So.....is it possible there might be a "reset switch".......??? A suggested specific location to Wack it with a splitting maul.
My refrigerator has "DIED".......or in a COMA.
- Thread starter Sourdough
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It depends on how old it is.
The newer ones (20-y/o or less) are controlled by a CPU board.
Ours does not like certain power fluctuations and will stop defrosting every year or 2.
I could hear the fan in the freezer section making a loud grinding sound on the giant frost block.
We paid big bux to a guy to tear it apart and defrost it. He checked all the parts (with it unplugged), all good. It worked great then!
I learned.
Solution for us since then: Unplug it for 15-minutes, plug it back in. I can hear it popping once again when it goes into defrost.
Perfect!
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Try unplugging it for a short while then plug it back in. I was having issues with ours for a while to the point the freezer recently thawed on us for no reason! I ended up getting it to work again and put a fridge lock on it to keep it closed so the freezer didn't pop open (the reason it thawed). Sometimes they get little energy surges that cause them to fritz. I recommend a single outlet surge protector for any major appliance. I have them for the computers, freezers, washer, dryer, fridge etc. Saved our butt after having to replace a bunch from faulty wiring that landlord refused to repair.
Google search your issue and model and see what pops up. I found a reset for our washer when it wants to fritz on us.
Google search your issue and model and see what pops up. I found a reset for our washer when it wants to fritz on us.
this refrigerator is about 20 or 22 years old. I am fine with turning it into a fish smoker. My real problem is I am roughly 115 miles from a place that sells refrigerators, And no vehicle. So, I just unplugged it, will see what happens.
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Shake it roughly, if the motor kicks in briefly its a bad connection, also check the wall socket, its not uncommon one cell goes bad. if it died during a brown out the motor may have shut down for self preservation, if it did, there may be a reset or it may do it automatically.
Crap, sorry to hear. My backup refrigerator just croaked on me over the weekend and I lost a few frozen salmon. I am trying to figure out how to best repurpose it. No reset button on mine either. I need to get a new back up up my mountain by mid September or it won’t be until may before I can get one up my hill. Good thing I made the old thing my backup refrigerator last summer when I got a new one. You have to transport those things upright so I will strap it to the lift gate on my toy hauling trailer.
I think you can transport them on their Side, but you "must" leave it sit upright for 12 or 24 hours so all the gas can settle back to the bottom, before plugging in.
Repurposing one is easy, gut out the grills and the machinery, flip it on its back, fill it full of manure and oat meal and grow mushrooms! You can also remove the door, cover it in plexiglass and make a starter hot house, OR... cover it in hardware mesh, add a heat lamp and brood chickens. of course, if its a freezer, line it with plastic, fill it full of water and make a redneck sauna and use the lid to keep crap out of it. might even be a good cattle trough.
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Is it electric or propane? I read something a few years ago about propane fridges not working.
"The most common cause of a propane gas refrigerator not functioning properly is due to a dirty flame. This is the product of debris getting into the burner tube. Debris such as insects, lint, hair, or dust build-up are most common."
If it is an electric, giving it a good cleaning may help. Or it could be the compressor. That was the problem on my last fridge, and the repair guy I called said it wasn't worth replacing. I think it may be true, but it may have been his lack of knowledge. I had him look at my washer and dryer as well and he couldn't be bothered. I've replaced all three of them now.
We live in mushroom heaven, so no need for this.
Mini greenhouse then, refrigerators keep heat in and cold out as well. might use it to store livestock water in during freezing weather.
Latest update.........The freezer compartment works. Refrigerator part does not work.
How long did you leave it unplugged? Sounds like that downdraft tube from the freezer to the fridge is blocked with ice... that would explain the freezer working while the fridge is still kaput. I inherited an old fridge when I bought this place, and that's exactly what happened... I had to leave it unplugged with both doors open for half a day to get that tube cleared. Maybe a hair dryer would help clear it faster? The downdraft tube (for lack of a better term) is actually square or slightly rectangular on my fridge, and there's a plastic guard covering it. It leads from the freezer compartment to the fridge, and it's under the fan. I removed the guard to access the tube, which was totally blocked with ice (frost). If your freezer works, then hopefully you can solve this problem without having to buy another fridge. Moi, I'm a cheap b@stard, so I'll run this fridge o' mine into the dirt before I buy a new one, lol. Don't forget to vacuum the coils once in a while...
P.S. Just checked, and my fridge is an older Whirlpool model, none of that 'smart fridge' BS on it... I'd estimate its age to be about the same as your fridge. It works just fine now that the tube is clear, but this sort of buildup & blockage happens now and then, and the best thing to do is unplug and defrost it...
Edit: Now that I think about it, I also put some WD-40 on that fan shaft (spindle or axle, whatever it's called), it was gunked up a bit and the fan wasn't spinning properly all the time as it should, which is probably what caused the problem. Once you clear that downdraft tube, plug in the fridge and check that fan to make sure it's spinning freely... if it is, replace the guard and you're good to go. Ever since I did these things, my fridge has worked like gangbusters.
P.S. Just checked, and my fridge is an older Whirlpool model, none of that 'smart fridge' BS on it... I'd estimate its age to be about the same as your fridge. It works just fine now that the tube is clear, but this sort of buildup & blockage happens now and then, and the best thing to do is unplug and defrost it...
Edit: Now that I think about it, I also put some WD-40 on that fan shaft (spindle or axle, whatever it's called), it was gunked up a bit and the fan wasn't spinning properly all the time as it should, which is probably what caused the problem. Once you clear that downdraft tube, plug in the fridge and check that fan to make sure it's spinning freely... if it is, replace the guard and you're good to go. Ever since I did these things, my fridge has worked like gangbusters.
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Yesterday at least an hour. I just hauled everything out of the freezer compartment and the vents in the back (which I assume go down to the refrigerator section were completely plugged with frost. Now have both doors open.
Not enough time for these older fridges... I took everything out of my unplugged fridge & freezer and put it into coolers, then propped both doors open for at least half a day, might have been a little longer. Good news here is that you should be able to clear the ice (or frost) and solve the problem. You may not need to remove the guard, but I did to get a closer look at the problem... and to expedite the defrosting. At the very least, leave the thing unplugged for a good long time with both doors open, then check the fan once you've plugged it back in, aye? Those fans can also be replaced fairly easily, IF you know the exact part number for that specific model... a good friend of mine who is a wizard at mechanical repair clued me in while I was having EXACTLY the same problem you're experiencing. And I'm no slouch at mechanical repairs, lol, but I like to ask my closest friends for their advice at such times. I thought I was gonna hafta buy a new fridge when mine pulled this BS, but it's really a rather simple fix, 10-4? Good news for you!!! I don't own a hair dryer (not enough hair on my head to merit such expense, lol), but any heating element placed nearby (but not too close to the plastic cr@p or fridge seal) will undoubtedly expedite the melting of the ice or frost. Oh, yeah, I think I poured hot water down the tube at some point, though I had to wipe the water out of the fridge later, using a large sponge & bath towel...
P.S. Don't get me started on the older dryer I salvaged after it was determined that a pack rat had built a nest in the vent or exhaust duct, lol... might have been some crud in the dryer itself, but hey, it cost me less than $100 for some classic old hand & appliance repairman to make that dryer work again!!! Cheers!!!
Edit: I spoke too soon, I think I may actually have a hair dryer, I saved my mom's hair dryer after she passed away... in years past, I used it to dry out boat hull voids & prep specific areas for fiberglass repair, lol. I think it must be packed away in one of the moving boxes I haven't unloaded yet... I'm still doing home rehab work, so not all boxes have been unpacked, lol. A hair dryer comes in handy when doing internal glass work on boats, aye?
P.S. Don't get me started on the older dryer I salvaged after it was determined that a pack rat had built a nest in the vent or exhaust duct, lol... might have been some crud in the dryer itself, but hey, it cost me less than $100 for some classic old hand & appliance repairman to make that dryer work again!!! Cheers!!!
Edit: I spoke too soon, I think I may actually have a hair dryer, I saved my mom's hair dryer after she passed away... in years past, I used it to dry out boat hull voids & prep specific areas for fiberglass repair, lol. I think it must be packed away in one of the moving boxes I haven't unloaded yet... I'm still doing home rehab work, so not all boxes have been unpacked, lol. A hair dryer comes in handy when doing internal glass work on boats, aye?
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It depends on how old it is.
The newer ones (20-y/o or less) are controlled by a CPU board.
Ours does not like certain power fluctuations and will stop defrosting every year or 2.
I could hear the fan in the freezer section making a loud grinding sound on the giant frost block.
We paid big bux to a guy to tear it apart and defrost it. He checked all the parts (with it unplugged), all good. It worked great then!
I learned.
Solution for us since then: Unplug it for 15-minutes, plug it back in. I can hear it popping once again when it goes into defrost.
Perfect!
The grinding noise should be the small fan in the freezer compartment making contact with the ice as the unit is freezing.
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I feel your pain Sourdough. Our frig kicked the bucket and it sucks! It not even 6 years old and we paid $1800 for it. It's an LG. I've been on the phone all day trying to get someone to look at it. Everyone's too busy.....most places don't even answer the phone, and come to find out, most of them won't touch an LG or Samsung frig. I hated our LG washer too. So, no more LG appliances for us! I left messages at repair shops, so I'm hoping someone calls me tomorrow.
I spent some time on YT to find out troubleshooting tips and found some really good videos. In fact, at one point we thought we had it fixed b/c it passed the tests. The compressor is working (although not sure if it's operational), the fan works, the blowers work.......so we're not sure what the problem is. I spent a couple of hours cleaning the back, under, and inside of the frig. It was a mess all around. I blew out all the dust from the underside and coils and then had to clean the whole kitchen. The inside now looks good as new, so I'm gonna be PO'd if I can't get it fixed.
When I finally got one repairman to call me back he told me there was a lawsuit going on at LG about issues with their frig's. They know there is an issue. I asked LG about it and they said my model wasn't part of that. So they gave me a list of places to call and try to get service. There's nothing on that list that is closer than 35 miles away. A few of them are places that don't work on appliances. I told the 'thickly asian accented' rep that and she said that they do. I laughed and told her I know the guy that owns one of the places (only 5 miles away) that was listed and I know they don't work on appliances, only heaters and air conditioners. She didn't have an answer for that.
And THAT is why I never buy an extended warranty.....they are a b!tch to deal with. Once I can get someone to call me back and will be willing to work on it, I have to send their information back to LG for them to pay for it, and even then they will only pay for the parts, not the labor or mileage. LG also wants to know what parts will be needed. LOL! How the heck are they supposed to know that before they even come out to see what the problem is?
I'm stuck trying to get this thing fixed b/c I need a white frig and nobody has a white frig with a bottom freezer and water dispenser in stock. I called the small mom and pop stores and nothing. I started calling HD, but got hung up on during transfer and it was late.....by that time, I was honestly just done with it. So, a full day wasted.....along with some wasted food......and nothing accomplished. At least it's cold enough outside to act as a freezer for a while.
I can't imagine an appliance that is more of a PIA to replace! So, all of you out there that have working frig's, consider yourself lucky! I won't take mine for granted again. I have a small office frig that we are cramming things into for now, and probably for weeks. I have a feeling this whole process is going to be a real nightmare. All the frigs I find online are backordered, so it may take months to get a new one that will meet our needs if I can't get this one fixed.
I probably should've posted this in the rant thead, but if anyone has any recommendations, I'd love to hear it. Also I wanted to warn my forum friends about the LG refrigerators. Steer clear!
I spent some time on YT to find out troubleshooting tips and found some really good videos. In fact, at one point we thought we had it fixed b/c it passed the tests. The compressor is working (although not sure if it's operational), the fan works, the blowers work.......so we're not sure what the problem is. I spent a couple of hours cleaning the back, under, and inside of the frig. It was a mess all around. I blew out all the dust from the underside and coils and then had to clean the whole kitchen. The inside now looks good as new, so I'm gonna be PO'd if I can't get it fixed.
When I finally got one repairman to call me back he told me there was a lawsuit going on at LG about issues with their frig's. They know there is an issue. I asked LG about it and they said my model wasn't part of that. So they gave me a list of places to call and try to get service. There's nothing on that list that is closer than 35 miles away. A few of them are places that don't work on appliances. I told the 'thickly asian accented' rep that and she said that they do. I laughed and told her I know the guy that owns one of the places (only 5 miles away) that was listed and I know they don't work on appliances, only heaters and air conditioners. She didn't have an answer for that.
And THAT is why I never buy an extended warranty.....they are a b!tch to deal with. Once I can get someone to call me back and will be willing to work on it, I have to send their information back to LG for them to pay for it, and even then they will only pay for the parts, not the labor or mileage. LG also wants to know what parts will be needed. LOL! How the heck are they supposed to know that before they even come out to see what the problem is?
I'm stuck trying to get this thing fixed b/c I need a white frig and nobody has a white frig with a bottom freezer and water dispenser in stock. I called the small mom and pop stores and nothing. I started calling HD, but got hung up on during transfer and it was late.....by that time, I was honestly just done with it. So, a full day wasted.....along with some wasted food......and nothing accomplished. At least it's cold enough outside to act as a freezer for a while.
I can't imagine an appliance that is more of a PIA to replace! So, all of you out there that have working frig's, consider yourself lucky! I won't take mine for granted again. I have a small office frig that we are cramming things into for now, and probably for weeks. I have a feeling this whole process is going to be a real nightmare. All the frigs I find online are backordered, so it may take months to get a new one that will meet our needs if I can't get this one fixed.
I probably should've posted this in the rant thead, but if anyone has any recommendations, I'd love to hear it. Also I wanted to warn my forum friends about the LG refrigerators. Steer clear!
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Well, at least you can put your stuff on the back porch to keep it cold until you get this figured out.
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For sure. I finally squished everything from the freezer to the other freezers and threw out some stuff and put the good stuff in the mini frig that is now serving as 'the' frig. It's just a huge PIA. No grocery shopping for me anytime soon.
I've talked to a few repairmen now and it seems that fixing this frig is a crap shoot, so now I'm looking for a replacement. That is my job for tomorrow. Ug! I had to work today so I've spent a day and a half on this and have yet to get anywhere with it, except to come to the conclusion that it is beyond fixable b/c I don't want to go thru all of this again in a few weeks if the fix doesn't work and then also be out all that money too. Oh, and NOBODY has anything at all good to say about LG (or samsung) refrigerators. I found a GE that I like that is very similar to the one I have now, but it's $2,300 and will probably not ship for 2-3 weeks
I've got many calls to make tomorrow. Yeah! It looks like all my cleaning was for nothing. Grrrrr!!! I might put it on CL and see if anyone wants it for parts. It's in really good shape, just won't work.
As a side note, I found the website where LG had a lawsuit on their compressors. It's a huge problem on all of their fridges and they know it. My model wasn't included in the suit. I might contact the lawfirm who filed the class action and ask why all the units with the linear compressors weren't included, since all their models have the same uber crappy compressors!
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After the post above we went and looked at new refrigerators and none of them were impressive. They are made of cheap plastic and the drawers don't slide like they should. I also didn't like the set ups on the frigs. The GE that looked similar to the one I have was cheaply made with the same crappy light plastic and sticky drawers.
So, we decided to give a repairman a shot at it. He said since it's a single compressor, he's had a 90% success rate in fixing the frig for good. At the beginning of December, we thought OK, well this will probably be a better route to take as far as a timeline goes in getting a working frig. Well.....here we are today. After numerous phone calls to LG, they still haven't given my repairman the code he needs to order the parts. They have excuse after excuse after excuse. The parts cost about $1,000 and are covered by warranty.....which I'm sure is why they are being so difficult to deal with. All the reps I have spoken with completely mess up everything! It isn't done by accident. There's no way ALL of the people I have spoken with could all make these errors.....wrong email, wrong name, wrong address, missing case number, etc. They are trying to get me to give up. Yeah, well they messed with the wrong person! Even if I got a big new frig, I'd still hold their feet to the fire just out of spite now.
In the meantime we purchased a small 10cu frig to get by with. I'm so tired of it. I can't make large quantities of food like I used to so that I didn't have to cook everyday. I also now have 2 frig's in my kitchen, which is a huge PIA!
If anyone has to deal with LG, let me know. I have lots of tips and tricks that I could give you. Although, it will still be a huge disaster.....which is clearly on purpose on their part. I will be contacting the firm that launched the first class action suit on them and giving them my information on this whole fiasco. I don't know if it will do any good or not, but at this point I am pizzed and want to be as big of a thorn in their side as they have been in mine.
So, we decided to give a repairman a shot at it. He said since it's a single compressor, he's had a 90% success rate in fixing the frig for good. At the beginning of December, we thought OK, well this will probably be a better route to take as far as a timeline goes in getting a working frig. Well.....here we are today. After numerous phone calls to LG, they still haven't given my repairman the code he needs to order the parts. They have excuse after excuse after excuse. The parts cost about $1,000 and are covered by warranty.....which I'm sure is why they are being so difficult to deal with. All the reps I have spoken with completely mess up everything! It isn't done by accident. There's no way ALL of the people I have spoken with could all make these errors.....wrong email, wrong name, wrong address, missing case number, etc. They are trying to get me to give up. Yeah, well they messed with the wrong person! Even if I got a big new frig, I'd still hold their feet to the fire just out of spite now.
In the meantime we purchased a small 10cu frig to get by with. I'm so tired of it. I can't make large quantities of food like I used to so that I didn't have to cook everyday. I also now have 2 frig's in my kitchen, which is a huge PIA!
If anyone has to deal with LG, let me know. I have lots of tips and tricks that I could give you. Although, it will still be a huge disaster.....which is clearly on purpose on their part. I will be contacting the firm that launched the first class action suit on them and giving them my information on this whole fiasco. I don't know if it will do any good or not, but at this point I am pizzed and want to be as big of a thorn in their side as they have been in mine.
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We bought 2 relatively small Magic Chef China fridges for about $300 each. Together they are plenty large and didn't cost much. We got them before Covid on sale at HD
Even cheaper: we got a ton of 7 cu ft chest freezers which we have a temp regulator attached to turn it into a fridge. Works fine, you just need to clean out the moisture once a week or so
Even cheaper: we got a ton of 7 cu ft chest freezers which we have a temp regulator attached to turn it into a fridge. Works fine, you just need to clean out the moisture once a week or so
Hrmm... When was the last time ya Cleaned the Coils / compressor-bell?
And, is there a small Fan 'blowing on' the Compressor on yer model? We had a ~15 yo one, and the fan that blew On the compressor, itself, had worn-thru (blade-core / mounting collar) and thus, no fan = overheating compressor = low output in Fridge (warm)...Could also check the: GE PFE28RSHHSS Refrigerator Compressor Overload & Start Relay
Just a couple initial thoughts..
jd
The coils could all be frozen up. Wife left the freezer drawer open slightly, coils all froze into a chunk of ice, ran and ran but would not cool the top. Had to take things apart to get to the ice and thaw with a heat gun. Turned back on and all was good.
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I have heard more than once to stay away from LG products. When I purchased my fridge and washer and dryer, I made sure to stay away from them.I feel your pain Sourdough. Our frig kicked the bucket and it sucks! It not even 6 years old and we paid $1800 for it. It's an LG. I've been on the phone all day trying to get someone to look at it. Everyone's too busy.....most places don't even answer the phone, and come to find out, most of them won't touch an LG or Samsung frig. I hated our LG washer too. So, no more LG appliances for us! I left messages at repair shops, so I'm hoping someone calls me tomorrow.
I spent some time on YT to find out troubleshooting tips and found some really good videos. In fact, at one point we thought we had it fixed b/c it passed the tests. The compressor is working (although not sure if it's operational), the fan works, the blowers work.......so we're not sure what the problem is. I spent a couple of hours cleaning the back, under, and inside of the frig. It was a mess all around. I blew out all the dust from the underside and coils and then had to clean the whole kitchen. The inside now looks good as new, so I'm gonna be PO'd if I can't get it fixed.
When I finally got one repairman to call me back he told me there was a lawsuit going on at LG about issues with their frig's. They know there is an issue. I asked LG about it and they said my model wasn't part of that. So they gave me a list of places to call and try to get service. There's nothing on that list that is closer than 35 miles away. A few of them are places that don't work on appliances. I told the 'thickly asian accented' rep that and she said that they do. I laughed and told her I know the guy that owns one of the places (only 5 miles away) that was listed and I know they don't work on appliances, only heaters and air conditioners. She didn't have an answer for that.
And THAT is why I never buy an extended warranty.....they are a b!tch to deal with. Once I can get someone to call me back and will be willing to work on it, I have to send their information back to LG for them to pay for it, and even then they will only pay for the parts, not the labor or mileage. LG also wants to know what parts will be needed. LOL! How the heck are they supposed to know that before they even come out to see what the problem is?
I'm stuck trying to get this thing fixed b/c I need a white frig and nobody has a white frig with a bottom freezer and water dispenser in stock. I called the small mom and pop stores and nothing. I started calling HD, but got hung up on during transfer and it was late.....by that time, I was honestly just done with it. So, a full day wasted.....along with some wasted food......and nothing accomplished. At least it's cold enough outside to act as a freezer for a while.
I can't imagine an appliance that is more of a PIA to replace! So, all of you out there that have working frig's, consider yourself lucky! I won't take mine for granted again. I have a small office frig that we are cramming things into for now, and probably for weeks. I have a feeling this whole process is going to be a real nightmare. All the frigs I find online are backordered, so it may take months to get a new one that will meet our needs if I can't get this one fixed.
I probably should've posted this in the rant thead, but if anyone has any recommendations, I'd love to hear it. Also I wanted to warn my forum friends about the LG refrigerators. Steer clear!
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If only I knew that 6 years ago. My repairman said that LG has a HUGE compressor issue and they are well aware of it. I just wish I was well aware of it before I bought it.
He said if they ever get this compressor issue figured out, they'll have a good quality product. Too bad though b/c I will never buy another LG product again in my life.
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My washer quit 2 weeks ago. I unplugged multiple times. No dice. Unplugged and went to work half day. Plugged back in and working
Check the Breaker it's fed-from.
Had that happen once (sussed it out by running an extension to a different Outlet / breaker, and bada-bing, turned out if was just the breaker on it's last-breath (Proved-out by 'swapping' an equiv. Amp-rated breaker, temporarily.. All good in a jif, Washer was Fine..)Could also be the Outlet (check wire-connection 'tightness') and/or, well... Could just be the Washer on the fritz.
Most-likely fixable, if-so.. Often it'll be something 'simple', like a relay or xfrmr or voltage regulator (something in the control-electronics) that's easy to suss / replace, but....I always approach from the 'simplest to most-complex possibilities' (ie: Electrical-feed / connections / control-electronics / mechanical-fail, etc..)
Fwiw..
jd
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When was the last time you cleaned the condenser coils on your refrigerator/freezer?
My fridge went out once. I vacuumed the blanket of lint off the condenser and it fired right up.
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The frig we have is all enclosed in the back. We still took off the shielding and vacuumed and then blew out the rest that wasn't vacuumable. Ha, made a new word! Anyways, it made a bit of a mess in the kitchen, but it is cleaned out on the inside.
Now I'm waiting on the repairman to call me back to see if he was able to get LG to send him parts. If it's not LG, then it's the repairman. This is getting old! I know he's busy, as are ALL service people these days, but dang.... I don't really want to constantly call him b/c I don't want to risk pizzing him off too. I'm walking a tightrope here and I really don't like it.
Now I'm waiting on the repairman to call me back to see if he was able to get LG to send him parts. If it's not LG, then it's the repairman. This is getting old! I know he's busy, as are ALL service people these days, but dang.... I don't really want to constantly call him b/c I don't want to risk pizzing him off too. I'm walking a tightrope here and I really don't like it.
