I have a side by side fridge and about once a month i have to take the inside panel off in the freezer to get ice off of the cooling fan. why does this happen?

Model Number?

Hi,

Check out these tips...they can help you figure out what is going wrong withyour refrigerator and why it is not cooling

Refrigeratornot Cooling or Fridge not Cooling

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WaterRunning in refrigerator from Freezer

Refrigeratoror Freezer not Cooling or Getting Cold
heatman101

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Hi,

Check out these tips...they can help you figure out what is going wrong withyour refrigerator

Refrigeratornot Cooling or Fridge not Cooling

How to Defrost Refrigerator DefrostTimer Problem

WaterRunning in refrigerator from Freezer

Refrigeratoror Freezer not Cooling or Getting Cold
heatman101

Its defrost problem.--------- When you open the freezer door, then ice starts getting defrosted, because outside temperature is warm and due to that inside ice gets bit melted.--------- -------------- The working procedure of this unit is as follows: --- The compressor starts then it cools the freezer section. When the freezer reaches its cooling level the defrost cycle starts functioning. In this cycle the fan in the freezer section starts running and the cool air in the freezer section is passed to the fridge section and the fridge section gets cold. The air from freezer to refrigerator passes from the section, in that section the damper is located. ----------- The damper is operated by a motor.Its a complete damper assembly with motor included in it.--The damper has door.Which closes and open with the help of motor.In your case the damper door is blocked by ice, because your refrigerator is not defrosting.But when you open the freezer door, the inside ice gets bit warm and it starts melting and this lets the fridge section get cool.------------------- In this case you will have to manually defrost the ice and inspect, if the problem solves.For manual defrost procedure, click the link below:-------- Click this below for more detail:--- http://technoanswers.blogspot.com/2011/06/refrigerator-is-not-cooling-properly.html ----------- This will help.Thanks.Helpmech.

dear
there is a temp, sensor in side the fridge that turn on a heater rod and stops compressor that melts the ice at back of freezer and fan.
or toy can open rear panel in side freezer and pure hot water (not boiling ) on frozen ice on condenser coils, this will help you for on week and then you have to repeat it again
you need a good tech person to solve that problem
hope toy under stand
?Adnan : eng-adnanpaul@hotmail.com

The freezer is usually cooled by the compressor, the fridge is then cooled by an evaporator fan motor ($30). If this fan seizes or slows down then the fridge warms up (it sometimes starts squealing before this happens). The fan may spin, but it if goes too slowly, then it would blow enough cool air into the fridge, especially if it is opened quite frequently.

If you think it is the evaporator fan motor:
Check to be sure you can get a replacement fan first, they last about 4 - 5 years. Can get from a parts supplier or electric motor company.
UNPLUG fridge. Located usually in top of freezer behind a vented cover plate. Remove cover, remove screws holding fan in, may have to cut wires. Replace with new motor, make sure the fan pushes air into the freezer area and doesn't spin backward drawing air from the freezer area.

Make it a habit to defrost it every week. You see, when ice forms around the evaporator tubes (which runs around the walls of fridge and freezer), heat exchange reduces (that means heat is no longer absorbed from the things inside the refrigerator) and cooling stops. See whether freezer walls or fridge walls are damaged. Do not use knives or any other sharp tools to remove ice. Do not forcefully remove items that are difficult to take out from the freezer. Defrost and remove them.

Two possibilities, ice maker leaking or the defrost drain is blocked with ice or another object. Unplug the freezer and remove the rear panel in back of freezer. At bottom of the evaporator coil is a tray that catches the defrost condensate and sends it to the pan beneath your refrigerator to be be heated by the compressor and fan heat produced from the condenser. The moisture is then returned to the air inside your home. If the drain is blocked with ice or anything between the freezer and the pan below, the condensate tray will overflow will end up inside your freezer or fresh food compartment. Questions? I will be here to help you, Let me know, Sea Breeze

This is a bad design flaw, the fridhe is cooled by fan forced air from the freazer. Two ducts vent into and out of the fridge fron the freezer and ice can block them up (which you can find if you take off all the plastic at the top and back of the fridge).
Hence, when they block up, the frindge does not cool, hence the thermostat tells the fridge to keep running which makes the freezer colder and colder, making the blockage worse.

You need to not only fully defrost the freezer (which can be done quicker by removing the plastic panel in the back of the freezer and using a hairdryer) BUT also fully dry the fridge before turning it back on.
To stop it happening again, avoid puting unvovered liquids or hot items in the fridge. Also avoid leaving the fridge and freezer doors open for long especially in humid conditions. As I said, it's a bad design.

Just had the same problem with my side-by-side.

In my case, the solution was to empty the freezer side, to access a back panel INSIDE the freezer covering the fan and cooling coils. Two screws held the back panel cover on, and when I removed the panel cover I found the cooling coils to be totally iced up, preventing the flow of cold air into the fridge side. I left the freezer open for a few hours until all the ice was melted, before replacing the inside panel. (I used a blow dryer to help speed up the ice melting).

Everything's working fine now for me - good luck with yours!

MW