How to Troubleshoot Electric Fan Motors in Refrigerators

Your refrigerator has a condenser that cools hot air inside of the refrigerator unit. Once the air is cooled it is blown into the fridge with electric fans. The electric fans usually run fairly silent. If your refrigerator is noisy, or fails to cool properly, you may have an issue with the fan. There are a few troubleshooting steps you can try to determine whether the fan is faulty. However, noise is usually enough to determine whether a fan is faulty or not.

Screwdriver
Fan

Instructions

- 1
  Open the freezer door.
- 2
  Remove all food items from the vents in the freezer wall. Wait a few hours to see if the freezer begins to cool. If not, troubleshoot further.
- 3
  Open the freezer door. If the refrigerator sounds noisier with the freezer door open, you may have a faulty fan.
- 4
  Unplug the fridge from the wall. Open the freezer and allow it to thaw.
- 5
  Remove the screws from the back panel of the freezer and remove the panel. Be careful not to break any of the plastic moulding.
- 6
  Tighten the screws around the fan to tighten it to the refrigerator wall. Plug the unit back in and wait for the fan to start. If it is still noisy, replace it.
- 7
  Remove the screws from the fan. Pull on the wire connector to unplug the fan. Plug the new fan in and secure it to the back wall. Reassemble the freezer.

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