Sub-Zero Refrigerator Not Cooling in Tarpon Springs: A Dead Condenser Fan

This Sub-Zero lives in a garage in Tarpon Springs. It’s a built-in side-by-side from the 600 series (model 685/S), made in 2007, so it’s coming up on 20 years old. The client called because it wasn’t cooling well, and a service warning had come up on the display.

The condenser fan had stopped

On these Sub-Zeros the compressor, the condenser coil and the condenser fan all sit up top, behind the grille above the doors. The fan pulls air through the condenser so it can get rid of the heat taken out of the refrigerator. When the fan stops, that heat has nowhere to go, and the fridge can’t keep up. That’s what we found here. The condenser fan wasn’t running.

With the grille off, you can see the machine compartment. The fan sits in its round housing on the right, next to the compressor.

A Florida garage is hot most of the year, so a refrigerator out there leans on that fan even harder than one in the kitchen.

Replaced on the spot

We always keep condenser and evaporator fan motors for Sub-Zero on the truck. They’re some of the most common failures on these units, so we had the right one with us and swapped it right there. Below is the old fan with its blade on the left and the new motor next to its box.

And here’s the new motor mounted in its bracket next to the compressor.

Cooling again

With the new fan running, the refrigerator is cooling again. A few weeks ago we replaced an evaporator fan on another Sub-Zero in Tarpon Springs. More on our Sub-Zero repairs.