atfelt
Premium Member
- Model Number
- EI23BC30KS3
- Brand
- Electrolux
- Age
- 6-10 years
Hi Everyone,
I have tried every troubleshooting idea I can think of, and am in a bit of a pinch so hoping for some wise words from this community.
The symptom is a warming refrigerator. After digging into the issue, (seeing the evaporator coils completely frosted up) it appeared my Electrolux EI23BC30KS3 is having defrost issues. Initially it did not seem like that big of a deal - especially when I opened it up and tested the defrost thermostat. It had failed/bulged, which is a pretty common issue. I replaced, and reassembled. Approximately a week later, the same thing happened again. I figured the new defrost thermostat was bad - so I tested it with a multimeter, and it tested fine. So the next step was to test the defrost coil, which I also did. It tested fine.
This particular Electrolux model does not have a separate defrost control switch/defrost control board - it is all controlled through the main panel. The wiring diagram confirmed this, as best I can tell. Since to my knowledge/internets knowledge the only other potential failure mode is the control board. So, I bit the bullet and purchased a new control board. I installed it, and again everything worked fine - for a week - and then it fully frosted over again, as though nothing changed!
At this time I also discovered the manual defrost mode on the tech sheet. According to the tech sheet, you can activate the Defrost Heater test (test 2). In order for Test #2 to work, you should validate Test 26 (Defrost Limit Switch) is in status "CL" closed.
Currently, when freezer is on & closed, the Defrost Heater test fails, because the Defrost Limit Switch Test #26 is "OP".
So, I turned off the freezer, disassembled until the iced up condenser was visible, and ran the Defrost heater test again. This time, it worked fine, melted the block of ice, and test #26 showed "CL", which is what it should have done. But, I obviously need the defroster to run in normal state - I can't manually open it up every week to get the defrost coil to manually run!
This is where I am at - completely confused as to what may be preventing the defrost cycle from running as it should. The only other thing I can think of is that the Freezer Thermistor might be impacting the main circuit board in some way preventing it from closing the defrost limit switch? I am super confused - I think this stuff was easier when there were separate switches and not everything was on the main board.
Thank you in advance for any ideas on this - I appreciate it. I have attached the freezer wiring diagram and diagnostic sheet for reference.
I have tried every troubleshooting idea I can think of, and am in a bit of a pinch so hoping for some wise words from this community.
The symptom is a warming refrigerator. After digging into the issue, (seeing the evaporator coils completely frosted up) it appeared my Electrolux EI23BC30KS3 is having defrost issues. Initially it did not seem like that big of a deal - especially when I opened it up and tested the defrost thermostat. It had failed/bulged, which is a pretty common issue. I replaced, and reassembled. Approximately a week later, the same thing happened again. I figured the new defrost thermostat was bad - so I tested it with a multimeter, and it tested fine. So the next step was to test the defrost coil, which I also did. It tested fine.
This particular Electrolux model does not have a separate defrost control switch/defrost control board - it is all controlled through the main panel. The wiring diagram confirmed this, as best I can tell. Since to my knowledge/internets knowledge the only other potential failure mode is the control board. So, I bit the bullet and purchased a new control board. I installed it, and again everything worked fine - for a week - and then it fully frosted over again, as though nothing changed!
At this time I also discovered the manual defrost mode on the tech sheet. According to the tech sheet, you can activate the Defrost Heater test (test 2). In order for Test #2 to work, you should validate Test 26 (Defrost Limit Switch) is in status "CL" closed.
Currently, when freezer is on & closed, the Defrost Heater test fails, because the Defrost Limit Switch Test #26 is "OP".
So, I turned off the freezer, disassembled until the iced up condenser was visible, and ran the Defrost heater test again. This time, it worked fine, melted the block of ice, and test #26 showed "CL", which is what it should have done. But, I obviously need the defroster to run in normal state - I can't manually open it up every week to get the defrost coil to manually run!
This is where I am at - completely confused as to what may be preventing the defrost cycle from running as it should. The only other thing I can think of is that the Freezer Thermistor might be impacting the main circuit board in some way preventing it from closing the defrost limit switch? I am super confused - I think this stuff was easier when there were separate switches and not everything was on the main board.
Thank you in advance for any ideas on this - I appreciate it. I have attached the freezer wiring diagram and diagnostic sheet for reference.
