Dacor freezer DRZ30980LAP tower not cooling and ice maker not working

Refrigerator & Freezer Repair
,
1

Brand: Dacor
Model Number: DRZ30980LAP
Main Symptom: Ice maker doesn’t produce ice, and main tower is not cooling
What happens & when: The main tower does not cool/pass cold air, but the bottom two drawers remain cold/freezing. Both ice makers do not produce ice.

Error Code (if any):
Parts or tests already tried: Initially, I had a more severe issue where the shelf above the ice maker was actually heating to the point you couldn’t touch the surface. A technician diagnosed the issue and said the main pcb needed to be replaced. I replaced the main pcb part: DA94-03790G (AP6803917). The heating issue resolved and cooling returned, but the ice maker function never returned.

After replacing the main PCB, the freezer cooled efficiently for a month, then the main tower gradually lost cooling, but the two lower drawers remained cold/frozen.

After some troubleshooting with AI, I turned the freezer off for 24 hours to defrost and reset. The cooling and air flow returned to the tower and food froze once again, but the ice maker still didn’t function. The tower cooled efficiently for another month then the issue returned - tower/upper shelves not cooling, ice maker not working, lower drawers still freezing. The temp display just blinks at 0 degrees. There are no water line kinks.

My lone research has surfaced a potential evaporator thermistor or ice room thermistor, but I need a professional opinion now with any further troubleshooting steps, or at least a confidence boost of the right parts to purchase and replace.

Photos / video link:

2

It would be recommended to check the frost pattern on the evaporator coil. It sounds like you have a defrost problem. If there is heavy frost build-up then it would be an issue with either the defrost heater, or defrost thermostat.

3

There’s no visible heavy frost buildup, but I suspect there’s frost behind the back panel that builds up over time and restricts the air flow to the tower vents since the lower drawers still maintain freezing temps. I guess I need to do the work to remove the back panel which is a big p.i.t.a. Intuition points me to the evaporator thermistor which controls the main defrost function.

There are two control boards on this freezer. I found out yesterday that the part I replaced was the EEPROM DA94-03790G (AP6803917), not the main control board DA92-00795A (AP6000689).

Next step is replacing the main control board that I bought here - part DA92-00795A (AP6000689) to see if that restores normal function before I pull apart the back panel. If that doesn’t do it, then I’ll move on to removing the back panel and replacing the thermistors.

4

You are correct on the next steps.

5

Thanks! I’ll get to work and report back with the outcome. :crossed_fingers: