On 8/19/2012 6:34 PM, Tony Hwang wrote:


Pete C. wrote:

Ignoramus3194 wrote:

I have a side by side refrigerator in the garage. This summer, when
the weather was rather warm, it suddenly quit cooling. The motor kept
on running, but the inside was warm.

I turned it off, thawed it overnight with both doors open and then it
started working again.

I put a thermometer in the refrigerator section to monitor it.

The refrigerator worked fine for another couple of weeks, then the
same thing happened, 65 degrees F inside, motor still running.

Again, re-thawed it for just two hours, with only the freezer section
open, and it is fine now.

I vaguely recall some mentions of ice forming somewhere and blocking
something, which agrees with my observations, but what exactly are the
details here?

And what can I do about it? Does this problem happen only with side by
side fridges?

Thanks

i

Bad defrost timer, possible bad door seals allowing excess moisture in,
etc. Can happen with any refrigerator/freezer. Frost forms on the coils
in the freezer compartment and the defrost heating element on a timer
turns on to melt the frost off once a day or so. If that doesn't happen
the frost builds to the point it blocks airflow over the coils and frost
is a pretty good insulator as well.

Hi,
As well make sure drain is not plugged up.
Just to add to the other responses .... mechanical defrost timer is
probably number one on the list. There are 2 other components involved
.... the heater and usually a thermostat. They are usually found behind
the rear panel in the freezer. The timer turns on the heater for a
fixed amount of time, but as soon as the temperature goes above freezing
(ice is gone), it shuts off the heater to save energy.