Thread Number: 84894  /  Tag: Refrigerators
Maytag refrigerator help? 		[Down to Last]

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Post# 1093612   10/18/2020 at 11:16 (1,286 days old) by Helicaldrive (St. Louis)        

My 25 or so year old Newton IA Maytag top freezer refrigerator is making a fairly frequent single click noise I’ve never heard before, on the left side right in front. Sounds like some kind of relay is cycling on and off? And the ice maker stopped working too. Ice in the ice maker itself was not frozen solid. Power cord was not hot. Food was still cold though. But I unplugged it for fire safety. Since doing that, water is dripping out of the bottom left corner of the freezer door. I felt underneath and the drip pan is bone dry. Model MTB1956DE.

Does anybody know what is wrong? Is it worth fixing?




Post# 1093629 , Reply# 1   10/18/2020 at 15:34 (1,286 days old) by RP2813 (Sannazay)        

rp2813's profile picture

Two things I've experienced:

 

1) Warm freezer:  Bad evaporator fan.

 

2) Ice build-up in freezer or water leaking from freezer:  Clogged defrost water drain.  Even something as small as a single frozen pea can block the drain.

 

The clicking I'm not sure about, but it could be the defrost timer is toast.  If that's the case, it could cause both of the problems you're having.

 

 
Post# 1093786 , Reply# 2   10/19/2020 at 22:46 (1,284 days old) by Helicaldrive (St. Louis)        
Thanks for the suggestions

 But a friend brought me to reality with his reaction: 25 years old?! Throw it out!

I had it for so long, without ever having a repair, that I was subconsciously assuming it would be a part of my life forever. Not! Time to let it go. RIP.

And it’s a shame. It was a super nice refrigerator. When Maytag was Maytag — and always had a better idea. The shelving configuration was fantastic, especially the little crank for adjusting a shelf height. Anything could be shoved in that refrigerator with no effort or need to rearrange things.

Post# 1093796 , Reply# 3   10/20/2020 at 01:11 (1,284 days old) by RP2813 (Sannazay)        

rp2813's profile picture

My sister has a Maytag "Wide-by-Side" with the cranks for shelf adjustment.  The thing I like best about the exterior is the way it appears to have only a single handle.  The compressor failed a few years ago and she used her home warranty coverage to have the compressor replaced instead of buying a whole new refrigerator because she likes the unique "Wide-by-Side" design.
Post# 1093822 , Reply# 4   10/20/2020 at 08:14 (1,284 days old) by Helicaldrive (St. Louis)        
I can see that!

 Perfectly understandable why someone would go that route with that refrigerator.

It’s been unplugged for quite some time. Still does the same if I plug it back in. It goes on, there is a click by the cooling fins in the back actually, not in front, and then a few minutes later that click again. Sounds like some safety relay is shutting something off.

I’m not going to try having it fixed. Surely if it is fixed other things will go wrong in the future too: relays, sensors, etc. ??? Presumably.

And I use this fridge primarily for parties. I like to prepare all side dishes in advance in their serving dishes, refrigerate, and shove into the oven at serving time. It’d be a nightmare to spend a day or so preparing food for a party only to find that the fridge went on the fritz again and the food all spoiled yet a houseful of people are on their way, or to unwittingly sicken all my friends with spoiled food. Nope. It’s time is over and it’s gotta go.

Post# 1093823 , Reply# 5   10/20/2020 at 08:16 (1,284 days old) by Helicaldrive (St. Louis)        
I meant its no apostrophe. Damm spell check needs

grammar lessons.

Post# 1093850 , Reply# 6   10/20/2020 at 11:53 (1,284 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)        
Non Cooling MT Ref

 combo52's profile picture

It may just be a relay on the compressor, First thing to check is to see if this ref is on the MT ref Recall List, check with you full model and serial number, there were a few fires reported from some similar refs and the repair may be FREE.

 

The water dripping out of the freezer door is just moisture that found its way inside the door [ poor assembly and build quality ] and it stays frozen till the ref is turned off for an extended period and melts.

 

These were slightly below average refs in their day, but are fairly energy efficient and can make good 2nd refs, it could last another decade if repaired.

 

John L.
Post# 1093893 , Reply# 7   10/20/2020 at 19:35 (1,284 days old) by CircleW (NE Cincinnati OH area)        

Were these actually made in Maytag's Newton, IA plant? I thought all their refrigeration products at that time were from the former Admiral facility.

Post# 1093945 , Reply# 8   10/21/2020 at 08:38 (1,283 days old) by Helicaldrive (St. Louis)        
Thanks

 For the advice JL; I was hoping you would weigh in.

And CW, gee I dunno. Makes sense if, when they branched out into refrigeration, it was part of one of the many acquisitions that played a role in their ultimate demise. All I know for sure is that it is a Maytag fridge many many years before Whirlpool bought them out (and put the kibosh on all Maytag designs and production).

As for quality, well the shelving is definitely superior to its peers both in terms of quality and functionality. Produce lasted very noticeably longer than with my prior fridge. It cooled OK for me as a single person — I open infrequently and only for a brief moment. I make my decisions before opening the door. I never thought it would cool adequately for a family with a bunch of people opening it all the time and standing there with it open for long periods of decision making. Most refrigerators kick on as soon as they are opened; and you can feel the cold air being blown. This one had a long delay between opening and kicking on, and wasn’t really strong — definitely not as aggressive as the Kitchen Aid fridge at work.

After considering everything, I think I’m going to just buy a new one and forget about repairing it. It was not on the recall list. My main refrigerator is also pre-Whirlpool acquisition Maytag (Jenn-Air). It was part of the recall, and in the process of that, the main computer board was replaced 10 years ago because sometimes it would buzz. Anyway, it cools just fine but seems to run less often than before, and there is an extremely slight water-flowing type of sound when it’s not running, which it didn’t originally do. I expect it to die too any day. After all it is 20 years old. The upshot of all this is that especially with COVID, when eating in is a must, I think I should get a new fridge, so I will have at least one that I know I can depend on.


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