Thread: Replaced Defrost Thermostat, Refrigerator Not Cooling Properly

Ok what you need to do is remove the back panel in the freezer again and look at the coils to see if they have an even frost pattern on them ALL, not some, but ALL.

Possibly you may have another issue if they ALL don't have a thin layer of frost on them.

Jake

Thank you Jake. I took everything out of the freezer so I could take the panel off, and found the outside of the panel covered in frost, with a heavy concentration at the bottom. When I took the panel off, everything from the wiring down was heavily coated with frost, with the upper middle area of the coils having a lighter, but still heavy coating. The fan is running, so that part of the defrost thermostat installation worked.

One 'special' aspect of this case, that I'm sure you will comment on, has to do with the motor below the fan. When we went to hook the new defrost thermostat to it, the motor was not the same as the one I saw in a Youtube video that showed how to do this repair. Instead of having male connectors on the motor to attach to any female connectors, there were two black wires coming out, one connecting to the original harness for the defrost thermostat. This refrigerator came with the house when we bought it 5 years ago, and apparently someone repaired it before, and, I'm guessing, used a different motor???? The refrigerator has run fine with this set up until last week, so I guess the person knew what they were doing??? We connected the thermostat harness the exact same way as it was before we removed the bad thermometer....we had to remove the female connection, twist the wires together and twist the cap (nut) back on. We were very certain that the connection was good and tight, especially since the refrigerator started working.

Anyhow, this is what we have. I'd appreciate further comment and suggestions as to what is going on. The refrigerator is still running and cooling, just not well!

Do this simple test first:

You would need to turn your defrost timer into defrost mode first. Your defrost timer is behind your bottom grill kickplate on the right side, it should have a red knob to turn it clockwise, turn it till it clicks then your compressor will shut off, and then its in defrost mode.

Give it about 5 minutes to see if your defrost heater comes on. If it does come on, we found the bad part, your defrost timer:
Manufacturer part number R0131577 is RepairClinic item number 1156627


Keep us posted.

Jake

Another thing I noticed is that the seal on the freezer door doesn't seeem tight towards the bottom. When looking at the handles on the refrigerator and the freezer, as they run vertically, they are not even. The freezer door handle sticks out at the bottom about 3/8" past the handle on the refrigerator, tapering out from the top. I don't know if this has always been this way, or we caused this when we pulled out the refrigerator to repair it. I've poked around and can't see what is causing this problem. Could this be contributing to the cooling problem? And do you have any idea as to how to fix it. I know that the seal has always felt tight, so this is something knew. Thanks again!

Thanks Jake. I'm not sure what the defrost heater sounds like when it comes on, but I sat buy the refrigerator for several minutes and never heard anything.

After my last post, I'm really concerned about the seal on my freezer. I noticed that when I close the refrigerator door, the freezer door pops open a bit, and I have to push it shut. Even if this is not the ultimate problem, it doesn't seem right. Again, not sure what we did.

I'm not sure what the defrost heater sounds like when it comes on, but I sat buy the refrigerator for several minutes and never heard anything.

Just feel for warmth/heat at the bottom of your evaporator coil in the freezer.

I'm not sure whats going on with that freezer door gasket, try adjusting the upper door hinge and the lower door hinge.

Jake

I've checked twice, and the defrost heater does not come on when I turn the defrost timer into defrost mode....there is no warmth at the bottom of the coil as you suggested.

I melted off all the heavy frost from the coils yesterday, and of course that made a big difference in performance. I'm trying to make certain that the doors are shut tight, and we will adjust the doors. Thinking that the doors may need to have the cams replaced. The refrigerator door, especially, makes a lot of noise at the bottom hinge when it opens. We'll see what difference these adjustments make.

I've checked twice, and the defrost heater does not come on when I turn the defrost timer into defrost mode....there is no warmth at the bottom of the coil as you suggested.

Ok, that means something is wrong either in the wiring to/from the defrost thermostat and the defrost heater/fan motor.

I'd need to see your wiring diagram to over this with you, but I can't locate the wiring diagram for this model online, do you have it? You can upload it here.

Jake

Jake,

Thanks for hanging in there on this with me. I didn't pull the panel off this morning, but I can tell by looking through the vent that the coils are freezing up again. Yesterday there was only a light frost.

I will look around some more, but unfortunately the only thing the previous owner left us was the Owner's Manual. It is a very disappointing document, as it doesn't even have a parts diagram.

Your thoughts about the wiring makes sense, but the whole situation leaves me confused since we wired it up the way it was originally. I had my husband verify the connections with me before we proceeded. But apparently something isn't right.

Again, I will look for a wiring diagram.

Thanks