How to Test a Refrigerator Evaporator Fan Motor

The wonder of the freezer is that it is a handy device that keeps your food frozen and unhealthy till you are ready to eat it. In the old days, your grandparents or great-grandparents had to use what is called an icebox. That is where your ancestors placed a block of ice inside to keep their food cold, frozen, and healthy.

Be thankful you do not have to wait for the horse-drawn cart with a load of ice to come down your street in order to keep your food fresh and healthy. All you have to do is open your freezer door and check to see if the evaporator fan motor is still working or not.

To learn how to do that, just continue to read our article. It gives you the information you need to make sure your freezer is still working right, and your food remains healthy.

Purpose of the Evaporator Fan Motor

The purpose of the evaporator fan motor is to make sure any cold air generated by the freezer cooling coils is spread throughout the freezer and fridge evenly. This is an important attachment as, without the fan, the cold air may not reach your favorite foods.

If that happens, then the food will spoil and cost you a lot of money to replace it. Normally, the fan and motor are located right in front of those coils so that there is no delay in getting the cold air out to your food.

It is not hard to find, and once you locate it, testing the fan and the motor is not that difficult. The following tests won’t take too long to do, and you can leave your fridge with some peace of mind when you know the fan and motor are in perfect working order.

Testing Your Freezer Evaporator Fan Motor

Step 1 – Open the Door

Open your freezer door and if your freezer model has a light inside it should turn on. If it doesn’t then the problem is not the evaporator motor but an electrical source problem.

Step 2 – Feel the Breeze

If the freezer breeze is feeling warm, then there may be a problem with the motor. If you feel a cool breeze, then there is nothing wrong with the evaporator motor.

Step 3 – Use the Switch

After opening the door, the motor should turn off and a light will turn on if you have a light in the freezer. Press the door switch and wait a few seconds. If you hear the motor turn on, and cold air comes out into the freezer, the motor is okay.

Step 4 – Use Your Ears

If the evaporator motor is going bad, then you should hear some strange sounds coming from the motor. The noise may be something caught in the fan blades or the motor is dying slowly.

Testing the Fridge Evaporator Fan

This test may be more involved as it will require you to remove the fan in order to conduct your tests. One word of caution though, there may be other sources for the problem, and the test should confirm if the fan is the source or not.

The test is only one step in solving the problem if the fan is not the source. Also, the source may be something simple. For example, the fridge’s position needs to be adjusted and the problem will be solved when you do that.

Step 1- To access the fan in your fridge look in your owner’s manual to find its location. It should be behind a panel that takes only the removal of 3 screws or less to get access to the fan.

Step 2 – Once you have the panel off, give the fan blades a good spin. If they do not move, then you have found the source of your problem and you just replace the fan. If the blades spin freely, remove the fan from the fridge and get your multimeter out.

Step 3 – This is called a continuity test and you need to set the multimeter to the dial that says 1 to 100 ohms and then put the two leads on the appropriate terminals. If the needle stays under 100 ohms, then everything is fine. If it doesn’t, then you have to replace the motor and the fan.

Step 4 – If the fan passes this test, then it is time to call a qualified repairman to hunt down the source of the trouble. The problem may be located in an area of the fridge that is too complicated for you to fix.

Doing the testing yourself first will save you a lot of money. Refrigerator repairmen do not come cheap. When you pull the fan out, make sure to unplug the fridge first. Always keep yourself safe when dealing with electrical appliances.