Hotpoint RLA80 Fridge. Huge buildup of ice at the top of the fridge as though not defrosting.

This is normally caused by a badly sealing door gasket. It pulls in moist warm air and deposits it near the evaporator.

Your manual says it has auto-defrost, so if it is icing up, it means that the defrost timer, or the defrost heater is faulty. Service call or a new one.

https://www.manualslib.com/manual/70760/Hotpoint-Rla34.html?page=10#manual

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Fridge with a freezer on top?

That is normally caused by an issue with the defrost timer. At the back of the freezer, you have the evaporator coils and because the defrost timer fails, it becomes one huge lump of ice. Because there is no air flow through it, cold air isn't vented down to the fridge.

It is not going into a defrost cycle and you have ice build up between freezer supply vent it frig side. It could be a defrost timer, defrost termination switch or defrost heater problem.

Probably a defrost problem or fan in freezer isn’t working. Any frost buildup on inside back freezer wall?

You have a defrost problem. Locate your defrost timer while the unit is iced up and turn it until you hear a defined click. At this point open the freezer and listen for ice cracking. If Ice starts cracking then it's your defrost timer bad. If ice doesn't crack, then you have a defrost component bad ( heater and Bi-Metal) Ohm out your heating element and replace if there is no continuity. You can usually find defrost timer either under the front of the box, in the fridge around the light or thermostat or sometimes in the back at the bottom. The dial on the timer can only be turned one way with a large flat head. You will hear the difference in the way the clicks sound for the defined click. Good luck.

Hi,

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

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heatman101
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Check out these tips...they can help you figure out whats going wrong with your refrigerator and why it is not cooling

Refrigerator not Cooling or Fridge not Cooling

How to Defrost Refrigerator Defrost Timer Problem

Water Running in refrigerator from Freezer

heatman101

this is a defrost problem . either the A D C a pc board on the back side of the frig . this main board controls the temp[t and the defrost . and has failed . repl it and problem is over .. mm hope this has helped .. feed back pls ..

The thermostat capillary on a Hotpoint RLA64 (and possibly RLA80) is inserted into a tube. The tube becomes detached from the cooling element and so does not sense that the fridge has reached the desired temperature. It then carries on cooling resulting in ice build-up and freezing of goods.
As you cannot remove the top or back of the fridge, you cannot fix the capillary tube back into position. What you can do however, AFTER ISOLATING THE FRIDGE FROM THE MAINS SUPPLY, is to drill a small hole adjacent to the thermostat capillary tube and another in the roof of the fridge next to the interior light and pass the thermostat capillary INTO the fridge cabinet. Use tape to attach the capillary across the roof of the fridge and down the centre of the rear wall curling the last 50mm or so back up towards the top of the fridge. As long as you have dried the wall of the fridge and stuck the capillary securely in place, your fridge should now work correctly when powered up.
Only tackle this job if you are confident and ALWAYS ISOLATE the mains supply.

Sounds like a defrost problem. Check to see if there is any frost buildup in the back wall of the freezer. If so, it is not defrosting as it should.

• possible causes:

1. bad defrost timer
2. bad defrost heater (in freezer)
3. bad thermo switch in freezer

If you don’t know what these are then unplug the machine and let the ice melt in the freezer overnight with the door open. Then try it the next day, if is cooling fine then you need to have a service person replace one of the above items. If it still has a problem then it might be the compressor and you should probably replace the machine.