Electrolux EI23BC30KS3 Refrigerator No Longer Cooling - Strange Defrost Issue

[atfelt]

Hi Everyone,

I have tried every troubleshooting idea I can think of, and am in a bit of a pinch so hoping for some wise words from this community.
issue is a warm refrigerator with freezer at the correct temp. After digging into the issue, (seeing the evaporator coils completely frosted up) it appeared my Electrolux EI23BC30KS3 is having defrost issues. Initially it did not seem like that big of a deal - especially when I opened it up and tested the defrost thermostat. It had failed/bulged, which is a pretty common issue. I replaced, and reassembled. Approximately a week later, the same thing happened again. I figured the new defrost thermostat was bad - so I tested it with a multimeter, and it tested fine. So the next step was to test the defrost coil, which I also did. It tested fine.

This particular Electrolux model does not have a separate defrost control switch/defrost control board - it is all controlled through the main control board.  To my knowledge/internets knowledge the only other potential failure mode is the control board. So, I bit the bullet and purchased a new control board. I installed it, and again everything worked fine - for a week - and then it fully frosted over again, as though nothing changed! At this time I also discovered the manual defrost mode on the tech sheet. According to the tech sheet, you can activate the Defrost Heater test (test 2). In order for Test #2 to work, you should validate Test 26 (Defrost Limit Switch) is in status "CL" closed.

Currently, when freezer is on & closed, the Defrost Heater test fails, because the Defrost Limit Switch Test #26 is "OP".
So, I disassembled the freezer until the iced up condenser was visible, and ran the Defrost heater test again. This time, it worked fine, melted the block of ice, and test #26 properly showed "CL".  It is really strange the Defrost Limit Switch test showed "OP" when the freezer was running as normal (preventing a defrost cycle), and then showed "CL" when I removed the door and removed the panel, etc.  

This is where I am at - completely confused as to what may be preventing the defrost cycle from running as it should. The only other thing I can think of is that the Freezer Thermistor might be impacting the main circuit board in some way preventing it from closing the defrost limit switch? Or maybe the defrost limit switch test on this Electrolux is saying the new thermostat I just bought is intermittently failing? I am super confused - I think this stuff was easier when there were separate switches and not everything was on the main board.

Thank you in advance for any ideas on this - I appreciate it. 

 

Image of tech sheet of various tests and also freezer wiring diagram:

https://ibb.co/ZXVf9dB
https://ibb.co/TrWFhcx

[Vance R]

Double check for loose connection. Water will get inside and turn to ice causing connection issues. Make sure all the connection are clean tight and dry in the complete circuit. In the test mode check all the thermistor readings.

[atfelt]

Hi Vance - Thank you for the note - I will review all connections and be sure they are solid and check thermistor reading as well.  I will report back with update.  

[atfelt]

Starting on 3/21 I did the following:

- Completely defrosted the freezer, unplugged all the connections in defrost loop (including the theromstat) and let dry for 6 hours.  

- Reattached everything (triple checked for tight connection), turned it back on, and tested the thermistor readings. (they read 0 degrees in freezer, which is what I had it set to.)

- Every 2 days I ran diagnostics and checked Test 26 to be sure the defrost limit switch was status "CL".  

- Every day it was correct, except for today.  It showed "OP".  My fist guess (hope?) was that it had just run a defrost cycle, but unfortunately there is frost building up.  (it has not yet plugged up the coils, so the evaporator fan is still blowing cold air into the refrigerator)

- Needless to say, I am bummed, as the frisge is on verge of not getting cold air.  I am going to buy a replacement thermostat and see if the one I just bought 3 weeks ago is having issues with occasional failures.  Not sure if that is even possible, but need to try something.   

- Any other thoughts/ideas?  

[stankustov]

What did u end up with ? Thanks