The unit is not maintaining 40 degrees F and it is freezing up

Older machines three basic parts.

1. Timer
2. Heater
3. Defrost thermostat

This video will provide you all you need.
As stated in the video the cooling fan inside the unit should stop two to three times a day as the unit goes into defrost. When in defrost the heater is powered and power is interrupted when the cooling coils reach about 40 degrees Fahrenheit. The cut off temperature veries greatly between units but are always above freezing.

Hope this helps?

How To Repair Refrigerator Defrost Problem Good Appliance

Hello Joyce:
My name is Peter. I am a retired field service refrigeration technician.
A unit will go into the defrost mode every 8-10 hours for about 20 minutes.
Your unit is not is not get rid of the heat. You do not have a separate defrost timer. Your defrost cycle is controlled by the main control board in the lower back of your unit.
Since you are maintain a 40 degree temperature I suspect your condenser fan is bad. This is the highest probability. Unplug you unit. Pull it out far enough for you to get behind it. Remove the bottom cover. To the far right you will see a round canister (it looks like a big filter). The is your cooling condenser. Over time they get plugged with dust or animal hair. This needs to be cleaned with a small brush. It is hard to give them a good cleaning. Do the best that you can. To the right of the cool condenser is a motor and fan assembly. I suspect the fan is not running or is sticking. First, clean this area. Turn the fan blade by hand. Plug the unit in to check if the fan runs. If it runs - allow your unit to cool. to see if this is the problem.
Ok, the fan is not running at all. Take a small household fan. Plug it in and direct the air flow at the cooling condenser.
Note: A dirty cooling condenser can drop can affect your cooling by as much as 40 degreed F.
If this is not the problem, get back to me and we will go into the other probabilities.
Peter, Baltimore, MD

Rick. the freezing of the coils can be caused by several things:

1. Air intake filter needs to removed and cleaned.
2. The coils may be dirty. Clean the coils with warm water, wiped dry and a light coating
of WD40 applied to the coils.
3. Restricted air flow. Maintain a minimum of 12 to 18" around the entire dehumidifier while
in operation.
4. The air temperature at floor level is 40 degrees F or lower, than the ambient air temperature
at shoulder level. This is particular true in basement applications. Raising the unit up off the floor
on to a sturdy table, cabinet top, etc, that's strong enough to hold the unit, plus a full bucket of
water generally resolves the situation.

Worse case scenario is that the defrost sensor has failed or there is a small leak in the cooling coils.

I hope this helps you troubleshoot and solve the problem. Thanks for choosing FixYa.

There are a several reasons this freezing occurs. In most cases it is solvable. But, first, turn OFF the Master On/OFF Switch and unplug the unit and allow it to completely thaw, before doing any troubleshooting or repair.

1. The air intake filter is dirty or clogged. Remove and clean the filter.

2. Obstructed air flow. Maintain a minimum of 12" to 18" around the entire unit.

3. Cooling coils on the unit are dirty and need to be cleaned. Warm water & mild dish washing
liquid will work. Then rinse, dry and apply a light coat of WD40 to the coils.

4. The ambient air temperature at floor level is between 40 & 60 degrees F. This usually occurs in
basement applications. As the air at floor level is colder than at chest level. Raising the unit up
onto a sturdy table, counter top, etc, that can handle the weight of the unit, plus a full bucket of
water, will usually resolve this problem.

In more serious case, the refrigerant gas in the compressor is low and needs to be recharged. Or the unit's defrost sensor has failed and needs to be replaced. However, the aforementioned is usually seen in units that are at least 5 years old. But, if your hasn't been properly maintained, it could occur sooner.

Hope this helped you troubleshoot and solve the problem. Please let me know. Thanks.

Evan, a dirty or clogged air intake filter can cause it to freeze, as well as obstructed air flow around the unit. Maintain a minimum or 12" clear air space all around the dehumidifier. Also operating the unit in temperatures below 40 degree (F), will also cause the coils to freeze. In addition, low refrigerant in the compressor can cause the coils to freeze. In which case, recharging the gas should solve the problem, And finally, worse case scenario is that the defrost cycle sensor has failed and needs to be replaced.

If you find you need parts and/or service and don't want to tackle it yourself, go to the Danby link below and enter your Zip Code.

http://www.danby.com/locator.php?type=service

Hope this helped you to troubleshoot and solve the problem. Please let me know.

The defrost thermostat electrically closes when the temperature is below 40 degrees F and opens when it is above. You can check it with an ohmmeter and it should read close to zero ohms when the temperature is freezing and infinity when it senses temperature above 40 degrees F.

The defrost timer typically runs the compressor for 6 hours then turn off the compressor and powers the defrost heater from about 30-40 minutes then the compressor is powered once again. The timer typically fails be not advancing causing the refrigerator to either stay in defrost mode, or in cooling mode. To check, turn the cam until you hear a click. With the refrigerator plugged in, it should turn off the compressor and power the defrost heater for 30-40 minutes. If the compressor does not turn on after 40 minutes, then the timer is bad and needs to be replaced.

Hi,
There are a few reasons why the refrigerator part will not cool...here are a couple of tips that will help you to figure out why the refrigerantor is not cooling...

Refrigerator not Cooling or Fridge not Cooling
http://www.fixya.com/support/r3662945-refrigerator_not_cooling_or_fridge_not

How to Defrost Refrigerator Defrost Timer Problem
http://www.fixya.com/support/r3771673-defrost_refrigerator_defrost_timer

heatman101

hello. this is a common problem. The thermostat for a refrigerator/freezer is in the refrigerator part. Normally the refrigerator is kept at around 40 degrees. The compressor turns on as required to maintain this tempearture. The evaporator coils are concentrated in the freezer side, so that the freezer stays at around 0 degrees while the fridge side is held at 40.

If the ambient temp is around 25 degrees, the refrigerator compartment will get below the setpoint of 40 degrees, and gradually continue down towards 25 degrees. The compressor will not have to run at all to maintain this. In fact, the compressor is designed not to run, once the refrigerator compartment gets below the setpoint, for fear of freezing the contents of the fridge.

The lack of circulating refrigerant due to the non-running compressor means that the freezer compartment will gradually warm up to 25 degrees.

If the unit were just a freezer, it would work fine in the unheated garage. If it were just a refrigerator, it would not run in these conditions, and the contents would eventually freeze, but it is otherwise OK.
Regards, Joe PS kindly rate my answer. Thank you.

This can be caused by the drain hole below freezer coil being blocked by ice. You MUST remove all ice in drain under freezer coil. Use turkey baster to squirt hot water into hole and use hairdryer to defrost. Possible defrost thermostat is defective. Unit never goes into defrost, ice forms on coil and in floor of freezer. After defrosting may work OK for a week or two but gradually gets warmer because ice is blocking ports where cool air gets to refrig. May also have water in refrig box. Can also be caused by defective defrost timer.

feel the sides or the coils on back if it has any see if they are hot or cold