Refrigerator

[kdjshep]

Whirlpool residential freezer working but frig not keeping things cool. Any ideas is appreciated.

[twinboat]

If it's a frost free model and the defrost timer is bad, it will frost up the passage to the fridge section.

As a test, pull the plug, let it sit a day and see if it cools normal.

If it has a timer, it will be down near the wiring.

[Kiawah]

Some more information would be helpful.

Does this refrig work differently when on shorepower, vs inverter?

Is your inverter a MSW (modified sine wave), or PSW (pure sine wave)? MSW technology doesn't always play nice with the controls of the refrig.

Did this refrig come OEM this way, or is this a retrofit?

Have you done the dollar bill test, by closing the door with a dollar bill in the gap. Does the gasket easily grab the dollar bill all the way around, or does it pull out easily indicating a gasket leak.

Defrost refrigerators periodically turn on a defrost heating strip to melt the ice buildup. This is controlled by a defrost timer that can cycle 2-3 times in a 24 hour period, and run for about 15-20 minutes. When it does this, the defrost timer also turns off the compressor not allowing it to cool. Can you tell whether the defrost cycle appears to be working correctly?

The other side of a defrost timer problem is as twinboat mentions, it ices up and doesn't defrost. The air doesn't cool efficiently this way, and you may also get symptoms of water inside the refrig on the bottom or leaking out the front bottom of the frig.

Have you cleaned the dust, dirt, and hair from the cooling fins on the bottom and/or rear of the frig?

[BentlyRV]

This is probably a stupid question based on how nowadays "residential frig" seems to be a loosely used term in the RV world...? But, here it is: Is propane an option for this refrig? If so, I'd try to see if it your refrigerator gets to temp via propane and then try a.c.
On all of our RV's, camper to 5th to class a, I've used this technique to de-winterize especially after we had issues on the 5'ver....freezer was working, but fridge was warm.
Primed it to temp with the propane and I've gone that route ever since. It's a simple test anyways....
Best wishes
Tim

[Old-Biscuit]

Residential fridge (unlike an rv absorption fridge) uses the cold air from freezer compartment to cool the food compartment.

As suggested by 'twinboat'........passage from freezer to food compartment clogged/plugged up so cold airflow is limited.

Or fan not blowing cold freezer air into food compartment

GENERIC Residential Fridge

[luvlabs]

Top or bottom freezer model? If it is a bottom freezer model, slide the freezer drawer out as far as possible and look behind the drawer (use a flash light). Is there a big frozen lake back there?

Older model Whirlpools (and the siblings) used a duck bill drain valve to drain the water into the evaporator pan under the fridge. The valve gets dirty and sticks and freezes. There is a fairly simple fix which replaces the duck bill with a p-trap.

[Fiesta48]

Start with simple stuff. Clean the coils. Check inside frig. Are all louvers unobsturted? Food in front of openings. Shelves and food set to get most air flow. Temp control set properly.
Frig last 20 years.

[kdjshep]

Thanks everyone for the help. It appears there was ice build up between the freezer and frig. My BIL removed some of the ice for a temporary fix till he gets home