Kitchen Large Electric Appliances - Refrigerator not cooling at all. Compressor is running

I have a Magic Chef Over/Under Refrigerator that has been in storage for a while. When we plugged it back up, it wouldn't cool at all. I've checked everything I know to check. Compressor starts up fine. Condenser fan is good. The only odd thing I noticed is that the evaporator fan only runs when I turn the defrost timer to the defrost mode. The compressor quits and the evaporator fan comes right on. When I keep turning, the evaporator fan turns off and the compressor comes right back on. Should that not be the reverse?

In making my way to the evaporator fan I took the bottom freezer panel out. I've noticed that the evaporator tubing/coils aren't the slightest bit cold. Should they be cold without the fan going or does the fan cause them to become cold somehow?

I appreciate any help. I'm at a dead end on this one.

Sounds like the freon leaked out of system during storage. It means you have a leak that needs fixed & then a recharge. Some evap. fans won't come on until the temp. in freezer reaches a certain cold temperature. Not sure why fan runs in defrost cycle. Could be a bad defrost thermostat but as long as compressor is running in regular cycle whether fan is on or not, the coils should be getting cold.

Compressor, condensor coils that give up heat, and evaporator fan working all in harmony, make coils cold and released into a given space.

I haven't run across fridges that have evaporator fans run in the defrost mode nor do I know how this could even happen. Without this being designed that way, this seems akin to having ALL the lights turn green at an intersection. I will run this one by one of the appliance service techies I visit when I buy parts, unless you find out something first. Unfortunately it's the weekend.

Unless I'm reading something wrong, it seems like these last 2 replies are saying 2 different things...

"as long as compressor is running in regular cycle whether fan is on or not, the coils should be getting cold."


"Compressor, condensor coils that give up heat, and evaporator fan working all in harmony, make coils cold and released into a given space."


So should I assume at this point that there's no freon since the coils aren't cold or should I dig deeper?

If I'm out of freon, is that something I should explore or does it always end up being too expensive?

I don't know if this would have the right effect or not but I did try putting a small fan in the freezer blowing across the coils with the door shut for a few hours but they still didn't get cold at all.

How do you know when you have it in defrost mode? Timer marked? Df heater come on? Move it before restoring power to it?

Well, when I turn the defrost timer around, it clicks and the compressor and condenser fan turn off. When I keep turning and it clicks again, they come back on.

Is there any way I can confirm whether or not I have any freon for sure before I junk it or should I look for something else? Is there anything inside the compressor that can keep it from working right like valves stuck open or closed etc.?

Is there any way I can confirm whether or not I have any freon for sure before I junk it or should I look for something else? Is there anything inside the compressor that can keep it from working right like valves stuck open or closed etc.?

Have it checked by a licensed refrigeration technician.

Someone told me they sometimes hit it with 220 power momentarily as a last resort to see if it will work loose any stuck valves in the compressor. Is that true?

I've heard these 240v theories before with other things as well. Trouble is, even if say such a shock worked, we all know the problem should never have happened in the first place and there is an obvious problem that will surface again.

If a person checks a refrigerator to the point that:

The light ain't staying on

That there is no ice on the evaporator coils

That the compressor is running

That the condensor fan (you have one it sounds like in your case) is running

That the evaporator fan in the freezer is working

That the condesnsor coils are reasonably clean of dust

------------either your refrigerator shoud be then getting cold or if not, your compressor is at fault or your freon is low, and in either case you need a licensed tech to work on it, by law.

contact a tech. I'm betting a bad timer or blockage in the evaporator coils.
Possible that when you moved it, you tilted it in such a way as to let oil drain out of the compressor into the condensor line and did not lot let it sit long enough to drain back into the compressor.

2 Things...


My evaporator fan is only working when it's in defrost mode so my question is should the coils be getting at least somewhat cold without the fan or does the fan make the difference between not cool whatsoever to cold?



Lastly, if a tech has to tear into the compressor or recharge with freon, etc., is that ever inexpensive enough to be worth it for a 10+ year old refrigerator or should I just forget about it?

The coils should be getting frost on them regardsless of the fan running or not when compressor is on. All the fan does is circulate the air over the coils to cool down freezer & fresh food section. As I stated before, my guess would be low freon which means there is a leak that needs to be found & repaired before charging. Since your fridge is 10 years old, to have a service tech come out & find & repair leak, charge system, labor & service call, it might be wise to get a new one. A new fridge would be alot more energy efficent too compared to a 10 year old one. Dave

I agree with Dave. I have no idea why the fan is running like it is unless the timer has shorted out someway. Makes me wonder if it is trying to defrost and cool at the same time. Nevr ran acrossa nything like your problem. Speaking of the repair cost, it is the reason that when I was into appliances, I mostly bought and resold or bought disabled ones, repaired, and then sold them. I could sell people one just as good or better than the one they had cheaper than I could repair. And so many times theirs would not be worth repairing

Thanks guys. That all makes sense.

The only thing that makes me wonder at this point is the fact that the evaporator fan is running at the wrong time. Is it possible that has to do with the reason it's not cooling? I understand that the blowing of the fan itself doesn't have to do with the coils being cold. I mean is there something about the compressor system that would allow it not to circulate the freon even though it was running if it thinks it's in defrost mode somehow? Or is it as cut and dried as... if the compressor is running the coils should be cold?

Does that make sense?

Just trying to make sure there isn't something else I can check out before I throw it in the river(not really).