Kenmore Refrigerator to Cold

[TechnicianBrian]

Model #253.9768422, the customer complained the refrigerator was freezing everything in both the freezer and fresh food sections, and that it seemed to be running all the time. The arctic blast that hit me when I opened the lower door was enough to tell me this unit was working overtime making things very cold. Knowing the thermostat is the most likely cause of the continuously running compressor, I turned the control to the off position before I pulled the panel only to have the unit just keep running without skipping a beat. After removing the cover screws, I used my meter to check the thermostat terminals and found that the switch contacts were shorted together. These controls are mechanical utilizing a capillary tube filled with a temperature sensitive liquid that will expand and contract with the temperature change inside the refrigerator. This movement will cause a diaphragm which is coupled to switch contacts to open and close depending on the temperature reaction inside the capillary tube. In this unit, the switch contacts had become damaged resulting in them being permanently closed, thus the compressor was always operating. Replace the cold control with a new one and now the unit cools properly again.

253.9768422