---
title: "Kenmore refrigerator showing r dH"
description: "What r dH means on Kenmore refrigerators, what to check before booking, and when it is not a failure at all."
url: "https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/kenmore-r-dh/"
---

# Kenmore refrigerator showing r dH

r dH is the fresh food side's version of the defrost check: the sensor on that section's coil stayed at or below 40°F through the defrost.

## What r dH actually means.

r dH is the fresh food side's version of the defrost check: the sensor on that section's coil stayed at or below 40°F through the defrost. Frost that should have melted is still on the coil, and it cuts the air reaching the fresh food shelves as it grows. Sears names the same three suspects as for the freezer: fuse, heater and control board.

Kenmore refrigerator display

What to do when r dH shows on the refrigerator

### Kind of code Defrost

The defrost cycle did not finish in the time the board allows. A heater, its thermostat or the sensor that ends the cycle.

### Usually leads to Defrost system repair

The failure behind most slow, gradual losses of cooling — and behind most visible frost.

### Shows up as Fresh Food Section Warm, Freezer Cold

The single most diagnostic pattern on a refrigerator, and almost never the compressor.

### Make Kenmore

A retail badge on appliances built by several different manufacturers.

### Source Sears PartsDirect: Kenmore 795 bottom-freezer error codes (Wayback copy, Jan 2021)

Kenmore and Kenmore Elite models whose number starts 795 (built by LG), bottom-freezer and French door; r dH sits next to F dH on the Sears chart.

## Before you book, in this order.

Each step comes from Kenmore's own guidance for r dH on its refrigerators. Follow it to the end: the last card says whether this is a visit.

01

Check the model number; r dH decodes this way on Kenmore refrigerators numbered 795.

02

Keep a thermometer on a middle shelf of the fresh food section and note the reading each morning.

03

Book a visit and say the code starts with r, so the fresh food defrost circuit is checked first.

### Still there?

It usually turns into [defrost system repair](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/services/defrost-system-repair/). Book with the code and the model number.

### What not to do

r dH does not point at the freezer's heater. The lowercase r places the failed defrost on the fresh food side.

## What you may notice with it.

The refrigerator problems r dH tends to arrive with. Answer these at the refrigerator before anyone is booked.

[All problems](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/problems/)

Before you call

### [Fresh Food Section Warm, Freezer Cold](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/problems/fresh-food-warm-freezer-cold/)

[All 5 causes, cheapest first](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/problems/fresh-food-warm-freezer-cold/)

It also comes with

- [**Frost Building Up in the Refrigerator**](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/problems/frost-buildup/)

Food safety applies

### Fresh Food Section Warm, Freezer Cold

5 causes, cheapest first

Where r dH usually leads

## Defrost system repair.

**Defrost heater, thermostat or sensor · low.**

Book a visit [What the job involves](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/services/defrost-system-repair/)

## Read these before the visit.

Short guides that make the call quicker and the diagnosis cheaper.

[All guides](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/guides/)

How not to need us

### Keeping the defrost drain clear before it floods

Why it is doing that

### Why refrigerators stop cooling, in order of likelihood

Error codes

### All 247 codes, by make

## Kenmore refrigerators.

A retail badge on appliances built by several different manufacturers.

[Kenmore refrigerator repair](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/brands/kenmore/)

More Kenmore codes

[COOLING OFF](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/kenmore-cooling-off/) [Er FF](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/kenmore-er-ff/) [F dH](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/kenmore-dh/) [Door Ajar](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/kenmore-frigidaire-door-ajar/) [Sb](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/kenmore-frigidaire-sb-sb/) [Er FS](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/kenmore-er-fs/) [Er rS](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/kenmore-er-rs/) [F dS](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/kenmore-f-ds/) [r dS](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/kenmore-r-ds/) [Er HS](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/kenmore-er-hs/) [Er IS](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/kenmore-er-is/) [Er SS](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/kenmore-er-ss/)

[All 51 Kenmore codes](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/#codes-kenmore)

Defrost on other makes

[LG dH](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/lg-dh/) [GE dE](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/ge-de/) [Sub-Zero 20 2 00](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/sub-zero-20-2-00/) [Café dE](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/cafe-de/) [Monogram dE](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/monogram-de/) [GE Profile dE](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/ge-profile-de/)

Kenmore builds this

### French door refrigerator

Two fresh-food doors over a freezer drawer — the most common premium layout, and the one with the most to go wrong at the door line.

Kenmore builds this

### Side-by-side refrigerator

Full-height freezer beside full-height fresh food, with the ice maker and dispenser built into the freezer door.

## In Kenmore's own words

> r dH Sensor did not get over 40 F

[Sears PartsDirect: Kenmore 795 bottom-freezer error codes (Wayback copy, Jan 2021)](https://web.archive.org/web/20210125062551/https://www.searspartsdirect.com/diy/error-codes/refrigerator-repair/1234589/kenmore-795-model-bottom-freezer-refrigerator/0582) [Kenmore Elite 795.7756x service manual, LG Electronics circuit diagram (archive.org copy)](https://archive.org/details/Kenmore_795.775626_Refrigerator_User_Manual)

Every code on this site is taken from the manufacturer's documentation, never from a forum or a parts listing. Kenmore and Kenmore Elite models whose number starts 795 (built by LG), bottom-freezer and French door; r dH sits next to F dH on the Sears chart.

## Kenmore r dH refrigerator repair, where we come out.

The same visit in every metro below: the code, the model number, and a diagnosis before any part is ordered.

[All service areas](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/)

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For the heart of your home.

## Questions about r dH.

### Can I clear r dH myself?

Check the model number; r dH decodes this way on Kenmore refrigerators numbered 795. If it comes back, it needs a visit.

### Why is my Kenmore fresh food side getting warmer with r dH?

Frost that the defrost should have melted is still on the fresh food coil, and it chokes the cold air reaching the shelves as it grows. The sensor on that coil never rose above 40°F during the defrost.

### Which parts does Sears suspect for r dH on a Kenmore?

The same three as for the freezer version: the defrost fuse, the heater and the control board. Saying the code starts with r steers the check to the fresh food defrost circuit.

---

**[Read on the site: Kenmore refrigerator showing r dH](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/kenmore-r-dh/)**

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