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I did not get 120V or so either on heater or on the thermostat. It was a little difficult to measure - I only measured the tiny holes (connectors) in the harness. Then I turned off the fridge and unplugged the connectors for the two wires of the heater. I tested the continuity of the heater. The resistance is about 40 ohms. Do you think the heater is OK despite no voltage shown while the fridge was on.
I would like to focus on the thermostat. All the Youtube I watched showed that the two wires of the unit were cut off before testing for continuity. I was a little hesitated to do so. Is there any way to pull them off directly from the harness?
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Heater resistance looks OK It looks like the defrost has to be cut. See the replacement below, it does not have connectors on it. Be sure to unplug the unit when doing this. Be sure that it is frozen when checking it as it opens just above freezing. Some people recommend immersing it in ice water, I am not a fan of this. I prefer to hold it's metal face onto a ice cube. It should be 0 ohms when frozen. If it is deformed/bulged replace it even if it measures OK. To install or reinstall the thermostat you can use a couple wire nuts. Then situate them so the open end faces down so water cannot get into them. Some folks also like to seal the open end with a sealant as an extra precaution. You should have seen 120 volts across the heater when you forced a defrost cyle but perhaps did not because tou were not getting a good connection. Part number: AP4511066
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Looks like the thermostat has no continuity. I've ordered a new part from Appliance Parts Pros.
Do you think a defective defrost thermostat is also a major factor causing compressor and/or fan(s) running constantly? Sometimes the running noise became a little quieter, but never stopped. Sounds like it was the noise of fan(s) only, but I am not sure.
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Yes an open defrost thermostat will cause the compressor to run all the time.
The evaporator coils get clogged with ice/frost so that the air cannot be pulled through them and therefore it does not get cold enough. The thermostat then keeps the compressor running trying to get the unit down to set-point temperature.
The noise may be due to the compressor running too long, I cannot say for sure.
I would check to be sure it is the compressor and not the fan.
could be a sign that the fan is on it's last legs. |
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The new thermostat came today. I put it in cold water with a lot of ice (as it was a little difficult to hold it closely contacted with an ice cube). On the lowest scale (200 ohm) no reading came up (still "1" or the needle did not move in another meter). Then I changed the scale to 200k, it was shown as 56. Later I measured the resistance at room temperature and I got the same result.
Is this new part also faulty?
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The 56 ypou see is 56,000 ohms.
The thermostat never closed (0 ohms) so I would sat it is bad. |
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Finally got a good defrost thermostat installed. It seemed defrost system is working - no built-up frost seen. The fridge still keeps running, but the compressor does not seem to running all the time judging by the noise from the fridge. Looks like the condenser fan is running all the time. Is it a problem? If so, how to check and what to do? As always, appreciate your kind help!:)
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[COLOR="Blue"]The fridge still keeps running, but the compressor does not seem to running all the time judging by the noise from the fridge. Looks like the condenser fan is running all the time. Is it a problem?[/COLOR]
It could be a problem.
Depends on how long the unit has been plugged in.
If the condenser/compressor fan is on then the compressor should be on as they are wired in parallel.
You may want to check the compartment temperatures.
The freezer should be 0 to 5 degrees F.
The fresh food should be close to 40 degrees F.
At these temperatures the compressor should be cycling on/off.
Cycling is on for a while and then off for a while.
A while means around half an hour or so. I cannot give you exact timings but it should not be on for a couple minutes and then off for a couple minutes. |
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The temperature in the freezer should be ok as there is ice coming out from the ice maker. There is noise heard all the time. Sometimes big, sometimes little. I suspect the big noise comes from the compressor. When the noise became little I noticed the fan was still running, but not sure if the compressor was still running.
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[COLOR="Blue"]The temperature in the freezer should be ok as there is ice coming out from the ice maker.[/COLOR]
"should be OK" is not good enough.
You have to measure the temperature.
You cannot really tell what it actually is because frozen is frozen.
If the freezer is trying to get down to lets say 10 below F then the compressor will run too much and it will also cost you a fortune in electrical bills.
Best to measure it. |
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