FIXED Electrolux French Door Refrigerator EW23BC71IS7 freezer temperature rising

[deeMatrix]

Model Number

EW23BC71IS7

Brand

Electrolux

Age

More than 10 years

12 year old Electrolux French door refrigerator freezer temperature rising throughout day from 0 degrees F to roughly 12-13 degrees F on average usage then going back down to 0 after roughly 4 hours or so if don't open/use refrigerator/freezer. Noticed past 3 days freezer temp would be at 0 in morning and then noticed it going up as used during day and then back down if not used as well. The refrigerator section is maintaining consistent 37 degree F temperature so only freezer a concern at this point. Cleaned coils and refrigerator/freezer insulation/closing seems to be fine.

Ran system diagnostic tests after refrigerator got back to 0 Freezer and 37 Refrigerator temps as not opened for 4 hours and saw no errors from what I can see with following test results:

Test 2 Defrost Heater Test produced a slight noise when activated and when deactivated but not certain if actually heated up or not
Test 15 Evaporator fan motor test successfully ran at lo / hi speeds
Test 26 Defrost limit switch test came back as "Open"
Test 38 (VCC compressor test but don't really hear much other than a little click type noise at first).
Test 29 refrigerator thermistor test came back Good and showed 37F on left of display which is what refrigerator temp is set at.
Test 30 freezer thermistor test came back Good as well but showed 10F on left of display while freezer temperature is set at 0.

Not sure what other tests may provide insight or thoughts in general on above info. Thanks in advance for any assistance.
deeMatrix

 

[deeMatrix]

Some more info. Didn't use refrig for 4 hours or so today and the freezer temperature made it way back down to 0 degrees. Then used the refrig like 2 to 3 times for say 10 seconds or so and also open freezer for 4 seconds and then over next 2 hours the freezer temp slowly made its way up to 10 degrees F and settled there for now.

Will try to continue to use refrig as we normally would to see if it goes higher although the past few days it seems to settle at around 12 to 13 degrees upon normal use. Any input would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
deeMatrix

 

[Jake]

Hi dee,

This is going to be very difficult to troubleshoot online, since its so intermittent.

Test 26 Defrost limit switch test came back as "Open"

That should be "Closed" if its covered in frost.

Jake

 

[deeMatrix]

Thanks Jake for your reply. It's really not intermittent as its consistent that when we don't open the refrig or freezer door the temperature of freezer gets to set point of 0 degrees F. When we open the refrig the temperature gradually increases over the course of an hour or two gets up to 10-12 degress F.

As for Test 26 defrost limit switch test that was done when freezer was at 0 degrees this should test come back as closed? Not sure what you mean if covered in frost?

Thanks in advance,
deeMatrix

 

[Jake]

Yes at 0 degrees F. it should be CLOSED, usually it has frost on it because it connects directly to your freezer evaporator coil.

You may want to remove the back panel inside the freezer and take a photo of your evaporator coil so we can see the frost pattern of it. Normal would be a thin layer of frost on ALL the coils from Top to Bottom.

Jake

 

[deeMatrix]

Thanks Jake once again. I will look to remove the back panel and see what gives.

The bottom back wall of the freezer does have a thin layer of frosted ice on it from initial inspection. This morning once again freezer temp went from 10 degrees F at around 5am to 0 degrees at around 7am since no one was using it.

Upon opening and closing the refrig and freezer a few times around 930am the temp has rather quickly gone up to 11 degrees and stabilized there. Would a faulty default control switch cause something like this to happen? Not sure why freezer temp consistently goes back down to 0 though after a few hours of refrigerator non-use if faulty?

deeMatrix

 

[Jake]

Would a faulty default control switch cause something like this to happen? Not sure why freezer temp consistently goes back down to 0 though after a few hours of refrigerator non-use if faulty?

No, if the defrost thermostat was bad, the temperature would keep rising and not come back down to 0 F.

You may have a sealed system problem causing it, that's why we need to see the frost pattern of the freezer evaporator coil.

Look at the bottom photo below, that's a NORMAL FROST PATTERN:

 

[deeMatrix]

Thanks Jake, looking to get into freezer over next day or so to take picture of evaporator coil but waiting to have Mrs. clear it out, etc. as she's afraid everything will defrost if any issues so I will get back on this.
Noticed today that ice maker not working so ran some tests and saw the unit is in Freezer Recovery Mode which takes 24 hours with temperature above 10 degrees over set point to set this flag in control panel test. If unit goes back down to 0 degrees every night not sure why this doesn't reset?

deeMatrix

 

[deeMatrix]

Jake,

More info: I placed a thermostat in the freezer and as freezer temperature rose to around 14 I checked and the thermostat in freezer was 14. I then ran manual defrost mode and after 25 minutes it automatically comes back on with compressor kicking on and the display showing lower number of 7 degrees and then freezer display temperature makes its way back down to set point of 0 over 20 to 30 minutes or so. Once it gets to 0 I checked the thermostat I placed in the freezer but it still registered 14 degrees.

Curious if this is just erroneous info being displayed on the display screen from a faulty control board or defrost limit switch stuck in Open mode? Isn't this defrost limit switch in itself always being Open a problem and causing the freezer to never go into defrost mode?

Also, looking at the parts diagrams for my model (Electrolux EW23BC71IS7) I'm not sure what part number is for defrost limit switch as can't find it on the parts diagram?

Thanks for any additional insight you can provide on this,
deeMatrix

 

[Jake]

Yes, I've looked high and low for the defrost thermostat and I can't locate it either.

Hopefully another tech. that works on Electrolux "day in and day out" can shed some light on this.

Jake

 

[deeMatrix]

Thanks Jake for looking into this. I called Electrolux Customer Service as well and they too could not find the defrost thermostat part or part number. They were saying not sure if had one or part of another part? Guess when I open it up I'll see what is in there.

An important observation I have made and confirmed is that the freezer temperature never actually gets back down to 0 degrees in the morning as I initially thought from looking at the display panel. The system runs or tries to run automatic defrosts several times a day and the system temperature migrates down to 0 degrees on the refrigerator display screen but I have then looked at a specific freezer thermometer I have, as well as run Test 30 from the freezer thermistor, and both show the temperature is actually like 10-13F or so even the though the refrigerator screen display says 0. So in reality the temperature is always at this higher level and never goes down to 0.

Once I exit out of the system control panel the refrigerator screen that was displaying 0 freezer temp just before going in after the defrost cycle almost immediately changes to the higher value that the thermistor and the freezer thermometer in there show. As such, erroneous information is apparently being reported by the control board, freezer thermistor. or something.

So with the defrost limit switch always showing as "Open" does the defrost mode ever truly happen? Once I open up the freezer and see the evaporator coil and what actually exists for a defrost thermostat I should know more. Any new thoughts after the above info?

Truly thanks in advance,
deeMatrix

 

[deeMatrix]

Hi Jake, finally got to the freezer. Please see attached picture of frozen up evaporator. Looking at your pictures and comparing it looks like a defrost problem to me.

After defrosting with heat gun see the bulging evaporator defrost limit switch. My sense is this is bad although didn't take out and actually test. Did successfully test the defroster heater for continuity and the evaporator fan is working fine.

Part number on the defrost thermostat in the freezer is 240386402 but when searching for it and checking compatible refrigerator models it comes back as not being for this refrigerator. Not sure why but since it's in there I'm gonna order the same one and start with this. Any thoughts?

Thanks again for any input,
deeMatrix

 

[deeMatrix]

Hi Jake,

Any thoughts on this?

Thanks,
deeMatrix

 

[Jake]

After defrosting with heat gun see the bulging evaporator defrost limit switch. My sense is this is bad

You are absolutely right, when it bulges like that its definitely bad for sure.

Here's the defrost thermostat for your model you can order that will fix it:
240386402 Thermostat-Defrost


Don't worry, its compatible.

Jake

 

[deeMatrix]

You are absolutely right, when it bulges like that its definitely bad for sure.

Here's the defrost thermostat for your model you can order that will fix it:
240386402 Thermostat-Defrost


Don't worry, its compatible.

Jake

Thanks Jake, I received and replaced the part yesterday and so far so good as the correct freezer temperature is staying at 0 degrees both on the actual freezer thermometer and on the refrigerator display screen.

I also ran manual defrost and hear the typical noises it makes as the defrost limit switch test (system test #26) is coming back as "Closed " rather than "Open" now when freezer is cold so refrigerator can go into defrost mode when required.

Ice is now also being made as the freezer is no longer in Recovery Mode (Ice Maker test #48) since the freezer temperature is maintaining within 6 degrees of freezer set point. I won't declare complete success just yet and want to wait until a week or two and ensure nothing also potentially wrong with the main control board but so far looking very promising.

Thanks for your assistance.
deeMatrix

 

[Jake]

Sounds like you fixed it.

Jake