[BittyBeachHouse]

I bought a kenmore bottom freezer fridge just over a year ago and it's out of warranty. It started buzzing (down the bottom back) every few hours for about ten seconds at a time. This went on for a week or two and then it died.

We had a repair person come and they said it should have been on a dedicated circuit and because it wasn't, it broke the invertor. He ordered the invertor and we replaced it ourselves along with getting a dedicated circuit installed.

Two days later it's buzzing again but it hasn't gone warm like last time. Any idea what might be going on?

Thank you so much for any suggestions!

 

[BayouRunner]

Really don't see why you would need a dedicated circuit for your frig. Just about all of the inverter compressors pull about 1.5 amps tops. I can't tell by what your describing but it almost sounds like a bad compressor. Keep in mind I'm not looking at the frig so I am guessing. Maybe you could take off the back cover and when the noise starts you can pinpoint it further. They also start at a low speed so they don't have a large amperage draw on startup. Noise from an inverter compressor will require replacement. Good new is most are guaranteed for up to ten years. Bad news is labor is not. If it is not to far out of warranty call the manufacturer. A lot of times they will help up you out as well. We deal with this on a daily basis and most manufacturers want you to be happy.

 

[BittyBeachHouse]

Thank you. I bought it from Sears and they were the ones who came out and diagnosed it as a bad inverter. So we spent 300 for an electrician, 95 for the diagnostic and 215 for the new invertor. I didn't want to pay an extra 150 to install it so I did it myself and it's working... I'm just worried it will stop again. Sears told me is a one year warranty. No mention of the compressor needing replacement or being covered...?

 

[BittyBeachHouse]

I'm worried if I call them and tell them to come back they'll continue to charge me. Plus I booked it online through a 25 percent off coupon and they didn't honor it because my husband never mentioned it to the repair guy. It's so ridiculous. I've called and talked to supervisors... Nothing

 

[jimn]

Certainly a lack of a dedicated circuit didn't cause this issue. I like dedicated circuits for fridges because there is no potential for anything else in that circuit to trip the breaker and cause food spoilage if I am away .

However low voltage or other circuit problems might cause issues.

 

[BayouRunner]

Sears does not make any major appliances. I can see why you are stuck there. They can't offer you anything they can't provide. Another manufacturer builds it for them. Wish I could be more help. If you can find out who makes your current frig it might be better to contact a service company that works on that manufacturers product. They have acess to a lot more information then a tech that is not factory authorized.

 

[BittyBeachHouse]

Thanks, I'm hopeful it's not the compressor... I would think the repairman would have been able to tell when he came the first time (one would think) If anyone has any ideas on what I might test??

 

[BittyBeachHouse]

Just an update for anyone who might be interested. Sears came back and found that the ice maker was on apparently (I don't use it, it's not hooked up to water) that's what was making the noise. They also agreed to refund me 25 percent when I showed them the coupon online. Happy ending!