LG LMX25981ST refrigerator - both compartments warm

[mister42]

Hello folks. Having some problems that I thought I had solved last week, but yesterday they reared up again.

 

Allow me to give the full back story - about two weeks ago, my LG LMX25981ST refrigerator began to make this click sound every few minutes, and eventually we noticed that the compartments were warm and the ice dispenser was leaking water (ice was melting because of the warm compartment temps). After some googling and youtube watching, I determined that the clicking was a sign of a bad compressor start relay. I pulled the start relay off of my fridge and looked for the replacement part on AppliancePartsPros. The replacement part on there did not resemble the part I pulled off my fridge, so I emailed them and they told me there are several different specific versions of my model fridge, and they needed my serial # to determine the specific part my fridge needed. Eventually the APP guy emailed me with a replacement start relay that looked like the part I pulled off my fridge. Ordered, received within a day, installed, fridge seemed to be working normally again. Measured temps with a digital thermometer & all good.

Within a day or two, I started noticing that despite the fridge & freezer seeming to work correctly, there was some kind of growling noise for maybe 3-6 seconds every time I'd close the fridge doors before the compressor or fans (not sure?) would kick on. Might have happened after closing the freezer doors as well but I am not sure. I can say for sure though that the growling noise happened every time after closing the fridge doors, and afterward it sounded normal - steady quiet hum. Anyway, thought this was peculiar & tried a little to diagnose it but couldn't determine a specific issue. Otherwise the fridge was working so I let it go.

Fast forward to yesterday and suddenly the freezer nor fridge are cooling anymore. Temps are in the 50s in both compartments. There is no clicking this time so I think the replacement start relay I got is probably fine (unless it caused the aforementioned growling) and maybe there is another problem. I believe the fans are still attempting to push cold(ish) air into the compartments because when I open the doors and manually press the door switches, there seems to be some air moving in from the back of each compartment. 

I can't fully go through the refrigerator warm flowchart right now because I am not sure I can move the fridge by myself to access the back panel & check on the condenser/condenser fan etc. I will confirm my path on the flowchart within a couple days when I can get help moving the fridge. But if anyone has any early ideas based on what I've said so far as to why my fridge is warm, I'd really appreciate any and all advice.

Thanks all! Let me know if I can provide any other info and I'll try to produce it.

[kdog]

You need to determine whether the compressor is actually running, you had to access the back to replace the relay so it's the same dance here. You can also observe at this time if the condenser fan is running, and by all means clean those coils (if you have not done so) they will pack up with dust and pet hair.

[Samurai Appliance Repair Man]

13 minutes ago, kdog said:

You need to determine whether the compressor is actually running, you had to access the back to replace the relay so it's the same dance here. 

Sound troubleshooting advice from Elder Brother kdog! Great to see you again, Kelli! 

[mister42]

27 minutes ago, kdog said:

You need to determine whether the compressor is actually running, you had to access the back to replace the relay so it's the same dance here. You can also observe at this time if the condenser fan is running, and by all means clean those coils (if you have not done so) they will pack up with dust and pet hair.

Thanks for your reply! I was indeed able to access the same panel on the back for the relay, but I had some help then too. I have some medical limitations right now that would keep me from being able to pull the fridge out from the inset wall panels it's housed in by myself. May be able to get some help moving it within a day or two. 

The compressor definitely sounded like it was working after replacing the relay, but suppose it could've gone kaput over the last 9 days or so. That'd be real crummy luck. I did vacuum the condenser coils last week, but they weren't heavily dusty to begin with. Still, I may not have been super thorough so I'll give it another shot when I can get back there. Will see if the condenser fan is running, but can't I tell that by the air being blown in from the back of the compartments when I have the door switches manually pressed or is that another fan?

[john63]

Is the refrigerator in a "cubbyhole" (slides into wall)?

 

[mister42]

28 minutes ago, john63 said:

Is the refrigerator in a "cubbyhole" (slides into wall)?

 

Yes! That'd be the word I'm looking for.

[john63]

Check the bottom of the refrigerator (front).

Is there a gray soft rubber flap visible---that runs left-to-right?

This flap prevents air flow/dirt/dust/animal hair from entering under the refrigerator 

Some refrigerators have a flap which runs front-to-back---near the center (allows air flow)

Edited May 2, 2016 by john63

[mister42]

2 hours ago, john63 said:

Check the bottom of the refrigerator (front).

Is there a gray soft rubber flap visible---that runs left-to-right?

This flap prevents air flow/dirt/dust/animal hair from entering under the refrigerator 

Some refrigerators have a flap which runs front-to-back---near the center (allows air flow)

No soft rubber flap, but there seems to be a hard plastic panel held on by a couple screws. There actually might be some kind of flap hanging down off of that, but I wouldn't describe that as soft or rubbery either. Here are a couple pics... there's the darker gray plastic panel attached with screws, then below that a lighter gray thing closest to the floor

http://imgur.com/a/BCBEo

[john63]

This refrigerator (per installation instructions) requires a 2 inch gap on the left and right sides.

The top of the refrigerator should also have a minimum of 2 inches opening (most do)

If the refrigerator is literally shoehorned into the wall---and lacking the 2 inches on either side---the compressor will run hotter than should.

Most compressors will die an early death (4 to 6 years) without proper airflow.

The flap on the bottom---prevents dirt/dust/hair---from being drawn (by a fan motor) under the refrigerator towards the Condenser Coils.

Reducing the need to frequently clean the Condenser Coils (remains clean a lot longer than traditional design refrigerators).

Instead---the air above the floor is pulled towards the rear (and through the back panel) to cool the compressor and refrigerant (minus all the dust/dirt---which falls to the floor by gravity)

In automobile analogy---this can best be compared to some vehicles that draw air from closer to the ground (hot air)---and others that have an option known as Ram Air Induction which introduces air at the front hood (cool air) via special "scoops" or vents. 

Most retailers aren't aware of the fact that there are two types of LG refrigerators sold---one that draws air from above the floor---and another that is more the traditional type (forced air flow through the front kickplate).

LG compressors are usually covered by a Limited Warranty (meaning the part is covered but not the labor) for 10 years.

Check the Owners Manual for warranty information specific to your refrigerator.

The average labor rate to install the compressor---is around $600~$700.

I hope I'm wrong about the compressor failing.

Incorrect installations are more common than most techs are aware of. 

This leads to a negative impression of LG compressors---especially Linear type compressors.

 

[Samurai Appliance Repair Man]

Great info, Brother John! Thanks for taking the time to post that. 

[mister42]

18 minutes ago, john63 said:

This refrigerator (per installation instructions) requires a 2 inch gap on the left and right sides.

The top of the refrigerator should also have a minimum of 2 inches opening (most do)

If the refrigerator is literally shoehorned into the wall---and lacking the 2 inches on either side---the compressor will run hotter than should.

Most compressors will die an early death (4 to 6 years) without proper airflow.

The flap on the bottom---prevents dirt/dust/hair---from being drawn (by a fan motor) under the refrigerator towards the Condenser Coils.

Reducing the need to frequently clean the Condenser Coils (remains clean a lot longer than traditional design refrigerators).

Instead---the air above the floor is pulled towards the rear (and through the back panel) to cool the compressor and refrigerant (minus all the dust/dirt---which falls to the floor by gravity)

In automobile analogy---this can best be compared to some vehicles that draw air from closer to the ground (hot air)---and others that have an option known as Ram Air Induction which introduces air at the front hood (cool air) via special "scoops" or vents. 

Most retailers aren't aware of the fact that there are two types of LG refrigerators sold---one that draws air from above the floor---and another that is more the traditional type (forced air flow through the front kickplate).

LG compressors are usually covered by a Limited Warranty (meaning the part is covered but not the labor) for 10 years.

Check the Owners Manual for warranty information specific to your refrigerator.

The average labor rate to install the compressor---is around $600~$700.

I hope I'm wrong about the compressor failing.

Incorrect installations are more common than most techs are aware of. 

This leads to a negative impression of LG compressors---especially Linear type compressors.

 

Thanks for this very detailed post. I will address it as best I can.

The top of the fridge does have the 2" clearance. The sides have some clearance, but maybe not quite 2". Here are a couple pics, first of the right side and then the left:

http://imgur.com/a/P8h0x

Less clearance on the left side than the right, but if it helps at all, the wall of the cubby is inset a little bit. By that I mean if you reached your finger into the crevice, you could bend your finger around it and you'd feel that there actually is a little bit of depth between the fridge and the cubby wall. Not sure if that's enough clearance even still though.

The fridge is probably about 8 or 9 years old, so the compressor has lasted a bit longer than 4-6 years without ideal airflow. If the compressor HAS failed, and if there IS a 10 year parts warranty on it, then I should still be able to get that replaced, but I know the fridge in general only had a warranty as short as maybe 6 months. I'll have to dig out the owner's manual and see what it says. I was hoping I could save money & do the labor myself but it looks like it includes welding and some other specialized stuff, so it would be beyond my scope. 

This, of course, is all assuming the compressor is indeed the issue. When I can get my eyes on the back panel tomorrow, maybe I can narrow it down a bit.

Thanks all.

[Samurai Appliance Repair Man]

12 hours ago, john63 said:

This refrigerator (per installation instructions) requires a 2 inch gap on the left and right sides.

The top of the refrigerator should also have a minimum of 2 inches opening (most do)

.

.

.

Incorrect installations are more common than most techs are aware of. 

This leads to a negative impression of LG compressors---especially Linear type compressors.

 

Fantastic info! Domo, Brother John. 

[mister42]

On 5/2/2016 at 0:13 PM, kdog said:

You need to determine whether the compressor is actually running, you had to access the back to replace the relay so it's the same dance here. You can also observe at this time if the condenser fan is running, and by all means clean those coils (if you have not done so) they will pack up with dust and pet hair.

Hi again kdog. I've got the fridge pulled out & the back panel off now. How do I tell if the compressor is running? It seems to be room-temp to the touch, can't really hear much noise from it. The condenser fan is running, and the condenser coils do have a superficial amount of dust on them, nothing that should make anything fail though.