Cletus
02-23-2009, 07:50 AM
I have a Sears Coldspot refrigerator with the freezer on top. Model 106.6684240. No icemaker. This is the old kind before motherboards.
For months, I would occasionally hear a series of clicks as if the unit was trying to come on but having problems. I determined this was eminating from the bottom back of the unit. Usually, I noticed it late at night when things were quiet. The unit kept cooling, no freezer burn in freezer, so I ignored it.
Last Friday, a new noise that was louder like a whirring of a motor alarmed me enough to unplug the refrigerator. This noise was continuous while the unit was on and upon removing the front kickplate it sounded like it was coming from the defrost timer (which is the only device in the front of this model). Upon examining behind the refrigerator, I found what could be described as a winter wonderland of dust, cobwebs, enough to choke a horse. I got out the vacuum and cleared everything I could reach with attachments behind the unit and behind the kickplate including the precooler coils until the only dust left was the old kind that acts like its glued on.
After an hour of being unplugged, I plugged in the unit. It ran and cooled and over the weekend with close monitoring have I haven't heard any problems when the unit comes on, goes off, and so I'm wondering if my long overdue maintenance fixed it or if I should replace something like the defrost timer or start relay for the compressor?
Does it make sense that temporary problems/noises with either of these parts or perhaps the condenser fan motor/blades could be caused simply by the ghastly amount of dust and lint around its breathing space--or is its good behavior now simply misleading?
(My main concern beyond the homemade garden harvested food in the freezer possibly being ruined is really safety--depending on what setting the defrost timer is left in, defrost or cooling, if it were to fail, is there danger of overheating if left unattended say on a vacation?)
Any comments on my symptoms and whether their disappearance is believable with what I did for it to stop for now would be greatly appreciated.
Cletus
For months, I would occasionally hear a series of clicks as if the unit was trying to come on but having problems. I determined this was eminating from the bottom back of the unit. Usually, I noticed it late at night when things were quiet. The unit kept cooling, no freezer burn in freezer, so I ignored it.
Last Friday, a new noise that was louder like a whirring of a motor alarmed me enough to unplug the refrigerator. This noise was continuous while the unit was on and upon removing the front kickplate it sounded like it was coming from the defrost timer (which is the only device in the front of this model). Upon examining behind the refrigerator, I found what could be described as a winter wonderland of dust, cobwebs, enough to choke a horse. I got out the vacuum and cleared everything I could reach with attachments behind the unit and behind the kickplate including the precooler coils until the only dust left was the old kind that acts like its glued on.
After an hour of being unplugged, I plugged in the unit. It ran and cooled and over the weekend with close monitoring have I haven't heard any problems when the unit comes on, goes off, and so I'm wondering if my long overdue maintenance fixed it or if I should replace something like the defrost timer or start relay for the compressor?
Does it make sense that temporary problems/noises with either of these parts or perhaps the condenser fan motor/blades could be caused simply by the ghastly amount of dust and lint around its breathing space--or is its good behavior now simply misleading?
(My main concern beyond the homemade garden harvested food in the freezer possibly being ruined is really safety--depending on what setting the defrost timer is left in, defrost or cooling, if it were to fail, is there danger of overheating if left unattended say on a vacation?)
Any comments on my symptoms and whether their disappearance is believable with what I did for it to stop for now would be greatly appreciated.
Cletus