Residential refrigerator Whirlpool stopped cooling (2016 Thor Tuscany 45AT)

[mjdougherty]

My residential refrigerator stopped working a couple of days ago. I turned it off and waited overnight and turned it back on again, and it did not reset. Still not working. Approximately room temperature inside the box.

It is not possible for me to remove it from the alcove in which it is installed. The surrounding woodwork has to be removed in order to pull the the refrigerator out for repair or service.

I did pull the baseboard off so I could see the condenser coil at the bottom. It was extremely dirty.

I used a small portable vacuum to remove as much lint as I could. I can see another bank of coils behind the front one. I don't know how to access those coils. See attached photo.

This refrigerator is jammed in pretty tight. I think it is a poor design, where these coils are sitting right on top of shag carpeting. What was Thor thinking of?

Does anyone have any suggestions on how I could do a better job of cleaning these condenser coils? Is there a magic trick to accessing the coils behind the front back?

I look forward to hearing any suggestions that other RV owners may have for me.

 

[lwmcguire]

We have a 2016 42GX and it is completely porcelain tile. I have cleaned the fridge and the second row is best sprayed with a coil cleaner. Cleaner is Available online or in some large stores and many appliance stores. It is a tight fit in the 42GX as well. One a good note if you decide to exchange it Tuscany doors are large enough to bring one in with the fridge doors removed. No window removal required like on many class A's.

 

[mjdougherty]

We have a 2016 42GX and it is completely porcelain tile. I have cleaned the fridge and the second row is best sprayed with a coil cleaner. Cleaner is Available online or in some large stores and many appliance stores. It is a tight fit in the 42GX as well. One a good note if you decide to exchange it Tuscany doors are large enough to bring one in with the fridge doors removed. No window removal required like on many class A's.

In order to remove the refrigerator from the alcove the trim boards above have to also be removed. There is a brace on top of the fridge that has to be removed as well.

Does anyone have any advice on how to remove trim boards (without destroying them)?

Here is a picture of what I am referring to ... the trim boards appear to be glued and nailed together.

 

[mjdougherty]

I had a mobile mechanic come over Wednesday and he was able to get the refrigerator out of the alcove. He had to remove the bracket from the top of the refrigerator to pull it out ... it was glued on. That allowed it to be pulled out without messing up the wood trim.

I'm still waiting for him to come back and finish the job. He was going to get some parts and refrigerant to recharge the fridge. It appeared to be low as the compressor was only pulling .49 amps. He said that it should have been around 1.4 amps.

I'll close the loop after he returns to finish the job.