Rank: Member
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Joined: 7/15/2009(UTC)
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Hello,
After many years of faithful service my basement (Beer) refrigerator has developed a problem. (freezer on top)
It seems that the refrigerator will slowly get warm (50+ degrees) along with ice/frost developing on the freezer's bottom shelf.
If I manually defrost the unit by unplugging it and leaving the doors open the problem only reoccurs again after 7 to 10 days.
I have done a little internet research which all points to the defrost timer, defrost heater or defrost thermostat.
I spoke to Ethan from the parts department here (great guy) who suggested that I should come here first for some solid trouble shooting advice and tips first.
So can anybody here point me in the right direction as to what is the most common cause in fixing this old friend.
Thanks in advance,
Robert
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Rank: Advanced Member
Groups: Senior Expert
Joined: 9/7/2008(UTC)
Posts: 750
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Well Robert, You came to the right place!!! 1st step, find the defrost timer,turn it slowly clockwise till it makes a "CLICK" step2 listen carefully in the freezer, after 2min. you should hear it defrosting, if you DO, change the TIMER, If not, you need to find the wiring to the defrost therm and the heater. you will need a volt-ohm meter. with the unit unplugged, you need to check the heater. it should have resistance thru it!!!! if it is "open" change the heater!!!! If its OK, check the defrost therm. you should have continutity thru it when COLD, say below 40 degrees. 1 of these will repair your problem!!!! Good Luck!!!:)
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Rank: Member
Groups: Registered
Joined: 7/15/2009(UTC)
Posts: 5
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Originally Posted by: Drags1998  Well Robert, You came to the right place!!! 1st step, find the defrost timer,turn it slowly clockwise till it makes a "CLICK" step2 listen carefully in the freezer, after 2min. you should hear it defrosting, if you DO, change the TIMER, If not, you need to find the wiring to the defrost therm and the heater. you will need a volt-ohm meter. with the unit unplugged, you need to check the heater. it should have resistance thru it!!!! if it is "open" change the heater!!!! If its OK, check the defrost therm. you should have continutity thru it when COLD, say below 40 degrees. 1 of these will repair your problem!!!! Good Luck!!!:) Originally Posted by: Drags1998 Well Robert, You came to the right place!!! 1st step, find the defrost timer,turn it slowly clockwise till it makes a "CLICK" step2 listen carefully in the freezer, after 2min. you should hear it defrosting,
Hi Drags, Thanks for the quick response....:) Just to be clear, am I to wait till the fridge freezes up again and try this approach you have outlined above with the defrost timer or can I do it anytime? Robert
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Rank: Advanced Member
Groups: Senior Expert
Joined: 9/7/2008(UTC)
Posts: 750
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You don't have to wait till it stops working again, But let it run for a day or two!!!! The only part that is temp. sensitive is the defrost therm. When you click it into defrost, the Heat should come on!!! What I do is, click it into defrost and start taking the freezer section apart, (you have to take it apart anyway).If the heat dosen't come on. locate the thermostat (2 wires) Unplug the unit and cut both wires to the therm, put your meter across the therm and you should have continuity thru the therm. If you have continuity thru the therm, you have a bad HEATER, If you DON'T have continuity thru the therm, connect the 2 wires together (eliminating the therm) and the heat should come on!!!:)
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Rank: Member
Groups: Registered
Joined: 7/15/2009(UTC)
Posts: 5
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Originally Posted by: Drags1998 You don't have to wait till it stops working again, But let it run for a day or two!!!! The only part that is temp. sensitive is the defrost therm. When you click it into defrost, the Heat should come on!!! What I do is, click it into defrost and start taking the freezer section apart, (you have to take it apart anyway).If the heat dosen't come on. locate the thermostat (2 wires) Unplug the unit and cut both wires to the therm, put your meter across the therm and you should have continuity thru the therm. If you have continuity thru the therm, you have a bad HEATER, If you DON'T have continuity thru the therm, connect the 2 wires together (eliminating the therm) and the heat should come on!!!:) Hi Drags, Before I try this is there any tip on how to safely remove the freezer tray between the ice box and fridge? I was able to take the outer center section cover off where the exterior moisture element attaches, but the freezer tray seems to be a little bit more tricky with all that Styrofoam in between. Robert
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Rank: Advanced Member
Groups: Senior Expert
Joined: 9/7/2008(UTC)
Posts: 750
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On MOST of those, you take a small flat screwdriver and after removing the part you talked about, on the front corners of the tray, you can work the corners out from behind the cabinet, after this, work 1 hand between the plastic tray and the foam divider. Now BOW-UP the middle and slide it towards you.(sometimes a little tough) The foam stays put,DON'T try to remove it!!!! Thats MY only trick!!!! Don't let it get to frozen up, It gets more difficult if you do!!!!:)
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Rank: Member
Groups: Registered
Joined: 7/15/2009(UTC)
Posts: 5
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Originally Posted by: Drags1998 Well Robert, You came to the right place!!! 1st step, find the defrost timer,turn it slowly clockwise till it makes a "CLICK" step2 listen carefully in the freezer, after 2min. you should hear it defrosting, if you DO, change the TIMER, If not, you need to find the wiring to the defrost therm and the heater. you will need a volt-ohm meter. with the unit unplugged, you need to check the heater. it should have resistance thru it!!!! if it is "open" change the heater!!!! If its OK, check the defrost therm. you should have continutity thru it when COLD, say below 40 degrees. 1 of these will repair your problem!!!! Good Luck!!!:) Hi Drags, OK, I finally got around to turning the defrost timer clockwise with a screw driver until it clicked. I waited about 5 minutes and then listened in to the freezer but didn't really hear any discernible noises of what the defrosting process should sound like. I then decided to check the defrost catch tray below the fridge and found about a cup full of water so I emptied it and waited another 5 minutes and it contained some more water. Would it be correct to conclude that the timer is bad and everything else (heater & thermostat) is fine? Robert
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Rank: Advanced Member
Groups: Senior Expert
Joined: 9/7/2008(UTC)
Posts: 750
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Its the timer!!!! if you had water in the pan twice!!!:)
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Rank: Member
Groups: Registered
Joined: 7/15/2009(UTC)
Posts: 5
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Originally Posted by: Drags1998 Its the timer!!!! if you had water in the pan twice!!!:) Thanks Drags.....:) I will go ahead and order a new timer today. I truly appreciate your time & assistance and would like to thank everybody who was involved with setting up this forum. Kind Regards, Robert
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