everyone was safe and sorry about all of your family's personal losses. Somehow, as I was reading, I was think you were going to say you open up the freezer and it still had ice in the icemaker

Isn't it funny how so may people buy all of those fancy extended warranties on a product like a fridge that is brand new or a year or two old, yet some have fridges that just won't die.

I think the OP's fan is not putting out like it did when new, it needs to be replaced, I am assuming that his fridge use to work just fine in that exact same cubby hole at the exact same ambient temperature.

[RVGeek]

Originally Posted by GTM41261

When you pull it out are you plugging it in at the cubby hole location. If no then I would suspect loss of power at that outlet.

If the little fellow inside switches the light on when the door is open, ya got power.

[EA37TS]

Originally Posted by RVGeek

If the little fellow inside switches the light on when the door is open, ya got power.

Issue isn’t power, it’s the fridge not cooling.

[Galobo]

You should have two fans that affect cooling, one is inside, the evaporator fan and one is near the compressor both are inexpensive. It might be worth replacing each one.

[JimOIB]

Pull onto floor…is that 2 inches or a foot? Sounds like insufficient airflow around the fridge. Look for any possibility of air blockage when the fridge is in the cubby. Residential fridges need a minimum clearance on the side and top - make sure you have those. It doesn’t take much to restrict air flow. Even dusty coils or dust balls under the fridge can cause an issue.