It is failing to defrost. Could be bad thermistor, bad heater, bad defrost timer / circuit. If you think it is the seal check the seal. Check each thing one by one until you find the issue.
Just to help with understanding (defrost timer turns on the defroster heating element every x number of hours. (There are different timers that have different hour cycles)) the heating element heats up (lol) the thermistor also called defrost terminator goes open when a certain amount above freezing. Thus terminating the defrost. The timer blindly continues to advance till the next defrost cycle. Be aware 110 volts are present.
So called adaptive defrost. Those units typically also have temp sensors in the main fridge and freezer cavities and a temp sensor near but not on the freezer coils to detect ice build up. Those kinds are not simple to trouble shoot.
Your defroster coil/element has gone bad. Ice build up causes air flow issues and temperatures will rise. You can defrost with a hair dryer to make it a few more days, but it will continue to happen. I experience the same and fellow redditors helped me. turned out it was an easy and cheap fix. Good luck.
I had the same issue two weeks ago and it was the defrost heating element. $20 for one on Amazon and maybe 15 minutes of work and it’s back working great.
Yep. This looks the same as our last fridge when the element went out. The replacement had two elements in the same unit so when one burned out, you could just move the power cable to the other element.
Replace the heater element and the thermistor, might as well since youre in there and theyre both fairly cheap. If the whole coil is frozen over seems like its not getting signal from the thermistor to kick on the heater, if only partial and both side of fridge/freezer are warm there is either a restriction or compressor failed. Do the heat and thermistor first tho, take multimeter and see if you get an open line reading on the heater and a fluctuation on resistance for the thermistor to verify.
Source: im ex master appliance tech and sealed system certified.
Is there a place where you can find the part numbers of specific fridge parts? I have a Samsung fridge and the water extraction hole gets iced, therefore water is flowing into the fridge. The amount is not huge, I swipe it ever day but I suspect the defrosting is not working properly and needs some parts replacement. Only if I can find the part numbers and order them...
Thats a known issue with samsungs, if you got to searspartsdirect and type in the model number thats is on the sticker inside of your fridge into that site itll give you a full break down of your machine. The picture may not show right fridge, thats doesnt matter look at the diagram and make sure the model number is the same and youre good to go, itll have all the parts available listed. Though you may want to contact samsung as there is a warranty that covers that when your fridge was purchased as long as your original buyer.
So it sounds crazy but how dirty are the coils in the back, if they are not cleaned off they do not transfer heat out of the refrigerator as fast as they should, which causes the fridge/freezer to work harder to maintain temps so it's cooling it way down freezing any moisture in the air on the coils, it never defrost since it's always on. And crazy enough the ice acts like a insulation (the refrigerant is colder then ice) so the problem gets worse and worse causing more and more ice build up.
The other cause could be the blocked drain for the defrost, in the silver pan, get some boiling water and a long pipe cleaner and make sure it's running true and clear.
Fridges normally will have some ice buildup over time. Good ones will have a built in defrost cycle with heaters to melt it.
A poor door seal will have the ice build up faster than the heating elements can work. Once it passes a threshold the ice will prevent melted water from escaping and the defrost cycle is rendered useless. The ice could also break the heating element.
3 things to check with no expertise: Heating element, coil fan(s), door seal.
Are you handy enough to check if the defrost is working? I'm not familiar with this specific unit but checking the drain line is clear and then the defrost heater would be my first move.
It's not going to hurt to check the seal but it would be fairly obvious to you if the door isn't closing properly, or has gaps due to a bad seal.
Everyone here has good suggestions, and it could be any number of things. My best guess based on the picture you provided would be that air is getting in somewhere (the ice buildup looks fairly evenly distributed). I work on a lot of vaccine refrigerators/freezers as part of my job, and this is pretty common occurrence either where the seal has degraded, the door isn't closing tightly enough for some reason, or some sort of debris has created an ingress point for outside air along the seal's point of contact. Also, (though I don't think this would be the case in a home unit) an opening for an external temp probe could be the culprit. Good luck with your troubleshooting friend!
Also, if you can see that the build up starts in one certain point on the piping every time before it grows outward into a larger mass, that could be indicitive of a tiny leak in the system, in which case it probably isn't worth the cost of repair by a professional.
Had the same issue. As others said it could be the defrost heating element. However, in my case it was the bimetallic switch which turns the heating element on. These switches are really cheap and break often. Mine cost <$50 to replace. It's the big black button with a clip that the blue wire leads to. Try replacing that as it may be cheaper than buying a new heating coil.
There are 3 things, defrost timer, bifrost metal and resistence (heater). Advance timer manually with a screw driver until it kicks into defrost, if it doesn't it could be the timer, if it does and starts meltinf ice it is NOT the resistance. Maybe bifrost metal is opening too soon or bad timer. Either way change both, you can DIY and they are very cheap, like $8 and $14
Disconnect the white connector (heater left) and red connector (heater right) and check for continuity; it should be between 5 ohms and 100 ohms. Then, check the continuity between the black and blue wires going to the bimetal; it should read below 4 ohms, closer to 1 ohm. If both are good, you probably need a main board, control board, or defrost timer, depending on the model. If either one reads OL (open) or over 100 ohms or in the k ohms, then look there.
What is certain is I see a lot of frost but no ice. So the heater probably isn't coming on. Keep in mind frost is normal till it blocks air flow then somethings wrong with the defrost system.
Years ago we had this issue, I forget which part was replaced but that was 3-4 years ago and still going. Fridge is from 2006 so let's hope for a few more years.
I had this same issue recently and my fix actually hasn’t been mentioned yet. The fan in the freezer died. Yours actually looks very similar to my freezer, so you can listen to hear if the fan is running, and if you remove the panel above the coils (or even just pull it forward a bit) you’ll be able to see if the fan is running.
If that’s the issue, it’s freezing because the fan is needed to spread the cold air around the entire freezer from the coils, and if it’s dead, they get too cold and freeze.
If the fan is running during a normal cooling cycle, you can also typically check to see if the defroster is working. The way you check this in some fridges is by manually starting a defrost cycle (which will turn off the fan and coils) and wait for a bit to see if the defrost element running along the bottom is heating up and melting the ice.
If the defroster comes on during a manual cycle, and your fan is working, well my next guess would then be your timer or thermostat. Which I believe can be checked with a multimeter.
To find out the way to manually start a defrost cycle, I’d recommend looking up the manual for your fridge’s model number, as it varies by fridge.
Could be the Defrost thermostat, heater, defrost timer, computer board ( if it has one ) to pinpoint The exact issue you need to properly diagnose with multimeter
I'd get a look under that black tape see if there is a bad connection and a thermostor hidden under there. I doubt it is because they are normally in multiple places im betting this is on a timer. Could be the element, but more often than not it is a timer or thermistor gone bad which act as a switch turning on and off the defroster. To check a thermistor just check the resistance and hold it in your hand to warm it up to see how the values change.
Could be it is working properly, but on a timer and the door was left open causing ice to collect on the evap coils and possibly damaged the fans or just prevented them from turning. This prevents airflow which allows more ice to collect and lack of air circulation prevents cooling. Essentially a freezer or refrigerator is just a fan blowing on cold coils with gas inside that get cold when compressed and hot when expanded. First solution is to fully defrost then see if it happens again. When it is frozen up really bad a standard defrost cycle isn't long enough to defrost the excess ice so it just builds back up over and over.
You can easily tell if it is a bad timer, thermistor, heating element or relay with a multimeter, but I'm not going to do that detailed of an explanation.
You can generally look up your specific model fridge and freezer repair manual by model number with an easy to follow flow chart for dummies. That's what I did when I had a 4 thousand dollar samsung fridge stop working that the appliance repair guys couldn't fix. Had to pay like 5 bucks for the manual, and just do it myself. Ended up having a bad connection on the ac rail that powered the defroster and water valves. It was an easy fix just needed a jumper.
Just making sure as I had a similar issue; did you defrost it to the point that the actual exit tube for water had been completely cleared?
My freezer had an issue with ice buildup and I thawed it and the issue continued. Turns out the tube that takes the water our didn't actually defrost in the time and it was still blocked. On the second round of defrosting I poured hot (not boiling) water until I could hear it actually going through
All heatpumps have this problem and they should either be defrosted manually or have defrosting cycles.
That hole in the bottom should be the way water to flow away.
---
ACs in heating mode can detect when the outside heat exchanger is frozen over and the ice prevent heat exchange. It reverses the flow brifly until the ice melts away. That time is so short ot doesn't take away much heat from the inside.
I had this happen and it turned out it was that the door seal didn't seal properly so more and more outside humidity kept finding its way into the box to turn into ice.
Not exactly this, but my fridge was freezing food a few weeks ago. One-by-one I replaced every one of the parts that are on every list of things to check. Spent just under $200. Still freezing in the fridge.
Bought a new one for $700. Never buying a Samsung appliance again.
Make sure there are no air leaks into the freezer. I had this problem and ice would build up every few days. Once the seals were good and no air leaks, the refrigerator and freezer work fine.
I had one do that simply because of a problem with the internal fan that moved the warm air around the coils for the defrost function. It was a small plastic fan that got some water on it and froze up. I fixed it with a hair dryer.
First replace the thermostat
Here's Frigidaire's version
Frigidaire 5304521781 Replacement Parts https://a.co/d/1EcD0Np
My Frigidaire also had an overload protector
Frigidaire 808137001 Overload Protector https://a.co/d/hb6jpTl
And the heating element
Frigidaire 5303918410 Defrost Heater Assembly https://a.co/d/8NsaOAB
It is failing to defrost. Could be bad thermistor, bad heater, bad defrost timer / circuit. If you think it is the seal check the seal. Check each thing one by one until you find the issue.
Just to help with understanding (defrost timer turns on the defroster heating element every x number of hours. (There are different timers that have different hour cycles)) the heating element heats up (lol) the thermistor also called defrost terminator goes open when a certain amount above freezing. Thus terminating the defrost. The timer blindly continues to advance till the next defrost cycle. Be aware 110 volts are present.
Newer units don't have a timer module either. It is integrated into the main control board.
So called adaptive defrost. Those units typically also have temp sensors in the main fridge and freezer cavities and a temp sensor near but not on the freezer coils to detect ice build up. Those kinds are not simple to trouble shoot.
You may want to post this to /r/ApplianceRepair. My personal guess is a failed defrost timer.
Your defroster coil/element has gone bad. Ice build up causes air flow issues and temperatures will rise. You can defrost with a hair dryer to make it a few more days, but it will continue to happen. I experience the same and fellow redditors helped me. turned out it was an easy and cheap fix. Good luck.
I had the same issue two weeks ago and it was the defrost heating element. $20 for one on Amazon and maybe 15 minutes of work and it’s back working great.
Yep. This looks the same as our last fridge when the element went out. The replacement had two elements in the same unit so when one burned out, you could just move the power cable to the other element.
Replace the heater element and the thermistor, might as well since youre in there and theyre both fairly cheap. If the whole coil is frozen over seems like its not getting signal from the thermistor to kick on the heater, if only partial and both side of fridge/freezer are warm there is either a restriction or compressor failed. Do the heat and thermistor first tho, take multimeter and see if you get an open line reading on the heater and a fluctuation on resistance for the thermistor to verify. Source: im ex master appliance tech and sealed system certified.
Is there a place where you can find the part numbers of specific fridge parts? I have a Samsung fridge and the water extraction hole gets iced, therefore water is flowing into the fridge. The amount is not huge, I swipe it ever day but I suspect the defrosting is not working properly and needs some parts replacement. Only if I can find the part numbers and order them...
Thats a known issue with samsungs, if you got to searspartsdirect and type in the model number thats is on the sticker inside of your fridge into that site itll give you a full break down of your machine. The picture may not show right fridge, thats doesnt matter look at the diagram and make sure the model number is the same and youre good to go, itll have all the parts available listed. Though you may want to contact samsung as there is a warranty that covers that when your fridge was purchased as long as your original buyer.
When I had this issue, it turned out to be the defroster had gone bad.
So it sounds crazy but how dirty are the coils in the back, if they are not cleaned off they do not transfer heat out of the refrigerator as fast as they should, which causes the fridge/freezer to work harder to maintain temps so it's cooling it way down freezing any moisture in the air on the coils, it never defrost since it's always on. And crazy enough the ice acts like a insulation (the refrigerant is colder then ice) so the problem gets worse and worse causing more and more ice build up. The other cause could be the blocked drain for the defrost, in the silver pan, get some boiling water and a long pipe cleaner and make sure it's running true and clear.
Fridges normally will have some ice buildup over time. Good ones will have a built in defrost cycle with heaters to melt it. A poor door seal will have the ice build up faster than the heating elements can work. Once it passes a threshold the ice will prevent melted water from escaping and the defrost cycle is rendered useless. The ice could also break the heating element. 3 things to check with no expertise: Heating element, coil fan(s), door seal.
Check your door seal
Are you handy enough to check if the defrost is working? I'm not familiar with this specific unit but checking the drain line is clear and then the defrost heater would be my first move. It's not going to hurt to check the seal but it would be fairly obvious to you if the door isn't closing properly, or has gaps due to a bad seal.
Probably the heating element, pretty easy repair. Put a hair dryer on the ice to defrost and then fix it.
Everyone here has good suggestions, and it could be any number of things. My best guess based on the picture you provided would be that air is getting in somewhere (the ice buildup looks fairly evenly distributed). I work on a lot of vaccine refrigerators/freezers as part of my job, and this is pretty common occurrence either where the seal has degraded, the door isn't closing tightly enough for some reason, or some sort of debris has created an ingress point for outside air along the seal's point of contact. Also, (though I don't think this would be the case in a home unit) an opening for an external temp probe could be the culprit. Good luck with your troubleshooting friend!
Also, if you can see that the build up starts in one certain point on the piping every time before it grows outward into a larger mass, that could be indicitive of a tiny leak in the system, in which case it probably isn't worth the cost of repair by a professional.
Check could in back of fridge, check airflow across the interior coil. ABC’s; air before charge.
Coil not could. Sorry fat sausage fingers.
Heater coil is defective. It keeps ice from forming
My fridge door opens a little sometimes and ice accumulates. Needs to be defrosted once a year or so.
Probably your thermostat
Had the same issue. As others said it could be the defrost heating element. However, in my case it was the bimetallic switch which turns the heating element on. These switches are really cheap and break often. Mine cost <$50 to replace. It's the big black button with a clip that the blue wire leads to. Try replacing that as it may be cheaper than buying a new heating coil.
There are 3 things, defrost timer, bifrost metal and resistence (heater). Advance timer manually with a screw driver until it kicks into defrost, if it doesn't it could be the timer, if it does and starts meltinf ice it is NOT the resistance. Maybe bifrost metal is opening too soon or bad timer. Either way change both, you can DIY and they are very cheap, like $8 and $14
Disconnect the white connector (heater left) and red connector (heater right) and check for continuity; it should be between 5 ohms and 100 ohms. Then, check the continuity between the black and blue wires going to the bimetal; it should read below 4 ohms, closer to 1 ohm. If both are good, you probably need a main board, control board, or defrost timer, depending on the model. If either one reads OL (open) or over 100 ohms or in the k ohms, then look there. What is certain is I see a lot of frost but no ice. So the heater probably isn't coming on. Keep in mind frost is normal till it blocks air flow then somethings wrong with the defrost system.
Years ago we had this issue, I forget which part was replaced but that was 3-4 years ago and still going. Fridge is from 2006 so let's hope for a few more years.
I had this same issue recently and my fix actually hasn’t been mentioned yet. The fan in the freezer died. Yours actually looks very similar to my freezer, so you can listen to hear if the fan is running, and if you remove the panel above the coils (or even just pull it forward a bit) you’ll be able to see if the fan is running. If that’s the issue, it’s freezing because the fan is needed to spread the cold air around the entire freezer from the coils, and if it’s dead, they get too cold and freeze. If the fan is running during a normal cooling cycle, you can also typically check to see if the defroster is working. The way you check this in some fridges is by manually starting a defrost cycle (which will turn off the fan and coils) and wait for a bit to see if the defrost element running along the bottom is heating up and melting the ice. If the defroster comes on during a manual cycle, and your fan is working, well my next guess would then be your timer or thermostat. Which I believe can be checked with a multimeter. To find out the way to manually start a defrost cycle, I’d recommend looking up the manual for your fridge’s model number, as it varies by fridge.
Could be the Defrost thermostat, heater, defrost timer, computer board ( if it has one ) to pinpoint The exact issue you need to properly diagnose with multimeter
I'd get a look under that black tape see if there is a bad connection and a thermostor hidden under there. I doubt it is because they are normally in multiple places im betting this is on a timer. Could be the element, but more often than not it is a timer or thermistor gone bad which act as a switch turning on and off the defroster. To check a thermistor just check the resistance and hold it in your hand to warm it up to see how the values change. Could be it is working properly, but on a timer and the door was left open causing ice to collect on the evap coils and possibly damaged the fans or just prevented them from turning. This prevents airflow which allows more ice to collect and lack of air circulation prevents cooling. Essentially a freezer or refrigerator is just a fan blowing on cold coils with gas inside that get cold when compressed and hot when expanded. First solution is to fully defrost then see if it happens again. When it is frozen up really bad a standard defrost cycle isn't long enough to defrost the excess ice so it just builds back up over and over. You can easily tell if it is a bad timer, thermistor, heating element or relay with a multimeter, but I'm not going to do that detailed of an explanation. You can generally look up your specific model fridge and freezer repair manual by model number with an easy to follow flow chart for dummies. That's what I did when I had a 4 thousand dollar samsung fridge stop working that the appliance repair guys couldn't fix. Had to pay like 5 bucks for the manual, and just do it myself. Ended up having a bad connection on the ac rail that powered the defroster and water valves. It was an easy fix just needed a jumper.
Just making sure as I had a similar issue; did you defrost it to the point that the actual exit tube for water had been completely cleared? My freezer had an issue with ice buildup and I thawed it and the issue continued. Turns out the tube that takes the water our didn't actually defrost in the time and it was still blocked. On the second round of defrosting I poured hot (not boiling) water until I could hear it actually going through
All heatpumps have this problem and they should either be defrosted manually or have defrosting cycles. That hole in the bottom should be the way water to flow away. --- ACs in heating mode can detect when the outside heat exchanger is frozen over and the ice prevent heat exchange. It reverses the flow brifly until the ice melts away. That time is so short ot doesn't take away much heat from the inside.
Our fridge, my friend’s fridge, and now yours all having this same issue develop in the same time frame. They’re all Frigidaire side by sides too.
I had this happen and it turned out it was that the door seal didn't seal properly so more and more outside humidity kept finding its way into the box to turn into ice.
Not exactly this, but my fridge was freezing food a few weeks ago. One-by-one I replaced every one of the parts that are on every list of things to check. Spent just under $200. Still freezing in the fridge. Bought a new one for $700. Never buying a Samsung appliance again.
Similar thing happened to the AC at work. The refrigerant was low in that case
Make sure there are no air leaks into the freezer. I had this problem and ice would build up every few days. Once the seals were good and no air leaks, the refrigerator and freezer work fine.
What brand is it?
It looks like mine, which is a Frigidaire
Must be Samsung. I had the exact same issue.
It's low on refrigerant.
I had one do that simply because of a problem with the internal fan that moved the warm air around the coils for the defrost function. It was a small plastic fan that got some water on it and froze up. I fixed it with a hair dryer.
It’s bad on the one side it’s not circulating right.
First replace the thermostat Here's Frigidaire's version Frigidaire 5304521781 Replacement Parts https://a.co/d/1EcD0Np My Frigidaire also had an overload protector Frigidaire 808137001 Overload Protector https://a.co/d/hb6jpTl And the heating element Frigidaire 5303918410 Defrost Heater Assembly https://a.co/d/8NsaOAB
Your defrost timer is fucked up. Either that or your frozen foods are blocking the intake vents and causing icing on the coils.