defrost on side by side

I have a side by side that has never given me a day of trouble …except for replacing dried out water lines. Yesterday the freezer stopped keeping food frozen and started affecting the fridge side as will. I don’t think it is defrosting but am not sure how to check or where the actual defrost control is located. I am pretty good at home repair just need a point in the right direction. I shut off the freezer and defrosted with a hair dryer. Had a lot of falling ice behind the panel. I haven’t been able to locate a repair manual for this model. Can anyone help???:eek: :confused: