When your refrigerator isn’t cooling, one of the possible problems could be with the evaporator fan located inside the back wall of your appliance, either behind one or more panels at the back of the freezer or refrigerator compartments. The evaporator fan is usually mounted right onto the evaporator assembly. The fan if working normally blows air through the evaporator fins where heat is absorbed so that cool air is then blown throughout the freezer and refrigerator compartments. If the fan is not running or if not blowing cool air, you will need to check it and may end up replacing it. so it is important to understand some of the steps you will need to take in order to properly troubleshoot and fix any possible problems with your refrigerator’s evaporator fan. That includes the continuity checks for identifying the problem and making sure that the evaporator fan motor, the electronic control board and also the wiring connecting them are correctly working.
How to troubleshoot and fix the evaporator fan problems if a refrigerator is not cooling
The evaporator fan typically should start running as soon as you hear your refrigerator compressor turning on. Physical obstruction is often the reason why the evaporator fan cannot run freely. Ice build up on the evaporator blades is a common problem preventing free operation of the fan. Ice buildup can be simply solved by melting the ice unless it has caused further damage like making the blades to become bent and causing jamming or having the fan motor windings become damaged. Bent fan blades can only be replaced and not straightened to avoid getting them out of balance. Dirt build up on the fan motor bearings can also cause problems but requires application of penetrating oil to fix the problem.
If your fridge evaporator fan doesn’t turn on, here are a few things that you will need to check for troubleshooting to identify and fix the problem:
Checking the electronic control board
You will need to enter into the diagnostic test mode and confirm if during that mode the evaporator fan can start running. The instructions to enter into the diagnostic test mode differ from one model to another, so you want to consult the technical sheet often taped at the back of your refrigerator or behind the front grill at the bottom side. If the fan runs during the test mode and not in normal operation, you will need to have the electronic control board replaced.
How to troubleshoot the wiring problems
When the evaporator fan fails to run during the diagnostic test mode, the problem may be to do with a faulty control board, bad evaporator fan or even a break within the wiring connections in-between. Unplug the refrigerator from power outlet for safety and check for continuity through the wiring. You will have to unscrew the control box to remove it then look for the wire supplying power to fan. Inspect the wire for physical damage and if none still go ahead to check continuity using a multimeter. You have to remove the control board then drop the back freezer panel to unplug the evaporator fan and access the wiring. You should have 2 wires to check continuity, most likely a red wire and a blue one. For each of the wires your multimeter needs to read near zero ohms. In case there is no continuity with either wire, you will need to find where the break is and that requires unplugging the wire harness from the ceiling to check for continuity between the control board’s plug on the bad wire and the ceiling plug. If no continuity, the multimeter should read infinite resistance (displays 1) and you should repair the broken wire or replace the wire harness. If no problem with continuity, then the problem could be either with the electronic control board or the fan motor.
Examining the fan motor and the electronic control board
Your refrigerator fan motor may have a control board inside of the motor casing and it may not be possible to check for continuity other than looking out for visible burn marks on the control board. If any burns are seen you need to replace the fan motor. If none, you may need experienced tech to do further tests and determine if the problem could be with the electronic control board not sending power to the fan motor.
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