Electrolux Model EI23BC56IS2 Fridge is hovering at 53 degrees F, Freezer fine. (Its not the fan)

[hazard]

Model Number

EI23BC56IS2

Brand

Electrolux

Age

More than 10 years

July 2021 I was very successful using this site to replace the fan when the 'fridge compart was getting to warm. See the link at the end of this message. I mention this as I thought it was happening again.

Day 0, In the morning I notice when I get a swig of water from the jug I store in the 'fridge while cool, its not cold. The temperature reading on the external display says the freezer is 0, and the fridge is 53 degrees normally its 37, hmmmm.

• I check the fan, I hear it running but I open the freezer and depress the door close trip button and it starts running. SO the fan is fine.
• I had recently put several 4 packs of IPA in the fridge, and had moved stuff around a bit, so I pulled some stuff out and made sure it was not overcrowded, because thats the last thing that changed. No improvement.
• Next I disconnected power for 10 minutes. When I re-applied power, acked the power loss, displays the what the temp is set for (37 degrees) then jump up to "HI" and watched the temperature over the course of the next hour, it was dropping and by the time i left from "HI" to 53, 52, 50....45..." SO I assume it was fixed.
• I called my GF who is working from my house to check on it and she sent me the picture of the external display which showed it was back at 53.... I ran her through how to disconnect power from the breaker and reset it. Again it starts at HI and drops down over the course of an hour or so, but later in the day its back at 53 and holding, I believe the display will go as high as 55 before it display HI, but not 100% sure.
  
  

Day 1, I return home the next day. And the display is reading 53 degrees, l I thought for a second it read 32 and changed, my girlfriend thought that she noticed other temperature readings on it as well, but the food seemed always the same temp

• I use one of those contactless thermometers I using for cooking, and test the temperature of several items in the fride and it agrees with the display 53-55 degrees. (I have this thermometer somewhat accurate in playing with it to measure temperature of lots of objects indoors and out over the course of the last few years.)
• I reset again from the breaker. Let it set for about 15 minutes. Once I re-connect power and ack the power loss warning, it shows its normal temperature setting (37) then jumps to HI, and is now decreasing to about 51 and its been a couple hours, but granted we opened it a bit to get lunch made.

Other observation.

IN the past when the display gets screwy, its happened a few times, the disconnect for 10 minutes or so seems to do the trick.

Freezer is working and is set to 0 and I believe thats what it is operating at.

I have perused this site and here is what I think it could be but not in any particular order:

1. Frost preventing the flow of cold air, it has never been an issue in 10+ years, but it could be some kind of defroster thing gone bad.
2. The damper in the fridge is wonky, electrical or not opening the whole way.
3. SOme kind of sensor, although the display seems to be accurate to the actual temperate of the compartment. Is there another sensor?
4. Some kind of control board.
5. SOmething else?

Any thoughts appreciated.


My thread from 2021 when I replaced the fan.

EI23BC56IS2 Electrolux French Door Refrigerator/Freezer. Fridge Compartment is warm. Freezer Seems OK

Last night I noticed that my control panel had a funny code looks like SY Lr (see attachment) (as a note I think my LED displays has some issues). It also has a warm indicator light on. Because of some access constraints I turned the breaker of for about 30 minutes after turning it back on it...

www.applianceblog.com

JH

 

[Jake]

Frost preventing the flow of cold air, it has never been an issue in 10+ years, but it could be some kind of defroster thing gone bad.

Yes, that's the first thing to check, remove the back panel inside the freezer and look at the frost pattern of your evaporator coil. If you see it completely caked up in frost/ice then you have a auto defrost part out.

Let us know what you find.

Better yet, use your phone to take a photo of the evaporator coil and attach it to your next post so we can see it too.

 

[hazard]

OK will do tomorrow 2/11. So If I find the evaporator is all "caked up", whats the best way to get the ice off until I can get the part ordered? Old fashion defrost (think of my mom putting pans with hot water in the freezer compartment) or can I be a bit more aggressive? I have a household steam gun for cleaning screens and other gunky area's would that help it along? Its nothing as powerful as engine steam cleaner, but its more potent than say a laundy steamer.

 

[Jake]

A normal hair dryer going back and forth on the evaporator coil to defrost it.

 

[hazard]

Yep it was an ice fiesta in around the coil compartment. One of the screws to get the fan cover, the phillips head stripped so it took me about an hour+ (used the rubber band trick) to get it off, so I would say these pics were about 2 hours after I disconnected the power.

THe first pic is of the screw, I assume the replacements should be stainless, any idea where to get some of these, or the type of screw it is? I assume it should stainless.

I got it all back together, minus the one screw and the other 2 are loose, and its operating as it should.

Thoughts on what caused this?

 

[Jake]

Any hardware store should have that screw. Just take it with you to the hardware store and they can match it up.

Disconnect and take off the defrost thermostat, I circled it in RED and read me the numbers on it, or take a close up photo of the numbers on it please. You will need to remove those 2 screws holding the fan assembly in place to get to that other wire behind that fan assembly.

 

[hazard]

Ok thanks for the help on this, it's your support gives me the confidence to fix the darn thing. It will be a couple weeks before I can disassemble this again to get the information. Since I need a functioning freezer, I assume I will take apart and get part number, then re-assemble? Would there be any other test I could do once I get it apart?

Again thanks for your help.

 

[Jake]

I need to make sure of the temperature reading on that thermostat I circled, I believe its the primary defrost thermostat.

If so, Watch this video:

 

[hazard]

Sorry for the earlier reply. Not sure what happened. So I am going to try this during the weekend. Assuming the thermostat is bad, should I re-install until I get a new one or is it ok to leave it out. I will need to put the freezer compartment back together until a new one arrives and I have time. 2 weeks min.

Thanks

 

[Jake]

ALSO--->What's the part number on it say? None of the appliance parts sites list it.

should I re-install until I get a new one or is it ok to leave it out.

You should NOT leave it out while your waiting for your new one.

 

[hazard]

I'll let you know PN when I get it out, I'll take plenty of pictures. I tired to see the PN from the pics I originally took, and I am not even sure they were visible.

I'll reinstall.

 

[Jake]

Ok, sounds good, thanks!

 

[Dan O.]

I need to make sure of the temperature reading on that thermostat I circled, I believe its the primary defrost thermostat.

The tech sheet says the defrost thermostat is 25° F (-4° C) cut in, 47° F (8° C) cut out.

 

[hazard]

The tech sheet says the defrost thermostat is 25° F (-4° C) cut in, 47° F (8° C) cut out.

I watched the video, and I got the message that I should test for continuity or lack there of at room temperature, and then toss it into icy water for a few minutes and run the same check.
Now it sounds like I should figure out at what temperature it changes ? Do I need to do many measurements as the ice water warms up and measure the continuity as a function of temerature?

Thanks for your help.

 

[Dan O.]

Now it sounds like I should figure out at what temperature it changes ?

The exact temperature doesn't matter, just whether it opens and closes by itself when above and below those temperatures.

 

[hazard]

So I took it apart again and then reassembled. Still frost but not as much, been a bit over a month since the last defrosting.

I think it failed the test, but there were times when the digital meter would show continuity but only for a moment, almost like the connection was real bad or the slight amount of current was flowing warmed it to shut it, I dunno how these things act. In general it almost always showed no continuity I also think the cutt in is lower that 30 so maybe the thermostat was just not cold enought, I dunno. I tested the meter on other items and did not see this action so the meter seems fine.
Lots of pics.

 

[Jake]

L47-22F on the side. L is limit 47 degrees F is when it opens and shuts down the defrost element.

-22 is the temperature it closes at. That is 47 - 22 = 25 degrees Fahrenheit.

So it has to get to 25 degrees or lower to show constant continuity.

So if your freezer is getting down to 25 or lower at all times, then it should have constant continuity.

Here's the defrost thermostat for your model:
Defrost Thermostat 5303918202

 

[hazard]

Thanks. Ordered it.

 

[Jake]

Ok, sounds good, let us know how it goes.