Rank: Member
Groups: Registered
Joined: 4/19/2008(UTC) Posts: 25
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I have a Whirlpool side by side refrig. that I purchased on 11/2003. On occasion the freezer coil,which is visable at the bottom inside of the freezer ,turns red hot . If I unplug the refrig. for 1 hr and plug it back in the freezer continues to work fine for days and sometimes weeks. Can anyone help? Thanks
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Rank: Advanced Member
Groups: Senior Expert
Joined: 10/25/2007(UTC) Posts: 68
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the coil there at the bottom of the evaperator is the defrost element and needs to get hot to drfrost the ice and frost on the evaperator. so this is a case of normal operation. it should happen every 3-4 days. you will hear some poping and sizzeling as it does its defrost cycle. it is when you don't hear that or it dosent heat up that you will have a problem.hope this helps
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Rank: Member
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Joined: 4/19/2008(UTC) Posts: 25
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Thank you so much !!! When I gave the same information over the phone to an authorized Whirpool repairman from A&E 800-771-3029 he said it was the defroster switch and it would cost approx. $350.00 to "fix the problem". I did not know this defrosting process which turns the coil red hot for a short period was part of the normal operation. I appreciate your honest response and will recommend this site to everyone I know for expert advise and parts.
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Rank: Member
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Joined: 10/15/2009(UTC) Posts: 1
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:D Thanks so much for the poster of this question and also to the one who answered. I woke up in the middle of the night during a storm. Went to steal a spoonfull of icecream real quick and noticed the bright orange coils (since it was dark in the kitchen). I was afraid to go back to bed until I knew for sure it was normal. Thanks! I'm sleepy. ;)
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Rank: Member
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Joined: 2/8/2010(UTC) Posts: 1
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Originally Posted by: beegees74 :D Thanks so much for the poster of this question and also to the one who answered. I woke up in the middle of the night during a storm. Went to steal a spoonfull of icecream real quick and noticed the bright orange coils (since it was dark in the kitchen). I was afraid to go back to bed until I knew for sure it was normal. Thanks! I'm sleepy. ;) Same here. I heard the popping, opened the door in the darkness and saw the orange coil - was afraid to go to bed and called my teenage son downstairs to look at it also. He said it was probably normal... but wanted reassurance before going upstairs to sleep.
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Rank: Member
Groups: Registered
Joined: 5/29/2010(UTC) Posts: 1
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Thank you very much. My fiance and I just freaked out when we noticed this. Of course it's the Saturday of a three day holiday weekend and we knew we wouldn't get service any time soon. This really should be in the troubleshooting guide of the owner's manual.
I mean, come on, your freezer shouldn't resemble the red hot coils of a toaster oven, especially when you hear water evaporating and you think there is a fire at the back of your freezer.
Thanks again for helping us sleep tonight without the fear of our house burning down.
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Rank: Member
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Joined: 4/18/2011(UTC) Posts: 1
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Thanks so much for this info. This morning I heard a popping sound from my refridgerator and I have a habit of pushing things too far to the back blocking the vents in both the fridge and freezer parts. I opened up the freezer and saw red hot glowing coils from the back of the unit thru the freezer vents. I quickly pulled away anything inside the fridge that was too close to the back. I checked about 20 minutes later and the red glow was gone and the unit seemed to be working normally. I came to work wondering if my home was safe. How happy I was to see your comments that this was normal standard proceedure. I guess it's a hit or miss. I am in and out of my fridge and freezer a lot and have never in all my 50 years noticed this before. Thank you for putting my mind at ease!
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Rank: Member
Groups: Registered
Joined: 4/28/2011(UTC) Posts: 1
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Thank you so much for this forum!, My husband works night work, and just went to sleep,... Of course I woke him up about the sounds and seeing that red hot coil! I was ready to unplug the whole thing, until of course I looked on here, and thanks to your honest answer my husband can go back to sleep instead of staying awake and trying to figure out what could be wrong! :-)
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Rank: Member
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Joined: 2/15/2012(UTC) Posts: 1
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I had my freezer open tonight and my cat immediately drew my attention to popping noises at the back of the freezer. I pulled out the bottom drawer and saw red hot coils and thought the freezer is on fire! It was very hot. I almost also unplugged the freezer but jumped on the internet and found this answer. This was a fire a month ago in my building and have been very jumpy since then but everything is now okay. Looks like lots of other people had the same worry so it made me feel better.
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Rank: Member
Groups: Registered
Joined: 9/18/2013(UTC) Posts: 1
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Thank you Everyone! I had the same experience tonight that everyone else is describing. Called a friend and he freaked me out about the house burning down. Now I can go to bed in peace. Love the Internet...
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