Thread Number: 71157
/ Tag: Refrigerators
Help with Old GM Frigidaire Refrigerator |
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Post# 941896 , Reply# 1   6/5/2017 at 13:23 (2,508 days old) by panthera (Rocky Mountains)   |   | |
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1) The flowing cold fan is in the freezer or way down deep behind the right crisper. They eventually suffer worn out bearings and make similar sounds. A standard kit fits these just fine (they'll tell you they don't work, they don't exist, blah blah blah but I've done a 1967 and a 1965 with them in the last two years so, yeah, OK.) 2)It's possible something fell into the fan or broke an impeller or it came loose on the shaft and is hitting something when it turns off (when running, it moves nearly 3 millimeters out from the frame).
In any event, it's reparable, worst case a universal kit. Just have a made up Whirlpool number for the idiots when you go into the store or order it online. |
Post# 941899 , Reply# 2   6/5/2017 at 14:03 (2,508 days old) by cjhsa (Grand Rapids)   |   | |
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Thanks. What exactly do you mean by a "made up Whirlpool number"? |
Post# 941939 , Reply# 3   6/5/2017 at 17:35 (2,508 days old) by goatfarmer (South Bend, home of Champions)   |   | |
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Post# 941957 , Reply# 4   6/5/2017 at 20:03 (2,508 days old) by panthera (Rocky Mountains)   |   | |
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Post# 941982 , Reply# 5   6/5/2017 at 22:05 (2,508 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)   |   | |
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I am assuming you have a top freezer model, if so you either have a bad fan blade, a bad fan motor or a another very common problem with these refs was an ice build up from the automatic defrost function where the water does not drain properly and builds up and freezes and starts hitting the spinning fan blade.
If you think it might be ice you can shut down the ref for at least a few days [ unplugged with both doors open ] then turn it back on and if you don't have the noise for a week or longer it was likley an ice build up.
Getting to and repairing the fan area of these refs was a PITA, unless you are really in love with this ref you may want to replace it with something more energy efficient that will also keep your food better and longer. |
Post# 941985 , Reply# 6   6/5/2017 at 22:36 (2,508 days old) by panthera (Rocky Mountains)   |   | |
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Post# 942110 , Reply# 7   6/6/2017 at 18:20 (2,507 days old) by goatfarmer (South Bend, home of Champions)   |   | |
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Post# 942169 , Reply# 8   6/6/2017 at 21:34 (2,507 days old) by panthera (Rocky Mountains)   |   | |
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BOTH of the two I did recently had those dratted nuts. What were they thinking? Well, I know what I was feeling. However, it's all good. I did one on a brief visit from Germany to the 'States back in the late '80s - little young to blow out, but, well, it did. Replaced the bearings by using two top bearings from VM record players. Still working, today. |
Post# 942208 , Reply# 9   6/7/2017 at 07:02 (2,506 days old) by cjhsa (Grand Rapids)   |   | |
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This is a bottom freezer model. I will have to look for the model number the next time I go up, it will be at least a couple weeks. |
Post# 942215 , Reply# 10   6/7/2017 at 07:56 (2,506 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)   |   | |
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Well its not a 70s model for sure, FD probably only ever made about one bottom freezer model [ ever ] in red around 1968-9.
You can disregard most of what I said about what the problem is and what to do about fixing it on a 60s BF ref. The most likley thing that may be wrong with this ref is just a worn out freezer fan motor.
Post a picture of your ref if possible and even a recording of the noise it is making, we can give much more accurate advice that way. |
Post# 942447 , Reply# 11   6/8/2017 at 09:08 (2,505 days old) by cjhsa (Grand Rapids)   |   | |
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Heres is the sound (link to youtube video). Only pic I could find was one of my mom standing in front of it about 20 years ago. Sorry, not very helpful. CLICK HERE TO GO TO cjhsa's LINK
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Post# 942458 , Reply# 12   6/8/2017 at 10:16 (2,505 days old) by ken (NYS)   |   | |
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Post# 942464 , Reply# 13   6/8/2017 at 10:45 (2,505 days old) by cjhsa (Grand Rapids)   |   | |
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Yes |
Post# 942519 , Reply# 14   6/8/2017 at 18:45 (2,505 days old) by goatfarmer (South Bend, home of Champions)   |   | |
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Post# 942532 , Reply# 15   6/8/2017 at 19:38 (2,505 days old) by panthera (Rocky Mountains)   |   | |
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Were, despite the official cannon, still on offer in 1967-68. We have a Custom Deluxe Refrigerator in Sunshine Yellow from 1967, which officially does not exist. And it's originally this color, not repainted. Ditto a 1968 dryer in poppy red we saw in a home recently. Unfortunately, it got sent to the Habitat Restore who metaled it - they don't 'do' old appliances. |
Post# 942537 , Reply# 16   6/8/2017 at 19:43 (2,505 days old) by panthera (Rocky Mountains)   |   | |
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Were, despite the official cannon, still on offer in 1967-68. We have a Custom Deluxe Refrigerator in Sunshine Yellow from 1967, which officially does not exist. And it's originally this color, not repainted. Ditto a 1968 dryer in poppy red we saw in a home recently. Unfortunately, it got sent to the Habitat Restore who metaled it - they don't 'do' old appliances. |
Post# 942901 , Reply# 17   6/10/2017 at 16:46 (2,503 days old) by CircleW (NE Cincinnati OH area)   |   | |
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and the factory finish, the color is probably "Matador Red". "Poppy" was shaded, and introduced later. In '77 the shading was removed and it became "Terra Cotta". CLICK HERE TO GO TO CircleW's LINK |
Post# 942941 , Reply# 18   6/10/2017 at 20:22 (2,503 days old) by panthera (Rocky Mountains)   |   | |
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Post# 943129 , Reply# 19   6/11/2017 at 23:11 (2,502 days old) by PhilR (Quebec Canada)   |   | |
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These fridges are quite rare, I have never seen one in Matador Red like yours.
Please post pictures showing the interior of both the fridge and refrigerator sections and from the exterior too. If you find the model number, let us know it. I have some service documentation for similar ones but I think I'm missing the "L" line from 1967 and a part of the 1966 "K" line. I do have the 1968 "N" line information. I'd like to find one like this from 1966. Same color as yours.
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Post# 943170 , Reply# 20   6/12/2017 at 11:10 (2,501 days old) by kd12 (Arkansas)   |   | |
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Square nuts on a 70s fridge? Sounds very 1920s. I would never have guessed they would have used those on a modern appliance. |
Post# 944702 , Reply# 22   6/22/2017 at 17:33 (2,491 days old) by Cjhsa (Grand Rapids)   |   | |
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Photos! And I included a couple that may be more valuable than the fridge. Can't find a S/N, but model # is on the manual. |
Post# 944720 , Reply# 23   6/22/2017 at 19:24 (2,491 days old) by Cjhsa (Grand Rapids)   |   | |
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So my apologies as it is a deluxe not an imperial nor a super. |
Post# 944990 , Reply# 24   6/24/2017 at 08:00 (2,489 days old) by Cjhsa (Grand Rapids)   |   | |
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So I can only get the fridge down to about 42F. The freezer is fine. ??? |
Post# 945036 , Reply# 25   6/24/2017 at 13:34 (2,489 days old) by goatfarmer (South Bend, home of Champions)   |   | |
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Post# 945076 , Reply# 27   6/24/2017 at 16:45 (2,489 days old) by norgeway (mocksville n c )   |   | |
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I think these use a tube like contraption which opens and closes thermostatically to let air up from the freezer into the fridge,They are adjustable I think, 42 is warmer than I like also, I like to see ice crystals in my milk and tea! |
Post# 945568 , Reply# 28   6/27/2017 at 12:28 (2,486 days old) by PhilR (Quebec Canada)   |   | |
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t's a 1967 model, I'm sure other forum members have also noticed the Kitchen Aid KDS-15 next to it. I'd say it's also from the same time period.
I have never owned a Frigidaire bottom freezer refrigerator made after 1965 but I know that by 1966, many of the top-freezer models switched from having the thermostatic damper that Norgeway is talking about to a manual damper that adjusts with a knob. Is there just one or two cold control knobs? I guess there are two. One of them has the "off" position, that's the main cold control. The other one just moves a damper to increase or decrease the airflow in the refrigerator section. My guess is that the damper is linked to the one you pictured which says "freezer cold control". If you want to make a test, feel the air flow in the refrigerator section next to the air distribution register (probably behind the light shield in the center) while holding the light switch as if the door was closed and see in which direction you get the maximum airflow to the refrigerator. It should be the at the "warmer" setting if I understand correctly how your damper and thermostat work, that will get the most cold airflow to the refrigerator section and it will make the freezer less cold. Then I don't know where you set the other thermostat but you want to have it in the coldest position which should be "3". Check the temperatures simultaneously in both the freezer and refrigerator sections to see how it does before and after moving the controls. Some refrigerators have two blowers linked to cold controls rather than a single blower and a damper. I'm not 100% sure about how yours is but that knob seems to be the kind they used for damper doors. Does the compressor runs almost constantly or does it often cycles off? These should run constantly a few hours after the defrost period and then cycle on and off. This fridge is probably one of the very first models that didn't have a defrost timer that defrosted it at fixed intervals. Instead, it defrosted "as necessary" like today's fridges. At least the 1968 version of your fridge does that. I wish I had the 1967 manual to help you more. I can't say it's a highly valuable appliance (very few are!) but if it was mine, I'd certainly try to keep it working! You won't find another one like it easily! |
Post# 945603 , Reply# 30   6/27/2017 at 16:42 (2,486 days old) by PhilR (Quebec Canada)   |   | |
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If the fan is that noisy, it could be the problem if it turns too slow... Is there adequate airflow from the air registers in the refrigerator section? You just need to hold the light switch as if the door was closed, the light will turn off and the fan will turn on.
What's the temp in the freezer section? This post was last edited 06/27/2017 at 17:18 |
Post# 945620 , Reply# 31   6/27/2017 at 20:32 (2,486 days old) by Cjhsa (Grand Rapids)   |   | |
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Not sure. But definitely frozen. |
Post# 945632 , Reply# 32   6/27/2017 at 22:23 (2,486 days old) by panthera (Rocky Mountains)   |   | |
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Post# 945640 , Reply# 33   6/28/2017 at 00:12 (2,486 days old) by PhilR (Quebec Canada)   |   | |
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I don't know but my '68 Tech Talk specifies that the equivalent of this model from 1968 uses no defrost timer while most others still had fixed defrost periods twice or 3 times a day. I couldn't find more details relating to how the defrost system worked.
I know that my 10 years newer 1977 Frigidaire side by side still uses a defrost timer that runs only when the compressor runs so it doesn't defrost at the same time everyday but the system must have been different on this 1967 as the manual states that it doesn't have a timer and that it defrosts automatically "as necessary" or something like that. |
Post# 945672 , Reply# 34   6/28/2017 at 07:31 (2,485 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)   |   | |
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Used an interesting dual capillary control that sensed evaporator temperature and condenser temperatures, this system was designed to cause a defrost to occur only when necessary and therefor not a a preset schedule.
I have no real experience with this system and FD did not use it long but instead went back to continuous run timers well into the 70s.
If this ref does not have a conventional defrost timer it could have a system like this.
In order to give any real help we must have a model number, it should be on a silver sticker on the inside wall of the ref to the left or right of the vegetable drawers., if the sticker is unreadable it is probably also printed in bold letters on the upper back of the ref. |
Post# 945689 , Reply# 35   6/28/2017 at 08:31 (2,485 days old) by PhilR (Quebec Canada)   |   | |
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Post# 946038 , Reply# 36   6/30/2017 at 14:56 (2,483 days old) by Cjhsa (Grand Rapids)   |   | |
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Needs an evaporator motor. Could not make the universal one fit. Any idea where I can find a used or rebuilt? |
Post# 946067 , Reply# 37   6/30/2017 at 16:49 (2,483 days old) by PhilR (Quebec Canada)   |   | |
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The parts book I have says #620365
Here's a replacement on eBay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Frigidaire-Elect... It won't look like the original but I suppose it fits there and there seems to be an adapter for the blower wheel.
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Post# 946172 , Reply# 38   7/1/2017 at 06:04 (2,482 days old) by Cjhsa (Grand Rapids)   |   | |
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Hmm. That is not the part number on the bad one. And the act of touching it has made the problem worse. Fridge is now 56 and freezer barely making ice. I give up. Getting a new fridge. |
Post# 946188 , Reply# 39   7/1/2017 at 08:32 (2,482 days old) by panthera (Rocky Mountains)   |   | |
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All the various parts get added on or taken off or rearranged to fit any fridge on earth, including '67 Frigidaires. I know, I have done it with exactly this kit. It's a bit time consuming, but it does work. One thing to pay attention to, the direction the blower goes may require you to put the coil on the opposite way of how you just put the whole dratted thing together (voice of experience here), so check that in a dry run, first. |
Post# 946219 , Reply# 41   7/1/2017 at 13:13 (2,482 days old) by goatfarmer (South Bend, home of Champions)   |   | |
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Post# 946222 , Reply# 42   7/1/2017 at 13:23 (2,482 days old) by cjhsa (Grand Rapids)   |   | |
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Thanks goatfarmer. So do you think it will work if I get a good motor? I hope so. Hate to throw any more money at this if not. |
Post# 946229 , Reply# 43   7/1/2017 at 15:07 (2,482 days old) by panthera (Rocky Mountains)   |   | |
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spin in the same direction, regardless of how the wires are hooked up. The way to reverse it - and with some universal fans, they are going backward when delivered from the factory for your fridge - is to flip the top and bottom bearings around. Easy to do, they fit both ways (designed that way) and that will reverse it. The only way to reverse it. So glad it's cooling. |
Post# 946495 , Reply# 45   7/3/2017 at 07:32 (2,480 days old) by Cjhsa (Grand Rapids)   |   | |
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:(. 22F in freezer. Fridge is now room temp. :( |
Post# 946499 , Reply# 46   7/3/2017 at 07:49 (2,480 days old) by PhilR (Quebec Canada)   |   | |
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Is there adequate air flow from the blower? I assume you haven't replaced it yet? The fan is what moves the cold air. In a bottom freezer model, with the evaporator coils under the freezer floor, if there's no air flow, the refrigerator section won't even get cool and the freezer won't get cool enough. I think yours should have it's evaporator located at the back which is better but still likely not enough to make it cool enough. And if the freezer is almost empty, the temp might get up significantly if you check it after a defrost took place. There's a 500 watt heater that melts the ice in the freezer for a few minutes everyday.
Some of the Frost-Proof models that had their ice tray over the evaporators (like the one I have in my kitchen) did make the ice melt in their ice trays when the defrost took place even when everything is working fine as they were sitting just above the heating elements and some models like my 1963 didn't have any insulation over them. Right now, I hear the 1960 Frost-Proof freezer downstairs defrosting (it does make cracking noise when it defrosts). The temp will rise a bit for a few minutes and it will slowly return to 0° after. This post was last edited 07/03/2017 at 08:17 |
Post# 947147 , Reply# 48   7/8/2017 at 11:21 (2,475 days old) by PhilR (Quebec Canada)   |   | |
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Post# 953248 , Reply# 50   8/17/2017 at 14:37 (2,435 days old) by cjhsa (Grand Rapids)   |   | |
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Unfortunately, the fan housing cracked and broke while he worked on it. The red fridge is dead. Long live the red fridge. |
Post# 953253 , Reply# 51   8/17/2017 at 15:21 (2,435 days old) by PhilR (Quebec Canada)   |   | |
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