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rangerepair  
#1 Posted : Saturday, January 16, 2010 10:15:24 AM(UTC)
rangerepair

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Joined: 5/23/2009(UTC)
Posts: 5

Approximately 5 weeks ago, noticed that both refrigerator and freezer compartments were not as cold as usual. Upon examination of the freezer section, noticed an ice build up on the rear of the unit(had to be chipped away with a tool). I removed the rear cover of the fridge- fan was operating fine and I vacuumed dust off coils, condensation pan was full of water- I emptied it out and reset it in place. Replugged the fridge and jockeyed with thermostat control. The next morning, fridge returned to proper temperature and freezer operational.
Now, same problem encountered. But this time, the buildup on the rear of the freezer is of a snowy composition, not solid ice. The condensation pan is totally dry. I once again vacuumed the coils and jockeyed the thermostat control(which controls both freezer and fridge compartments).
The freezer compartment is cold enough to keep ice frozen (with a glossy shine), but ice pops are melted. The refrigerator section is not cold enough, even though thermostat setting is at the highest cold level. I usually keep the thermostat at half the current setting and it is very cold.
Would appreciate your diagnosis of the problem and seek your recommendation if this is a job a mechanically inclined individual can tackle on my own!!!

Thank you in advance for your assistance.

Michael
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denman  
#2 Posted : Saturday, January 16, 2010 11:34:11 AM(UTC)
denman

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Here are your parts
Liner parts replacement parts for WHIRLPOOL ET8MHKXMQ00 Refrigerator | AppliancePartsPros.com

Here is a tech sheet
http://www.servicematters.com/docs/wiring/Wiring%20Sheet%20-%202225759.pdf

First remove the evaporator cover in the freezer so you can see the coils.
Do not let them de-ice.
If they are heavily iced/frosted over you have a defrost problem.

If yes.
Manually force a defrost cycle by turning the defrost timer cam (Item 4 in Section 3) till the fans and compressor turn off.
There is usually a hole in the units cover to let you do this without removing the cover.
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 (Item 4 in Section 4) from the wiring and measure it for continuity, usually around 20 ohms or so.

If the heater is OK
Remove at least one wire to the defrost thermostat (Item 18 in Section 3 ) (clipped onto the evap coils)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 you do not own a meter, I would suggest you purchase a one. You can get a decent digital multimeter for under $20.00. You do not need fancy though it is nice if the leads are a couple feet long.
If it saves ordering one unnecessary part it has paid for itself and you end up owning a useful tool.
Most places will not let you return electrical parts so if you order it, you own it.
A couple things to watch when measuring ohms and continuity
1. Always remove power from the machine otherwise you could blow your meter.
2. Always disconnect at least one side of any device you are checking. This eliminates the possibility of measuring an alternate/parallel circuit path.
3. When checking for closed contacts and continuity use the lowest scale (Usually 200 ohms). Then try higher scales. This scale is 0 to 200 ohms so if the device you are measuring is 300 ohms this scale would show an open circuit which it is not, you are just measuring outside the scale's dynamic range.

There is a good STICKY at the start of this forum about it's use.
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