My refrigerator stopped cooling so I called a repair guy and he opened the control panel inside the refrigerator portion and he determined that the relay on defrost control board was bad. So I bought a new one and it turns out that $100.00 later he was wrong because it's still doing the same thing. I called another repair guy and he was not able to pin point the problem. However, I have been able to keep it running by tapping the control panel everytime I notice that it's not running. There are only two parts inside the control panel: (A) The defrost control board that was changed and (B) A Thermostat. Do you think that it could be a bad thermostat?

The symptom is that the unit stops running and once I tap the control panel it immediately starts running. The fan and compressor will turn on...It just starts running like normal for a while and then an undetermined while later it will stop running again and on and on and on.
What is the typical symptom of a bad thermostat?
Please advise!
Thanks

Was the thermostat the problem? I have EXACTLY the same symptoms, and the same fix... tapping once on the control panel. I removed the front of the panel and tap directly on the thermostat and it turns on... only to have it off everytime I get up in the morning.

If you can repost a YES it was the thermostat, or if it was something else, that would be great.

Hi Brad,

What is the model number of your refrigerator?

Brad,

To test the defrost thermostat you would need to check it for continuity with a ohm meter. When the thermostat is in a cold freezer it should be closed or have continuity when checked with a ohm meter if it's good.