[wcmadison]

Hello:

I have a top freezer. Recently, I noticed water dripping from the air tower onto the top shelf of my refrigerator. After close inspection, I noticed there was a lot of ice built up around air tower in the freezer. I let the ice thaw and then removed the evaporator cover. I then saw that the entire bottom of the drain pan was all iced up. The ice was blocking the hole at the bottom of the drain pan (that allows water to be drained into the tray-evap). When all that ice melted, I heard water draining into the tray-evap at the bottom of the refrigerator. I also poured water down the drain pipe and it went straight down. So I know the drain pipe isn't plugged or clogged.

My refrigerator works fine and the freezer is cold. It just seems like the defrost mechanism in the freezer, or something that thaws ice, isn't working.

Any suggestions as to what I should try to replace would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you.

[denman]

Sounds like something is slowing the water draining from the freezer.

Check that the drain tube is clear of dust/debris at the drip tray end.
Make suer nothing is impeding the flow of water out of the freezer section.

Use a turkey baster and a 10% bleach solution.
Pour in some solution let it sit for half an hour or so and the do it again.
Then flush the tubing.
Stuff will grow in the drain tube and slow the drainig.
You are trying to kill it and flush it out.
Be careful not to overflow your drip tray.

If all else fails try a jiggery pokery that I have seen suggested by others.
Take a 12 or 14 gauge piece of solid bare copper wire.
Wrap it once or twice around the defrost heating element.
And then down the defrost drain about an inch.

Now on each defrost cycle it will also melt the ice in the drain.

[wcmadison]

Thanks for the response. I know the drain tube isn’t plugged or clogged because when I had thawed out the freezer, I poured water down the drain tube and it went straight down into the drip pan.

What defrosts ice into water in the first place? I’m wondering if that defrosting mechanism is broken. Is there some way for me to tell?

[denman]

Here is the parts breakdown
Replacement parts for WHIRLPOOL ET8FTKXKQ04 Refrigerator | AppliancePartsPros.com

Here is a wiring diagram
http://www.servicematters.com/docs/w...%202225759.pdf

What defrosts ice into water in the first place?
There is a calrod heater Item 4 in Section 4

It sounds like it is working as it's main purpose is to remove the ice/frost from your evaporator coils and it is doing that.
It is controlled by a timer Item 4 in Section 3 so that the heater comes on for 25 minutes or so every 8 hours. Usually the heater work or do not.

The strange thing is that the wiring diagram shows a bi-metal (small thermostat) but I cannot see one in the parts. This device is clipped to the evaporator coils and turns the heater off if all the ice/frost melts off the evaporator coils before the 25 minute defrost cycle is finished. It prevents the heater from melting items in the freezer.

Could be the contacts in the timer are dirty/pitted and the heater is not getting the full 120 volts so is melting too slowly.
Could be that the bi-metal is opening too soon. If there is one and it is bulged out it needs replacing.

Both of these are just guesses.