UPDATE!
Well, I *thought* I had everything figured out and was about to order the new cooling unit ($650) and a new heating element ($35). But I decided to test my thermistor. Yes, I know NOW that that should be among the first things to check...but I didn't know that until now. (And now I have my fridge out and the original cooling unit removed).
I put an ohm meter on the thermistor to check the resistance. It is coming back as an open (infinite resistance...as in the ends aren't connected). I am very confident in my measurement. If I touch the ends of my ohmmeter together it shows me Zero ohms. If I check a simple piece of wire, it shows me some ohms. But when I probe the two contact points on the thermistor it comes back as infinite (not connected). Do thermistors fail like that? (Note: Yes, I am very confident that my probes are making contact with metal inside the thermistor connector.)
Question: Would that have any chance of causing ZERO cooling inside my fridge and freezer??? I have (before removing the fridge and cooling unit) tried on propane for hours and also plugged in to 110v for hours and got ZERO cooling.
Suddenly, I'm not sure whether or not my cooling unit is bad. How else can I test this system to figure out what is bad?
From my discussion with the online "cooling unit" tech, it sounds like the 3 main components that can go bad are:
1) The heating element (although mine got hot so I don't think it is the problem.
2) The cooling unit.
3) The control panel/board.
I guess "bad thermistor" could be on that list too.
Do I need to put it all back together, unplug the thermistor, and re-test the refrigerator to see if it works? If it really is infinite resistance on the thermistor, then isn't that the same thing as having it unplugged??
Could it be the control board? How often do those go out? (is it rare or common?)
Thanks!!
-Chris
