I have an Amana refrigerator model#: SQD26VE, mfg#: P1315203WE. Recently it has been slowly getting warmer and warmer in both compartments. The freezer seems to stay in the mid 30's °F and the FF seems to stay around 50°F.
First thing I did was clean dust, etc. from the evap coils.
Then I confirmed operation of the evaporator and condenser fans. Both were working and obstruction free.
Then I confirmed the compressor was operating. While doing this, I did notice a little corrosion on the exterior of one of the copper tubes coming from/going to (not sure which) the compressor, but did not see any moisture or active leaks.
Next, I removed the panel from the back of the freezer compartment. The condenser coil was covered in frost. I immediately believed i had a defrost system issue (and further confirmed my belief that the compressor is functioning).
I believe there are only 3 main components of that system: the timer, the heater, and the thermostat. First, I checked continuity of the heater. It was approximately 30 ohms. I assume this is acceptable.
Then while the thermostat was still frosted, I checked continuity. It was 0.2 ohms which is the same as lead to lead on my meter. I then warmed up the thermostat and rechecked. It was open. I assume this is proper function.
At this point I believed that the timer must be my issue. I then bumped the timer which was sitting just prior to its "off" cycle. Getting close to the timer, I could hear it ticking. I then advanced the timer to the next cycle which turned the compressor back on. Again I could hear the timer ticking. It seems to be moving on its own.
Finally I turned the timer back to the "off" cycle, disconnected the leads for the heater and confirmed 120VAC in the heater circuit.
After the coils were completely defrosted from all of the open door time. I put everything back together and allowed it to run overnight, approximately 8-9 hours. It was about half frosted over by morning.
The only other issue I noticed was that the seal on the refrigerator door has a split near the bottom corner. I believe it is still sealing reasonably well. This split in the seal was present before these issues started.
At this point I am not sure where to go. I would appreciate any help very much.
UPDATE: The All three components of the defrost system seem to be working now. The freezer went through a defrost cycle after 8 hours of run time. After the defrost cycle the temperature was down to about 2°F. The FF compartment is still up above 45°F, but I don't believe that the evaporator fan is running? Is it possible something is causing the fan to run intermittently? I would guess the fan should run all the time, except when its in a defrost cycle.
wrf120 attached the following image(s):