Fridge too warm/freezer frosted...again

Refrigerator & Freezer Repair
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1

Fridge too warm, freezer frosted. Unplugged for 24 hrs as suggested on this site. Worked excellent for a few days, then gradually gets warmer. Now it’s 50+ degrees, 3 weeks later. Fan still operating (purchased here last yr). 5 yrs old.

Other similar posts seem to be model specific so not sure what part to replace.

Thanks,
Michelle

3

Here are your parts
http://www.appliancepartspros.com/partsearch/modelsearch.aspx?model=FRT18HB5DW6

Sounds like a defrost problem

First remove the evaporator cover in the freezer so you can see the coils.
Do not let them de-ice.
If they are heavily iced/frosted over you have a defrost problem.

If yes.
Manually force a defrost cycle by turning the defrost timer cam (Item 23 in Section 3) till the fans and compressor turn off.
There is usually a hole in the cover to let you rotate the cam with a screw driver.
It only rotates in one direction.
Now check the defrost heater to see if it is on.
Be careful you do not want to burn your fingers.
If the heater is on then the timer needs replacing, re: it is probably stalling during it’s rotation so is never getting into a defrost cycle.

If not on.
Unplug the unit.
Remove the wire for one side of the heating element (Item 14 in Section 5) from the wiring and measure it for continuity, usually around 20 ohms or so.

If the heater is OK
Remove one wire to the defrost thermostat (Item 23 in Section 3) and measure it, should be 0 ohms when frozen. Note that it opens just above freezing so must be frozen to check it. Also inspect it, if it is bulged at all replace it even if it measures OK.

If both the above are OK then odds are the defrost timer contacts are toast.
Best way to test this is a live test to see if you have 120 volts across the heater/defrost thermostat combo.

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

  1. Always remove power from the machine otherwise you could blow your meter.
  2. Always disconnect at least one side of any device you are checking. This eliminates the possibility of measuring an alternate/parallel circuit path.
  3. 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.