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My freezer keeps icing over, and the ice covers the vents in the back, then the bottom fridge section stays warm. Anyone know what might be causing this?

Shredd6 wrote:My freezer keeps icing over, and the ice covers the vents in the back, then the bottom fridge section stays warm. Anyone know what might be causing this?

Yep. I am going to assume this is a refrig/freezer combo, less than 10 years old, frost free design. You have a circulation fan, a defrost element, and a defrost timer and one of them is bad.

Safety note: working on a fridge is like working on a tube amp. If you don't know what you are doing and touch the wrong thing you will surely be dead.

Still here? Ok here we go:

Process of elimination:
1 Find the circ fan, open up the ducting to get a look. Turn the refrig temp all the way up and all the way down. The fan should cycle on and off freely. If it labors or binds, replace it.

2. Unplug the fridge, remove the interior freezer panels to expose the cooling coils. You should also find a defrost element. Disconnect the element leads and put an ohm meter across. Should be 4-20 ohms. If open line, replace the element.

3. If the first two are good it must be the defrost timer. Follow the defrost leads to the timer (might be just a small circuit board). If it looks crappy, replace.

Now go get yourself a cold beer cause you fixed it yourself and saved $100 service call.

Cool man. Thanks, I'll see what I can do.

doode man, Johhny might be a super smart tech guy, but seriously you oughtta rethink asking appliance repair questions on a band forum.
I could be wrong..

Actually, I'm glad I did. Johnny appears to be right on the money. I asked the same question on a Fender forum and got the same diagnosis from a few people. Most said it sounds like the defrost timer.

Thanks again Johnny.

I only know that refrigerators keep beer cold... therefore I love them

celticpiping wrote:doode man, Johhny might be a super smart tech guy, but seriously you oughtta rethink asking appliance repair questions on a band forum.
I could be wrong..

Asking questions will never get you in trouble. It's sticking your hand in the wrong place that will bite ya.

I train people to troubleshoot, diagnose, and repair equipment in my day job. Yes I have been inside a whole bunch of refrigerators and my wife hates it because I keep fixing our old ones when all she really wants is a new one. Just not for her birthday or Christmas.

At the end of the day it is the technician getting their hands dirty and taking all the risks. Everyone has to decide for themselves if they are up to the task. This is really a pretty simple repair but if you are all thumbs or lack confidence in your ability to know a hot wire from a cold one, a $100 service call by a trained technician is cheap. Choose wisely.

**A bad defrost timer is very common, but I have seen all three components go bad over the years.

yup. agreed: electrics are nothing to be taken lightly.

celticpiping wrote:yup. agreed: electrics are nothing to be taken lightly.

What do you mean! Don't touch that fridge??

More often that not it's a simple seal leak around the doors allowing to much air ( moisture ) in.
Don't overlook the little things.
It's all in the details.