stupid fridge :[

[Cybrvanr]

Supposedly frost free fridge needs defrosting about every 4 months...ARRGH! I had some friends over last weekend, and one of them noticed about an inch of ice on the back of the freezer compartment. come to think about it, the fridge has been running a lot over the past several weeks! I disassembled the panels on the freezer, which were so frozen the ice was sticking to it. Behind the panel, the evaporator core looked like this...Merry Christmas! I've got 3 inches of snow in my fridge...enough to make a small snowman!

I've replaced the defrost timer that looked a little iffy, checked the defrost coil to see if it hasn't opened up, checked all the wiring, but can't figure out why this thing keeps doing this. I even did the dollar bill test on the gasket, and it seems to be holding solid. hmmm....

Well, I attacked it with a hair dryer and melted the ice and snow. Much of it, I was able to scoop out and throw in the sink. The drain was clogged with ice for a while, but when I was able to get it cleared, some of the water that went down it overflowed the drip tray down below, and I got this nasty brown water that ran all over the floor.

Okay, I figure this is a good time to just clean EVERYTHING. So, I mixed up some bleach and simple green and cleaned it all up spic-n-span for the holiday season before I re-stocked it with holiday goodies.

Any of you guys got suggestions as to why I hafta keep defrosting this $%^&#%@^!!!! fridge!

 

[DADoES]

You've done the timer and checked the element. Next is the defrost thermostat.

Have you manually triggered the timer to defrost and checked if there's current to the element?

 

[coldspot66]

Cut out the defrost thermo that is usually clipped to a coil of the evaporator, wire nut the pink and brown (I think)wires. Make sure you unplug the refrig b4 you do any cutting. Manually advance timer into defrost and see if the heater starts to warm up, then hot. If so, you will start to hear sizzling as the frost melts. The defrost thermo is usually the first component in the circuit to fail. Let me know, and hope this helps!

 

[exploder321]

What brand?

Every Whirlpool/Kenmore (106.) Fridge i've had/been in my family/with friends has done this at least once...

Thats what it looks like..

Has always been the defrost thermo or timer, and twice it was both..

 

[pturo]

This looks like a Frigidaire to me. The drain being clogged could well have been the problem. I took the tube out of mine that is in the gargage and it was clogged with frozen peas that spilled and then became frozen in ice and prevented the defrost cycle water from exiting to the pan and being evaporated from the heat of the compressor.

 

[super32]

terminator/thermostat

Seems to me this was one of those models that had the thermostat that would "pop" apart. Amana was well known for this. Sometimes they would not "pop" all the way and would intermittenlly make contact causing the kind of problem you are having. If the top of the t-stat is red where the wires go into it,these were the ones I would see the most. Still its an easy and inexpensive fix. I believe GE's WR50x60 or WR50x50 will also work and is/was about half the price of the FSP. Double check the ratings on the side of the t-stat or if in doubt post back what is writen on the side and we will see if we cant cross reference.

Scott

 

[Cybrvanr]

I'm gonna check that defrost thermostat. That's the ONLY part I didn't check! It's an early 80's whirlpool, so if it's like you all say, I'm bettin that's what's going on here. I'm gonna dive into it again tomorrow and see what I come up with! Thanks for the help

 

[goatfarmer]

If you're VERY CAREFUL,you can put a straight pin through the wires to the limiter,and see if it goes into defrost. Make sure it's unplugged first,and no part of the pin touches metal.

However,if it's not going into defrost,it would take less than 4 months to ice up like that. Is the evaporator fan turning OK,not noisy or anything? Possibly an air flow problem? Usually a Whirlpool defrost element burns through,and it would be obvious.
kennyGF