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Kenmore refrigerator door not closing
Common reasons your Kenmore refrigerator door is not closing
The most common reasons your Kenmore refrigerator door is not closing are a damaged door, defective electronic control board or a dead power supply board.
35% of the time it's the Door
21% of the time it's the Electronic Control Board
12% of the time it's the Power Supply Board
32% of the time it's the Something else
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Most common repairs needed to fix a Kenmore refrigerator
Door Replacement
A damaged refrigerator or freezer door can prevent the door from closing and sealing properly. It may create difficulty in smoothly opening or closing the freezer drawer, requiring excessive force or resulting in a sticking sensation. It may also cause a misalignment of the drawer, where it fails to sit flush with the freezer door. A damaged door can also produce scraping or grinding noises during operation, indicating friction or misalignment issues. Additionally, the door gasket won’t be able to maintain a proper seal, allowing warm, humid air into the refrigerator. This can lead to condensation, resulting in water leaks in the refrigerator that won’t be able to drain away.
Electronic Control Board Replacement
A defective electronic control board can lead to various failures in a refrigerator, including a lack of power or cooling and water leaking. This is because the board serves as the brain of the refrigerator, controlling crucial operations such as regulating internal temperatures, running fans, managing defrost cycles, overseeing the ice maker, and controlling dispenser functions. If the electronic control board malfunctions, it can disrupt communication between many different components, including automatic doors if equipped. A failing board may cause a chattering or clicking noise from the refrigerator and may emit a burning odor. Due to the potential impact on multiple components, it is advisable to have a Sears Home Services professional conduct diagnostic tests on the board to confirm if replacement is necessary.
Power Supply Board Replacement
A dead refrigerator power supply board can result in a complete loss of power to the refrigerator, resulting in no lights, no cooling, and no operational sounds. The display panel, if present, may be blank or unresponsive. In models with automatic doors, a malfunctioning power supply board may lead to the doors no longer opening or closing automatically as intended. In some cases, there might be intermittent power issues, where the refrigerator may work inconsistently or sporadically. Additionally, the failure of the power supply board can lead to an absence of any audible humming or clicking sounds typically associated with the refrigerator's normal operation.
Why is my Kenmore refrigerator door not closing properly?
Level the refrigerator properly
When your refrigerator door won’t swing gently shut on its own, you’ll often need to adjust the leveling feet.
The refrigerator should have a slight tilt from front to back (about ½ bubble).
The cabinet must be horizontally level with the leveling feet stable on the floor. Press down on diagonally opposing corners of the cabinet and adjust the leveling legs to eliminate play if necessary.
Here’s a video that shows how to level a refrigerator properly so the doors align and shut properly:
If you’re unable to level your refrigerator so the doors close properly, schedule professional refrigerator maintenance and we’ll send a technician to your home to level the fridges and perform thorough cleaning and maintenance of the appliance.
Adjust refrigerator door hinges
To fix a problem with the flipper mullion not retracting and extending properly on a French door refrigerator, you may need to adjust door height using shims, snap rings or by adjusting a leveling screw.
Over time, the weight of items that you store in a refrigerator door can bend the hinge and cause the door to sag.
The right-hand door that houses the flipper mullion on a French door refrigerator can eventually sag so much that the top tab of the flipper mullion fails to engage with the flipper mullion guide channel at the top of the opening to the refrigerator compartment.
Follow the instructions in your owner’s manual to adjust the door hinges and flipper mullion height so that the door opens and closes properly. The image below shows an example of how to adjust the door height and flipper mullion height on a common type of French door refrigerator.
If you need to have a service technician make these adjustments, schedule refrigerator maintenance service and we’ll send a Sears Home Services technician to your home to adjust the doors as well as to clean and maintain your entire refrigerator.
What to expect when you experience a Kenmore refrigerator door not closing issue
How is the door not closing problem fixed?
Correcting most door not closing problems usually involves replacing the door, electronic control board or power supply. However, there are many potential causes, so a thorough diagnosis is key to fixing the problem. An accurate diagnosis is essential to understanding how much the repair will be.
Sears Home Services recommendations for a refrigerator door that is not closing
When the refrigerator door is not closing it can be for many reasons. To avoid replacing unneeded parts we recommend having a Sears Home Services professional perform diagnostic tests to identify the root cause of the problem. Our technicians are experienced at diagnosing all types of refrigerator failures.
What to look out for with a refrigerator door not closing diagnosis
Diagnosing modern appliances without proper knowledge and training can be difficult. Without using proper diagnostic techniques, fixing your refrigerator problem will only be achieved through changing parts on a hunch. Appliances, especially in the last 10 years, have become extremely advanced, and many models have electronic parts that are difficult to test. DIY repairs on the latest appliance models are becoming increasingly difficult.
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Frequently Asked Questions
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Glossary Terms
A dual ice maker is a feature in some refrigerators that includes two separate ice makers: one in the fridge compartment and another in the freezer section. This setup doubles the appliance's ice-making capacity.
A French-door refrigerator features two doors that open side-by-side on the top section for the refrigerator compartment, with a bottom freezer drawer, combining style, efficiency, and easy access to both refrigerated and frozen goods.
Refrigerant is a chemical compound used in HVAC systems and refrigerators to absorb heat from the environment by cycling through states of evaporation and condensation, enabling the cooling process through its cycle of evaporation and condensation.
R-12 refrigerant, also known as Freon-12, is a chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) compound that was once widely used in air conditioning systems, refrigerators, and aerosol propellants before its phase-out due to environmental concerns.