Whirlpool ED5VHEXVB00 side by side Freezer Section not freezing Properly

[rwbil]

Refrigerator is working OK, but freezer not getting as cold as it should. Pulled off access panel and took a picture. I am assuming this is too much ice on the evaporator if the defrost is working properly. The ice buildup seems uniform. And the evaporator fan is turning.

I should add I had turned the refrigerator off and let everything defrost and after that it worked well at first getting down to zero in freezer, so I do not think it is a low refrigerant or compressor issue.

Is there a way to test if it is the thermostate or defrost timer or cold control thermostate or could it be something else. What should I do first.

Did some more digging the temperature is getting to around 18 degrees with all that ice on the evaporator. 

I was trying to see if there was a manual way to force a defrost, to see if the heating elements work. Is there a manual way to do this. Exactly how does the defrost work. Is there a timer backup or just that thermostate, so if the thermostate does not work no defrost? 

I took a pictures of the top of the evaporator. I want to test the defrost and heating element. Is that black and white wire to the heating element. If so can I just discount and ohm and if continuous element is OK. Also to test the defrost would I have to cut it out. At what temperature does it close or open. Is it normally open or closed.

I cannot see how to insert attachments, so here are links to pictures

 

 

 

 

[RhodyGrad]

Bets bet is to use a steamer to get he ice off of there and then it will give you access to the wires and visually see where things do. Also look for the bimetal thermostat as these commonly pop open (replace it). But by steaming things off you can see if it is a defrost problem or simply a clogged drain.

[rwbil]

Unplugged the refrigerator and letting the ice melt now.  Didn't see any ice build up around the drain hole and not sure why that would cause the evaporator to have ice all around it, so I do not think it is drain issue.  I just wish there was a way to test the defrost thermostat without cutting it out.  Is it normally open or closed and what temperature does it need to get to open or close?  I hope it is the thermostate as it is the least expensive option.  I mean the defrost control board is worth as much as the refrigerator at some places where it is for sale.

 

I don't know if this helps, but this thing has been running for awhile to build up this amount of ice.  I am guessing around 1 month.  So not like overnight or anything. 

[KaveMan]

Looks like a classic defrost issue. You could unplug the molex connector from the back wall and put your meter test leads on the thermostat wire harness between the pink and brown wires. If the thermostat is still frozen in frost you should get a  reading of around 56 k ohms. If not, it's bad.  Examine it to see if is warped...if so, its bad. If the evaporator has been defrosted, make an ice slurry and dunk the thermostat into it for several minutes to see what reading you get. If it reads ok, you can check the brown and black connections for the heater to see what you get...should be around 21-27 ohms. 

If both those components are fine, you probably have board failure. To verify, unplug fridge for at least 30 seconds. Turn off the cold control thermostat. Plug the fridge back in. It should go into a defrost, (you'll hear a relay click). If nothing happens after several minutes and the heater remains cold, change the board.

[rwbil]

Kave Man,

I disconnected the connector and first checked the thermostat.  The refrigerant line the thermostat was connected to was already defrosted but as you can see in the photo it read exactly 56.1K as you predicted.  But I was surprise as the line was not cold, so I pulled it off the line and then measured the heater and as you can see it was 23.9 ohms again you were right on the money.

I reconnected to the thermostat and it still reads 56.1 K.  Now I am wondering if the thermostat is staying closed or if it take awhile to open back up.  How long does it take to open again?  If it stays at a 56.1 K I am assuming that ii is the problem and if not it is the expensive control board.

If control board do you have any instructions on how to change it or is it pretty obvious.

 

For the life of me I still cannot see any option to attach a file, so I have to do a link.

 

 

[rwbil]

The thermostate reading has not changed so I cut it out and re-measured resistance out of the refrigerator and still reads 56.1 K ohms. So I tired the ice water and still 56.1 K ohms.  So now I have it in freezer to see if it changes.  But if that is the closed contact reading what would have happened.  Does the control board just shut the heat off after awhile.

 

 

[AccApp]

3 hours ago, KaveMan said:

Looks like a classic defrost issue. You could unplug the molex connector from the back wall and put your meter test leads on the thermostat wire harness between the pink and brown wires. If the thermostat is still frozen in frost you should get a  reading of around 56 k ohms. If not, it's bad.  Examine it to see if is warped...if so, its bad. If the evaporator has been defrosted, make an ice slurry and dunk the thermostat into it for several minutes to see what reading you get.

56,000 Ohms? Whaaaaaaatttt?????

[AccApp]

1 hour ago, rwbil said:

The thermostate reading has not changed so I cut it out and re-measured resistance out of the refrigerator and still reads 56.1 K ohms. So I tired the ice water and still 56.1 K ohms.  So now I have it in freezer to see if it changes.  But if that is the closed contact reading what would have happened.  Does the control board just shut the heat off after awhile.

 

 

And getting the same reading at room temp and in ice water? Something funny is going on here. I'm pretty sure that is a standard bimetal defrost thrmostat and it should either read 0 Ohms (closed circuit) or OL (open circuit) if properly functioning. I think that piece is your issue. It can be replaced by itself or as the evap fan motor /heater harness.

[rwbil]

I tired to research that thermostat to see what reading it should produce, but I cannot find any information.  But Kave Man must know something as he nailed the 56.1 number.  That is the reading I get on the thermostat and when the new one come in I will see what I get on it.  I did see somewhere that it said it opened at 55 and closed at 15.  That 15 seems awfully cold to me.  If that is the case the simple water ice solution wont cut the mustered.  But again I will test when the new one arrives.  

[rwbil]

Maybe the 56.1 K reading is what it suppose to be at 55 degrees and it is suppose to be zero at 15 degrees.  I have it in the freezer to get it down to 15 degrees.  We will see.

[rwbil]

One thing I do not get and maybe someone can explain it to me.  The freezer stays around zero degrees and this thermostat turns on around 15 degrees or so.  So the coil must be cold enough to get the freezer down to zero degrees, therefore this thermostat mounted on the coil line seems like it woudld always be below 15 degree and activated.  Maybe it is on the exit part of the refrigerant line after it has picked up the heat from the freezer. If so what temperature is that point in the line normally at.

[AccApp]

The evaporator coil can easily get down to -15 so the bimetal closing at 15 degrees is about right. Opening at around 40 ° or higher seems about right as well.

Is you meter reading 56.1 ohms or 56,100 ohms? two very different numbers but I can't read the little bits in the pics.

When a defrost cycle occurs, the compressor is turned off and the heater is turned on, the defrost bimetal thermostat is a safety device to prevent the heater from staying on too long and melting things.

[AccApp]

40 minutes ago, rwbil said:

  That 15 seems awfully cold to me.  If that is the case the simple water ice solution wont cut the mustered.   

True.

[rwbil]

I left the thermostat in another freezer overnight and now it is at zero.  So I guess when it is cold enough it goes to zero and when it is warm enough it goes to 56.1K ohms.  So maybe this thermostat is working properly.

I thought it was the thermostat that activated the defrost cycle.  Your stated it is a safety device.  So the defrost cycle is activated by the electronic control board to turn on every so many hours.  

If that is the case then maybe it is the control board.

 

[rwbil]

Forgot picture

 

 

[Budget Appliance Repair]

On some ADC (Adaptive Defrost Control) systems when the bi-metal opens they still have a reading of around 56K Ohms, (they have an internal resistor), this is so the electronic control knows when the bi-metal opens, (the board will see a resistance of around 56K ohms if the bi-metal opens and the rest of the heater circuit is still complete, (IE: heater not open).

As far as my knowledge goes, I don't think these newer ones have that feature, (If I remember correctly they used that in some of the older Admiral/Maytag SxS refrigerators).

 

[Budget Appliance Repair]

Looks like your bi-metal/defrost t-stat is OK and heater is OK.   That pretty much leaves the ADC (Adaptive Defrost Control) board as the problem.

[rwbil]

Just ordered one of Amazon.  The appliance repair places wanted over $200 for the board and Amazon just $35.  

[rwbil]

Been reading up on this defrost control and apparently it is an adaptive defrost control.  They adapt the defrost time based on how long it takes the thermostat to open.  In other words if the condenser built up a lot of ice and takes a long time to melt then the defrost control will turn on the heat more often.  This just makes me rethink what the problem might be.  As I had said the refrigerator took about 1 month to go from being completely defrosted to building up that much ice as shown in the 1st picture.  I am just wondering if the defrost never came on is that about right or would there have been a lot more ice on the evaporator.