My freezer has iced up twice and worked again after we removed the back panel and allowed it to melt. Everything I see on this site says to check the thermostat and heater (which seem to be the defrost assembly) and if they are fine, the defrost control board needs to be replaced. I have a digital multimeter. How do I test the defrost assembly?
Here are your parts includes a wiring diagram.
Replacement parts for MAYTAG MSD2356AEW REF - SXS/I&W | AppliancePartsPros.com
Defrost heater with thermostat is Item 12 in Section 4.
The defrost thermostat is wired in series with the heater so you measure them both at the same time.
You should have 3 wires at the plug.
One is a defrost side, one is the heater side and one comes from the connection between the two. See the wiring diagram.
The thermostat is 0 ohms when frozen and the heaters are usually around 20 ohms.
Use a 200 ohm meter scale.
The defrost thermostat must be frozen for it to be closed so you will have to hold it’s face on an ice cube to freeze it.
If the defrost thermostat is bulged or deformed it needs replacing even if it measures good.
[quote=denman;406708]Here are your parts includes a wiring diagram.
Replacement parts for MAYTAG MSD2356AEW REF - SXS/I&W | AppliancePartsPros.com
Defrost heater with thermostat is Item 12 in Section 4.
The defrost thermostat is wired in series with the heater so you measure them both at the same time.
You should have 3 wires at the plug.
One is a defrost side, one is the heater side and one comes from the connection between the two. See the wiring diagram.
The thermostat is 0 ohms when frozen and the heaters are usually around 20 ohms.
Use a 200 ohm meter scale.
The defrost thermostat must be frozen for it to be closed so you will have to hold it’s face on an ice cube to freeze it.
If the defrost thermostat is bulged or deformed it needs replacing even if it measures good.[/quote]
This is wonderful information. The only thing I don’t know is how to hook up the meter. Do I have to detach a wire or just hook it to the prongs on the plug? Thank you.
Do I have to detach a wire or just hook it to the prongs on the plug?
Yes.
Be sure the unit is unplugged whjen measuring ohms.
Following is my little blurb on meters.
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
- Always remove power from the machine otherwise you could blow your meter.
- Always disconnect at least one side of any device you are checking. This eliminates the possibility of measuring an alternate/parallel circuit path.
- 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.