Hi guys,

First off, I read through the entire thread on defrost issues here.

I have a whirlpool side-by-side fridge, model ED2FHEXSS02 that I am having troubles with.

We noticed the fridge getting warmer and warmer, so i did some googling and came upon the thread I just referenced. Sure enough, I pulled the rear of the freezer apart and the coils were iced up. After defrosting big chunks of ice came out of the air return port below the coils (I believe this brings "warm" air from the bottom-ish of the fridge to the coils to be cooled again).

I did some googling and followed the instructions attached here: http://forum.appliancepartspros...warm-133.html#post495270

I googled and found that, if you unplug the fridge for more than 30 seconds and set the thermostat to off, it should kick off the defrost cycle.

I did that but hear two clicks in rapid succession. Google tells me that this is the relay kicking on and then off - and it meant the bi-metal switch was broken, so I replaced it.

However I am still getting the same two clicks :( after replacing the bi-metal switch (defroster thermostat).

What else could cause this? could it be the heater? Or even the control panel?

Thanks!

Another update, hoping for some help...

I powered the fridge back up for a while with the new thermostat. Now when I unplug it for a few minutes and plug back in I am getting zero relay clicks. :mad:

I assume this is because the thermostat is now cold enough to be closed, and as such, the computer/board is doing nothing.

I still have the flashing LED change filter light that won't reset - I assume this means my computer/board is broken?

Hi Denman,

Thanks for the reply! I was beginning to think no one was going to reply.

With respect to the thermostat - I was getting 0.6ohms when cold - is that in the range? I didn't realize the warm value was so high, i had my multimeter set to the 200s so I don't think it would have registered 56,00ohms warm :eek:

I will test the old thermostat I pulled, which is just sitting in my workshop and around 20C (68F) and should be about 56,00ohms. That will tell me if I replaced a perfectly good thermostat and the problem all along was my board.


Regarding the forced defrost mode you didn't follow:

Yes, that's exactly what I was trying to do. The instructions gene posted in that thread (PDF attached to his post) are whirlpool's instuctions. You need to unplug the fridge for 30seconds, then turn the thermostat to off, then plug it in. That should force a defrost cycle, as the timer is electric and I can't do it manually.

Before, when the fridge/freezer was thawed out, I would hear two clicks when I plugged it in. The instructions said I should hear one click, as one click is the relay turning the defrost process on and the second click is it turning off.

I tried it again after giving the freezer some time to freeze up, and force teh bimetal into a closed (below 25F) position. Now when I do it I don't get any clicking from the relay in the control board!


So: Thermostat warm - two clicks 3 seconds apart when I force defrost
Thermostat cold - no clicks when defrost forced

The whole time the LED for filter replacement is flashing a tonne. I've read that this is the 'diagnostic' dummy light telling you somethings wrong (which something is, I just wish I knew if it was the control board"

See the attachment for the tech sheet.
It shows the open resistance.
[COLOR="DarkRed"]
Switch warm: no resistance. This makes sense to me, as the bimetal is simply an on or off switch.[/COLOR]
Not in this case. When defrost is off the heater circuit is monitored by the control board. At least on some units in this series.
[COLOR="DarkRed"]
Switch cold: 0.6 or 0.7ohm resistance. This also makes sense. When cold, the switch is closing the circuit to complete the circuit and allow the defrost heater to kick in. 0.6-0.7ohm makes sense, as a complete circuit without anything in it should have resistance, but very little.[/COLOR]
The above resistance indicates poor contacts (pitted etc.) in the thermostat.
Did you short the meter leads together before taking this reading. This checks if there is a zero offset in the meter.

Denman,

I tried bypassing the thermostat by wiring the two leads that came from teh thermostat together (ie forcing the bimetal closed, I think?) in that case I got the same error I am now getting - no relay clicks at all when defrost is forced, and the LED flashing.

Does that make sense? Sorry, I am a CPA playing appliance repairman this past weekend, so this stuff is most definitely not my normal arena :)

I appreciate the help.