I have a 10+ year old Kenmore side by side that quit cooling

freezer feeds cool air to fridge via a fan --possible causes ---circuit board failure--evap frozen over--evap fan failure --no power--condenser dirty --condenser fan fail--compressor failure --damage with freon leak---thermostat--

There is really nothing to be done.

check the overload relay, see the motor compressor , on side ot its body had a small box where the wiring goes in, open it and check the relay , see if still have continuity or better yet replae.

That could be a broad range of possibilities. The defrost timer, adaptive defrost board,compressor start relay, compressor start capacitor or a mother board. Would you happen to have the model number so I can narrow down those possibilities? If you pull away from wall remove cover over the compressor and then unplug. Touch the compressor and let me know if cool, warm or too hot to touch. Thanks, Sea Breeze

Turned refrigerator off for 8 hours, let the frost melt and the fan in the freezer worked again. The compressor now only has a soft clunk when it goes off.

Hello cpuklutz
Welcome


You said, Kenmore; 21 cu ft; 10-years old; just stopped cooling; wondering if it even makes any financial sense to get estimate to repair, or is 10 years about it's trouble free length of service

Here is an article that you may find useful and interesting related to your situation.
Repair or replace?

When to pull the plug on your old refrigerator

It nearly always makes sense to undertake simple do-it-yourself repairs,
such as replacing a gasket on a refrigerator or a freezer.

Typically, you'll also find a troubleshooting section for more-serious problems
in the owner's manual.

Should you pay for a repair or buy a new model?
The answer depends mostly on the age of your refrigerator,
how much you bought it for,and the cost of the repair.

Follow these guidelines:

When a repair makes sense.

If your refrigerator is under warranty or less than four years old (three years for top-freezers),
paying for a repair makes sense.
Note that refrigerators under warranty might require service from a factory-authorized technician;
readers have found them on a par with independent repairers.

When a repair might be a wise choice.

If your refrigerator is out of warranty and is four to seven years old,
it might make sense to pay for a repair. Customers generally pay $100 to $200 for a repair.
But you might want to buy a new model even at this stage,
given that today's models are quieter and have added features.
Higher energy efficiency is another plus: Energy Star-qualified models made after April 28, 2008,
are 43 percent more efficient than conventional models built before 2001 and 56 percent
more efficient than those built before 1993.

When it pays to replace.

The repair costs more than half the price of a comparable new refrigerator.
Data also shows that it doesn't pay to fix a less-expensive top-freezer refrigerator
six or more years old or a bottom-freezer or side-by-side eight or more years old.

Thanks to better recycling programs, less than 10 percent
of a refrigerator you replace is likely to end up in a landfill.

Thank You, HUUUM
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it is either the start switch on the side of the compressor or the compressor itself.
the buzzing sound is the start switch trying to start the compressor and the click is the overload on the start switch kicking it out.
the start switch is bad or the compressor is pulling too much amps = bad compressor.

Control board has gone bad....

What happens is the defrost is controlled electronically from a circuit board, when this goes bad, the freezer quits defrosting, and freezes the fans that circulate air through the fridge side of things.

To check this, unplug the entire fridge, leave the freezer open, wait for it to defrost a bit, if this causes the fridge to start cooling again when you plug it back in, then its the defrost. You should also see ice crystals on the back of the freezer just under the icemaker.

http://forums.partselect.com/refrigerator-freezer-repair/rerifgerator-side-not-below-54-degrees-6699.html

Yes.. it will fix it..