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DIY_Stephen  
#631 Posted : Saturday, October 10, 2009 3:43:39 PM(UTC)
DIY_Stephen

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Originally Posted by: Gene Go to Quoted Post
Stephen,

If there is no frost on the freezer panel then there is probably nothing wrong with the defrost system.

The first thing I would do is remove the front bottom grill and the rear cover and make sure the condenser is clean and the fan next to the compressor is running.

Be aware that you have to wait about 24 hours after any temperature adjustment to see the result.

Gene.


Thank you Gene for the prompt response!

Oops! I forgot to mention that the first thing I did was clean was clean the condenser and grill. It wasn't too dirty (first time it had been cleaned though) and the fan was (is) running. I got the parts pretty clean using a vacuum cleaner, compressed air, and one of those swiffer duster things (worked pretty well!). I checked the temperature over the next couple of days, but it didn't seem to make any difference. It was still at/near 46 degrees.

Let me know if you need additional information.

Stephen
crashfirejoe  
#632 Posted : Sunday, October 11, 2009 4:26:17 PM(UTC)
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Originally Posted by: Gene Go to Quoted Post
In this post we will talk about one of the most common problems with your kitchen refrigerator – the freezer looks fine but the refrigerator part is warm.

Before we go further let me explain the basic performance of the refrigerator.

Your refrigerator could be made by Whirlpool, GE, Frigidaire or Maytag – it does not matter.

The cooling coil (aka evaporator coil) is located in the freezer behind the back panel.

The evaporator fan is distributing the cold air through the cooling coil into the freezer and, through the damper control, into the refrigerator, causing the refrigerator to cool down as well.

If anything goes wrong with the cooling coil in the freezer, wrong temperature in the refrigerator is more visible and gets your attention first due to a very big temperature difference in the freezer (normally -5°F to 6°F) and refrigerator (36°F to 40°F).

So the problem as it looks to you is: the freezer is fine but the refrigerator is warm.

Well, the cause of this problem could be very different and now we will go over the first one – a faulty defrost system.

As the evaporator coil cools down, the frost builds up on the coil.
If it does not defrost periodically then the excess frost will block the air flow though the cooling coil, affecting proper distribution of the cold air and causing an increase in the temperature (the fresh food compartment first).

The classic defrost system (we are not talking now about refrigerators operated by electronic devices) consists of three parts: the defrost timer which calls for defrost on certain time intervals, the defrost heater which should melt the frost and the defrost thermostat which senses the cooling coil temperature and operates with the electric current to the defrost heater.

The first and most important sign of a faulty defrost system is a frost build up on the back panel in the freezer.

How to find out which part of the defrost system is bad?

Based on my own experience, I would recommend the following procedure:

1). Locate the name plate with the model number of the refrigerator.

2). Type the model number in the search box, click the “search” button and you will be directed to the break down diagrams.

3). Using the break down diagrams, locate the defrost timer.

4). Using a flat screwdriver, slowly turn the shaft in the middle of the defrost timer clock wise until it clicks to switch from the cooling cycle to the defrost cycle.

5). Wait about 10 to 15 minutes, open the freezer door and see if you can hear a sizzling noise. If you can, then the problem is the defrost timer which has to be replaced.

If there is no such noise, go to the next step…

DO NOT FORGET TO UNPLUG THE REFRIGERATOR!

6). Remove the back panel in the freezer, unplug at least one wire on the defrost heater (you can locate it using the break down diagram) and check continuity across the defrost heater wires.

If it’s open, the defrost heater is bad and has to be replaced.

If it has some resistance, then the problem is the defrost thermostat.

You can check the defrost thermostat continuity only if it’s frozen because if it’s warm, it should be normally open.


Best regards.
Gene.


Gene,
Thanks for the info. This is the problem my fridge is having. I have checked the heater element with my ohm meter and was good. I replaced the defrost thermostat and still in handfull of days it is frozen up again. The only thing else it might be is the defrost timer? Can you please help me locate this item in my fridge and its order# so I can replace it. My fridge is a FRT18HB5DW2
Thanks for your help.
Gene  
#633 Posted : Monday, October 12, 2009 8:11:11 PM(UTC)
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The defrost timer is shown as #23 on the diagram. It's located inside the control box.

- The defrost timer Part number: AP2111929
Part number: AP2111929



Gene.
buddyellis  
#634 Posted : Tuesday, October 13, 2009 6:35:50 AM(UTC)
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Fridge not cooling, freezer ok. This is a Samsung RS267LABP with the 'cool zone' drawer. We had same issue a year ago, fridge stopped cooling, tech came out replaced, PCB, and it worked fine for a year. About 6 weeks ago, same symptoms, different tech comes out, replaces sensors multiple times, to no avail, replaced PCB last trip to no avail. I got to digging around (I am an electronics hobbiest) and noticed the PCB he replaced it with appears to be wrong number. Original board is DA41-00104S, replacement is DA41-00104X, but board in fridge is DA41-00107A. This appears to be for another model fridge, but should it work on mine?

If I do a forced defrost, relay on the fridge defrost heater engages for about 30 seconds, and then releases. Verified this by voltage on the relay coil, I get 12V on the coil side of the relay for about 30 seconds, and it releases. On the contact side of the relay I get no voltage (on the freezer relay, same thing except when the coil engages I see 120V on the contact side of the relay) I'm pretty sure the heater is ok, I have continuity of like 50Ohms on one side (think its the fridge heater) and 90 ohms on the other (I think this is the freezer) but I may have those reversed and I need to verify. I have not checked thermistor yet, other than verifying it has continuity -- I need to verify according to temp charts.

Also when fridge is first powered on it displays '3' on the RH (fridge temp) panel

Thoughts?
Dennis Fricke  
#635 Posted : Tuesday, October 13, 2009 4:48:12 PM(UTC)
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Looks like the defrost timer is the problem. The defrost element came on which started to melt the extensive ice surrounding the evap coil and return air vent from the fridge side. I removed the cover to the evap coil and used a portable fan and a blow dryer on low setting to speed up the defrost. During this time the fridge came back on. Did the timer time out, or did the thermostat on the evap coil sense the ice being gone. Is the timer intermittent? Or were the air vents blocked to the fridge? Too much stuff in the freezer? Should I watch the timer shaft to see if it spins through the next cycle before I order a new one.
Gene  
#636 Posted : Tuesday, October 13, 2009 4:56:38 PM(UTC)
Gene

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Usually defrost timers are not expensive and the food in the fridge probably worth a new timer. If you need the correct part number then post the complete model number of the reefrigerastor.

Gene.
buddyellis  
#637 Posted : Tuesday, October 13, 2009 5:09:22 PM(UTC)
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After further examination tonight, I almost think it's the thermistor in the fridge defrost area. One minute it's reading 12k, the next its sitting on 3k (which would correlate to about 100F, and there's no way the thing is 100F with ice all around it)

Once I get the thermistor in a proper range, the heater does heat. I've relocated it slightly (the tech had it on the heater coil, not the evap coil) so will test and see what happens over the next few days.
Gene  
#638 Posted : Tuesday, October 13, 2009 5:20:34 PM(UTC)
Gene

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Keep us posted.

Gene.
VRF201  
#639 Posted : Wednesday, October 14, 2009 2:12:37 AM(UTC)
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Hi and Hello to all!

Hopefully Gene can help:D !

I have a Whirlpool model refrigerator GS6NVEXSL01 that the freezer is working ok (zero degrees), but the refrigerator side is 50 degrees.
I believe it is the same problem (defrost issue), but I don't know what part to replace?

Currently the controls according to the manual are to be set at 4 and 4, but I have the controls now set at 6 and 7 still doesn't work.

Thanks for any help on this matter!:)
buddyellis  
#640 Posted : Wednesday, October 14, 2009 3:10:48 PM(UTC)
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Gene,

OK Let it sit overnight and when I read the thermistor (pull connector 30 from PCB and read pins 7&9 I think it was) its sitting at 1.98K ohms. Gotta be the thermistor, right (that would corrolate to like 118F)? The tech that came out was supposed to have replaced that, but maybe it went bad again? I'm almost wondering if maybe the thermistor has gotten a hole in the casing and is getting water in it. When I took it off circuit last night it was reading reasonable values sitting on the counter.
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