Rank: Member
Groups: Registered
Joined: 6/20/2013(UTC)
Posts: 1
|
I have a Federated refrigerator sold by A&S in New Jersey in the mid--70's. Not sure who made it -- maybe Whirlpool? Everything was running beautifully until very recently, the defrost heater is not turning on. I keep the evaporator from icing up by thawing it manually every few days with a hair dryer. Meanwhile nobody seems to have any technical info. on this box. Yesterday I spoke via the phone to a friendly appliance repairman in the Albany, NY-area ( Robert Salisbury of Glenmont), who said that about 90% of defrost problems are caused by the malfunctioning of the defrost thermostat. I had the timer checked, and it is functioning as it should. There didn't seem to be any current going to the defrost heater, though. My question is: How do you find this defrost thermostat? What does it look like? And how do I -- with the help of a friend -- check out and replace this item? We can see the front of the evaporator by taking out the rear panel in the top freezer section.
Any help or suggestions you could provide will be greatly appreciated. Due to size limitations in my small kitchen, most of the refrigerators in the showrooms are too big, especially in depth, so I am tying very hard to get this present one fixed asap.
Doug Baird, Wayne, New Jersey
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rank: Advanced Member
Groups: Senior Expert
Joined: 2/29/2008(UTC)
Posts: 19,638
Thanks: 1 times
Was thanked: 11 time(s) in 11 post(s)
|
[COLOR="Blue"]How do you find this defrost thermostat?[/COLOR] It will be clipped to the top of the evaporator coils in the feezer. [COLOR="Blue"]What does it look like?[/COLOR] Part number: AP3108454
May also have a plastic body with a metal face. Come come with connectors, others are hard wired in. [COLOR="Blue"]And how do I check out and replace this item?[/COLOR] Following is my standard blurb on defrost diagnosis. First remove the evaporator cover in the freezer so you can see the coils. Do not let them de-ice. Manually force a defrost cycle by turning the defrost timer cam till the fans and compressor turn off. There is usually a hole in the cover to let you do this without taking anything apart. Now check the defrost heater to see if it is on. Be careful you do not want to burn your fingers. If the heater is on then the timer needs replacing, re: it is probably stalling during it's rotation so is never getting into a defrost cycle. If not on. Unplug the unit. Remove the wire for one side of the heating element from the wiring and measure it for continuity, usually around 20 ohms or so. If the heater is OK Remove one wire to the defrost thermostat and measure it, should be 0 ohms when frozen. Note that it opens just above freezing so must be frozen to check it. Also inspect it, if it is bulged at all replace it even if it measures OK. If both the above are OK then odds are the defrost timer contacts are toast. Best way to test this is a live test to see if you have 120 volts across the heater/defrost thermostat combo. If the parts are hard wired in you will have to cut the wires and use wirenuts to wire in the new part. Try to put the wirenuts on so that the face down. This will keep water out of them. Some folks like to also seal the ends with some sealant as an additional protection. |
THIS FORUM IS DEAD!!!!!!! |
|
|
|
|
|
Forum Jump
You can post new topics in this forum.
You can reply to topics in this forum.
You can delete your posts in this forum.
You can edit your posts in this forum.
You cannot create polls in this forum.
You can vote in polls in this forum.
Important Information:
The AppliancePartsPros.com uses cookies. By continuing to browse this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.
More Details
Close
