MTB 2456AEA Maytag Fridge (DEFROST PROBLEM)

[moish]

Help! Maytag!Maytag!

On a serious note, my refrig. (MTB2456AEA) needs a heat gun treatment every 4 days over the past 2 weeks,

I have replaced (1) thermostat    (verified working)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               (2) radiant heater (verified working)         

                                       (3) Defrost timer (verified working)??  

Could the "wire harness to " defrost heater be bad???   How to check with multimeter???

        Thank you for your time and effort.

          Sincerely,

            Mench                                 

                                             

 

                                       

                                                     

 

[Lighthouse]

The thermostat must be cold enough to be closed in order to do this ohm test. Good time to check it is before you use your blow dryer. 

Unplug fridge from wall. Unplug the defrost timer. Check ohms between the blue & yellow wires that are on the defrost timer wire harness. You should have somewhere around 250K ohms.

If you do not have continuity then disconnect one of the wires at the thermostat and do an ohm test to see where you are losing your continuity.

[moish]

Thank you Lighthouse for the quick response w/ diagram.

The thermostat is NEW. (Not bulging from water to ice).  I will check this when I need to bring out the heat gun.

Also, when I replaced the heater, I couldn't find any info on how it orients into the heat shield. (clip broken from old heater).

I need a diagram since heater didn't come with one. I have tried several orientations of heater and shield, (still icing up)

Last night, I tried the last orientation possible. (I think it's a problem of orientation BUT I will try your suggestion )

Thank You again for such a quick response.

  Sincerely,

        Mench

 

[Lighthouse]

I sent the diagram so that you could better understand what I was saying about ohming the wiring for the heat circuit.

This may help with the orientation of the heater. May help also to look at parts breakdown on searspartsdirect.com

 

[AccApp]

Check that you are getting 120v at both ends of the heater

[David C]

make sure your draining.

[AccApp]

How did you verify the heater is working?

[AccApp]

Does the defrost timer advance under it's own power? Is it transferring the power from the compressor to the heater?

[moish]

Heater is BRIGHT RED. Timer advances since I hear "popping" from freezer compartment(defrost timer in defrost mode).

I will check drain pan.

I still need a better picture (Thank you LIghthouse) of how the element and shield "fit".

 

Thank you everyone so far who is working on my problem.

     Sincerely,

              Mench

[AccApp]

Can you attach a pic of the ice buidup?

[AccApp]

And is it clear ice or yucky white frost?

[moish]

white 

[moish]

Unfortunately I can't.  Like a "U" shape .

[moish]

yes I hear "popping in the freezer compartment.

[moish]

Glowing red.

[AccApp]

Where does the frost accumulate?

[AccApp]

Have you confirmed that the door gaskets are sealing well and that no other air leaks are occurring?

[moish]

Frost buildup on evaporator.  Gaskets tight.  Don't know other places where air leaks can occur.

[AccApp]

Does the frost cover the evap evenly? Are you certain the thermostat was the correct temperature and is installed according to the diagram?

 

[AccApp]

Check the junction of the metal cabinet to the plastic liner, apply rtv caulk if there are gaps. How many hours is the timer set to defrost (not adjustable, set from factory and marked on the case)?

[moish]

Evaporator coil ices up (white) like a "U" shape .

Timer is set to cool for 10 hours.

What do you mean by "was the thermostat at the correct temperature"?? I installed it the way I took the old one off.

[moish]

Also, I looked at where plastic liner of freezer cabinet meets metal cabinet.  I saw no gaps.

[AccApp]

The defrost thermostats are made with different cutoff temps, it sounds like yours may be too low and is not allowing a full defrost.

[moish]

I will compare new thermostat to old.  

[moish]

Hello everyone,

Long time no hear.

First, I want to thank everyone for their help and support in trying to fix my defrost problem.  

Second, let me quickly tell you what I did.  I put freezer into defrost mode removed the thermostat form the circuit.  I measured the ac voltage from blue wire coming into freezer and incoming defrost heater wire.  I got 120Vac.   Also I briefly touched the blue wire directly to the incoming defrost heater wire and the heater started to glow.  I ordered an new thermostat and everything is working fine.

Thirdly, I have a question or two for you .  When in defrost mode, I measured the ac voltage WITH the thermostat IN THE CIRCUIT and got 120 Vac.(I DO NOT UNDERSTAND THIS BECAUSE THE FREEZER WASN'T DEFROSTING).   (This is haunting me for the last month!!!) Why would  this thermostat last three years since I apparently ordered the incorrect one for my model refrig?  (I know this now since I called up APP's over the phone and they sent me the correct one).

 .Why did I get 120 volts ac with the 3 year old "incorrect thermostat" yet I would not turn the heater on????????(I need this question answered so I can "move on")

 

THANK AGAIN EVERYONE!!!  You people ROCK!!

Sincerely,

Mench