88 degress outside and frost is building up!

[Unimatic1140]

The defrost timer has stopped working on our turquoise 1964 Frigidaire refrigerator. The timer motor must have stopped working because when I manually turn the dial on the defrost timer the freezer does go into the defrost cycle. Question for you guys who work with refrigerators: I assume there are generic defrost timers, are they generally all the same or are there many different styles? I might just be able to replace the timer motor, but I have yet to pull out the unit to determine what kind of timer motor it uses.

 

[coldspot66]

I think the defrost timer is on the front left corner, behind the kickplate..... IIRC it's not your typical 4 wire defrost timer. Part # will help.....I MIGHT have one.

 

[Unimatic1140]

Thanks John, yes it is on the lower left hand side and surprisingly there is no Frigidaire Part number stamped on the timer, but it looks like the original outsourced part...

I've also confirmed that the timer motor has indeed stopped turning.

 

[toggleswitch2]

What were the clues that it had stopped auto-defrosting?

In my aunt's 70's White-Westinghouse the whole bottom of the freezer expanded to hell and distorted from from frost build-up.

 

[Unimatic1140]

"the clues"

The freezer floor started frost up, just like a non-defrosting freezer would.

 

[hooverwheelaway]

The other clue...

Was the Dr Pepper and Orange Crush popsicles that I bought like 2 weeks ago aren't frozen...

Hmmph.

 

[sudsmaster]

I had an 80's GE top freezer. The defrost timer motor was still turning, but one of the terminals kept of separating internally. The result was that the freezer would go into defrost mode and stay there. The symptom was WARM FOOD, lol. It was the patio fridge and I was able to solder the terminal back to its internal connection, and that actually fixed it... at least it did the second time I repaired it. But shortly thereafter I replaced it with a new KA top freezer, which mechanically works very well except that Whirlpool screwed up on the insulation and it's shunk and caved in the nice curved panel stainless door exterior panels, and also you can see the warping on the rest of the cabinet exterior.

Might spruce up a '40's GE fridge (needs new door gasket and exterior paint job) and replace the new KA with that. The '40's GE appears to use actually a little less energy than the Energy Star KA!

 

[rp2813]

So won't that motor rotate off of its base and change out fairly simply, or is the fix more complicated than that?

I've got a '70-ish Whirlpool with a noisy timer. I guess it has a right to complain after about 40 years with only a short rest in the used appliance store before I grabbed it. It was the cheapest fridge they had and the oldest, and it had the perfect dimensions for my space.

However complicated your fix is Robert, I know you'll have it resolved in . . . er . . . no time.

Ralph

Ralph

 

[rp2813]

That was my best dog imitation

 

[sudsmaster]

Woof

 

[goatfarmer]

I probably have a used one you can have, if you can't find a new one. Let me know.

kennyGF

 

[gansky1]

Well, did you get it fixed?
Did you fix the air damper too?
Did you clean the ovens?

 

[Unimatic1140]

Well, did you get it fixed?
No, but manually putting the fridge into the defrost cycle helped alot. I'll check with Larry on Monday to see if he has this defrost timer. The timer motor on this unit runs much slower than a washer timer motor so it might be hard to replace just the timer motor.

Did you fix the air damper too?
No and I don't like my air damp, it gives me that jew-fro look.

Did you clean the ovens?
Uh huh, biotch hmmmmph.

 

[sudsmaster]

The air damper controls cold air flow from the top freezer to the fresh food compartment below, if I recall correctly.

Let's all hope Robert is not reduced to a life of having to twill manually the defrost timer on a daily basis.

On the other hand, he could make it simpler by adding a toggle switch for the defrost cycle.

Then he could toggle his fridge till the cows come home.

 

[toggleswitch2]

*COUGH*

I beg your pardon?

LOL

 

[sudsmaster]

Cows, you know, Minnesota being the dairy capital of the world or something like that.

 

[retro-man]

I did replace the time defroster unit a few years ago on a Frigidare approx the same age as yours. It was an available part thru the local dealer. I am sure it must be available online. Just unplug the old one and plug the new one in. Took 5 minutes. Fridge is still running good to this day. Don't remember the dollar amount though.
Jon

 

[bwoods]

seized bearing

Robert,

I had GE timer motor that had a bearing seize up. A soaking in penetrating oil solved the problem.

If your shaft rotates, then you might check for electrical continuity in the motor windings.

Barry

 

[mixfinder]

Iced up and Thawed

Our Frigidaire was a year older than yours. It had a broken wire in the area under the aluminum freezer floor. Until it was repaired, I used a lamp timer and set it to defrost 30 minutes every 2 hours. Not perfect, but we got by.

 

[polkanut]

Welcome back Kelly!!! How are you doing since we last heard from you? You are more than welcome to email me privately if you wish.

 

[goatfarmer]

Did you ever find a timer?

 

[Unimatic1140]

When I took out the timer to inspect it, I removed the cover from the timer motor, energized it and spun the flywheel of the motor. While it took a bit to get it going again, it finally did start to spin. I figured it would just last a few minutes and die again. So I reinstalled it back in and sure enough its been working just fine. I will look around for a new one just to have it on hand as that fix can't last for ever.

 

[sudsmaster]

A little light lube probably wouldn't hurt.

I'd try some Tri-Flo on it.

 

[goatfarmer]

I have a used one I found. I'll have to look if the wiring hookup is the same, I think it is. It's yours if you want it, let me know.

kennyGF

 

[Unimatic1140]

Thanks Kenny! Sure if it is the same config I can always use a back up, let me know.

 

[goatfarmer]

Here's the one I have, looks to be the same. It's yours, if you want it. Send me a mailing address.

kennyGF