Hi @willr ,
Defrost the ice off the evaporator unit by turning off the fridge, leaving the freezer door open and allowing the ice to melt naturally. You may need plenty of towels handy ;-). You can use a hair dryer on the coolest setting, but only for short periods and not for prolonged use. The evaporator is only made of thin aluminium and it may be damaged if it is exposed to the heat from a hair dryer etc, as it is designed to operate at below freezing temperatures.
An iced up evaporator unit can be caused by the following:
A faulty defrost heater/defrost thermostat, part #12 freezer diagram You can measure the heater element using an Ohmmeter. Disconnect the power from the fridge and the disconnect the heater from the wiring harness and measure directly across the heater element wires. I don’t know what it is for your model but it should definitely not be open circuit. The defrost thermostat can also be faulty so if you measure OL Ohms or infinite resistance on the highest Ohms scale of the meter it may be the thermostat is faulty and not the heater element as they are connected. Looking at the wiring diagram, (see link in comment posted above) it shows that the test for the defrost thermostat should be 240K Ohms. maybe that is why they’re supplied as a unit. Looking at the image in the link above for the heater it does appear that they’re joined.
A blocked drain (parts #23 & #25 Compressor diagram). The drain goes from under the evaporator unit and leads to the evaporator pan under the compartments near the compressor so that the meltwater from the defrost action drains away to be evaporated. If the drain is blocked the water cannot escape and it refreezes after every defrost cycle and the ice subsequently builds up until eventually it covers the evaporator and the evap fan. This can cause the freezer to be warmer than it should be. Once the ice has been defrosted from the evap unit, pour a measured amount of water (cup?) down the drain in the freezer and check that it all gets to the evap pan.
A faulty defrost timer, (part #13 Controls diagram). This initiates the defrost cycle. The defrost cycle occurs once every ~10 hours and lasts for about 20 minutes. When it starts the compressor and the evaporator fan are both turned off and the defrost heater is turned on to melt the ice build up on the evaporator unit. The temperature in the freezer is allowed to rise to aid in the melting of the ice. When the temperature is greater than the pre-set release temperature of the defrost thermostat, the thermostat releases turning the heater off and the compressor and evaporator fan are both turned on again to drive the temperatures back down again to the set temps. The defrost thermostat re-operates when the freezer temperature which is being driven down, has reached its pre-set operate temp (usually ~25F) so that the heater circuit is ready for the next defrost cycle 10 hours later. The defrost timer is also reset so that it begins to countdown to the next defrost cycle again.
The supplier I linked in this answer was only to show where the parts are located. There are other suppliers that may suit you better. Just search for MSD2554DRW parts.
Sorry for the long answer, but I think that if you know how it should work, then it is easier to determine what is wrong when it doesn’t.
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Hi @willr ,
What is the model number of the refrigerator?
Use a thermometer and measure what the actual temperature in the freezer and the refrigerator compartments are. This is just to get an idea of what the temperatures are so that troubleshooting can begin.
Normally the set temp in the freezer is 0 deg. F (-20 deg. C) and the refrigerator is 37 deg. F (3 deg C) give or take a few degrees
I assume that when you said "The condenser never stopped working...." that you meant the compressor motor?
Are the condenser coils (what the condenser fan directs air to, to cool them down) clean and free of accumulated dust?
von jayeff
It’s a Maytag and the model number is MSD2554DRW.
I don’t have a thermometer to get the temps, but as a rough estimate, the freezer feels slightly warmer than what the fridge side should be and the fridge is just slightly cooler than room temp
And yes, I meant the compressor motor. It would still run/cycle even when the fan was not working
Since I’ve fixed the fan, I don’t believe it has stopped running if that matters.
I also cleaned the coils when I put the new motor in
von Will Ramey
@willr
Looking at the wiring diagram it appears as though the condenser fan runs as long as the compressor is running
The compressor is what pumps the refrigerant through the evaporator unit in the freezer compartment. The evaporator unit is where the cold is produced and this is blown through both the freezer and refrigerator by the evaporator fan.
If the compressor is running continually it means that the set temp hasn't been reached.
When the temperature control senses that the set temp is reached the compressor will be stopped until the temp rises a few degrees and then it is started again t drive the temps down again.
How hot is the compressor motor?
It would be handy to know the actual temps in the fridge compartments, because this will indicate if there may be a problem with the sealed system
The sealed system comprises the compressor, evaporator condenser dryer and associated piping.
If there is a leak for example and refrigerant is lost then the evaporator won't get cold enough.
This is worst case.
Check how cold the evaporator unit in the freezer is. Be careful as it should be icy cold. Don't get your fingers literally stuck to it. It is behind a panel at the back of the compartment. You access it from the front i.e. remove the panel at the back,inside the freezer compartment.
von jayeff
The condenser is pretty warm but it’s not too hot to touch. I’ll have to get a thermometer later and I’ll check the evaporator unit later this evening when I have a little time
von Will Ramey
I still haven’t got a chance to get a thermometer, but I got the back panel off to check the evaporator unit and it looks like a big ball of ice which I assume isn’t right.
von Will Ramey