My Whirlpool fridge which was bought in 1986 recently had a compressor
fan breakdown. When the compressor turned on, the fan would just sit
there most of the time until I manually gave it a "push". Then it
would start running.

I had the fan motor replaced and thought my cooling problem was gone.
But then I noticed there was a problem with the defrosting system.
Frost was visible on the air-flow vent in the refridgerator section and
also in the freezer air flow vent.

I manually defrosted it by turning it off and letting it drip for a few
hours. I did this twice , but each time the same thing would occur.
It wouldn't defrost on it's own.

I decided to take the back wall off in the freezer to take a look at
the defrost timer etc......

(my fridge is a bottom freezer model)

Of all things, I couldn't get the wire rack support off the side of the
freezer wall. I didn't want to break it, so I gave up and put the
screws back into the back freezer wallplate.

After that, it started working and defrosting on it's own.
Maybe I knocked something back into place? It's been 2 weeks now, and
the freezer runs between 5 and 10 below Zero. The fridge section runs
at about 38 to 40.

My question is this........how much of a rise in temp is normal during
the defrost cycle?
For over a week , I didn't even stock the fridge up with food for fear
it would break down again.
I just went shopping and plan to get the mini 5 cubic foot fridge out
of here.

During my trial period, I noticed that at times the freezer would go up
to 30 degrees.
And this was during non use.......just a quick peek to check the temp
of the freezer and fridge section.
Is this normal? I would just like to know how many degrees is normal
for the fridge and freezer to rise during the defrost cycle.
I was told this fridge runs on an 8 hours defrost cycle. I don't know
if it's totally controlled by how long the compressor runs, or it
there's any kind of thermostat involved also.

I like this fridge, and would rather not buy a new one.
I like some of the new french door models with the full width
deli-tray, but what I DON'T like is the PULL OUT drawer freezer. I
like a door, not a drawer. I hope the drawer fad dies out before my
fridge does.
Thanks.........