[JRTJH]

No, it's related more to the limited amount of cooling capacity. The freezer is the first to get the "cold" and it uses what it needs and the rest flows down to the refrigerator. If there's excess, the refrigerator gets cold, if the freezer uses it all, there's nothing to flow down.

Let's say the absorption cooling system can produce 3000 BTU of cooling (heat absorption). Those BTU's flow to the freezer plate where heat is absorbed. The remaining BTU's flow on down to the refrigerator fins.

So, lets say, because of the lack of convection cooling behind the refrigerator (hot air being pushed down by the wind) your refrigerator absorption system could only produce 1000 BTU's of cooling capacity (2000 less than normal). That flowed to the freezer plates and immediately absorbed 800 BTU's of "warmth" in the freezer compartment. That only left 200 BTU's to flow to the refrigerator fins (normally there would be 2200 (3000 total capacity). That 200 BTU's of cooling capacity can't keep up with the heat generated in the refrigerator, so the temp rises in that compartment while the freezer (that got first dibs on cooling) stayed cold.

So, under "normal operation" your absorption system could produce 3000 BTU's and "loaf along" cycling on and off as needed to absorb the heat, but with the reduced convection chimney efficiency, the absorption system could only produce 1/3 of the total capacity (1000 BTU) and it kept working itself "full time" to produce that, trying to keep up, but couldn't because the "back side of the refrigerator" couldn't get rid of the absorbed heat fast enough to maintain "normal operation".....

Think of it like a leak in the bottom of a bucket. If you have a 5 gallon bucket and it is full (cold refrigerator/freezer), if you drill a hole in the bottom that leaks 1 gallon a minute (refrigerator absorption system with normal airflow in the back), as long as you can refill the bucket at 1 gallon per minute, the entire bucket stays full. Now, drill a bigger hole in the bucket and drain 2 gallons per minute (impaired airflow behind the refrigerator) and keep the same "refill rate of 1 gallon per minute) and the bucket will start emptying. The input can't match the output. Now, imagine the bottom of your bucket as the freezer and the top of the bucket as your refrigerator, which will "empty first"? The bottom of the bucket (freezer) will be the last to empty. The top of the bucket (refrigerator section) is the first to empty. This is a very crude explanation, but maybe it'll make sense when you think about it..... I hope it helps ...