Warm Freezer and How do I set or reset the defrost mode

Good Morning Friend,

I understand that you are having trouble with your Frigidaire refrigerator, model# FBHB2899LF, getting warm for several hours. One possibility this is occurring is that your refrigerator is in a defrost mode. Your refrigerator will go into defrost mode for 30 minutes, this can cause the temperatures to rise. It does take several hours for the temperature to go back down. If you would like, you can reset your appliance, by either unplugging it or shutting the power off at your home's circuit breaker, for 3-5 minutes. Once power is restored, keep an eye on the temperatures, to see if they are still rising as much. I ask that you please follow up with a comment on the post, at your convenience, to advise if further troubleshooting is needed or if your refrigerator status has changed successfully. Hope this is helpful.

-Best Regards-
WP

One (or more) of the components in the defrost circuit has failed. Left unchecked, the frost will choke off the cool air supply to the fridge & freezer and temperatures in both will rise.

There are 4 main components to the defrost circuit. They are:

1) Defrost timer,


Some timers are modular and have knobs to manually advance.


2) Defrost terminator,


Some defrost terminators have clips to hold them in place.


3) Defrost heater


Defrost heaters come in all shapes and sizes.


and 4) Wiring harness. Any of the the first 3 items is a likely source of the problem. The wiring harness is seldom a problem.

The defrost timer is an assembly that consists of a small clock motor and contact switches. The defrost is activated for up to about 20 minutes; 2 or 3 times per day. If the clock motor has failed you will be stuck in which ever mode it failed in - your's would be stuck in the compressor mode. If the contacts have failed, it will not be able to send power from the compressor to the defrost circuit. It will have 4 or more wires - and often is a plug in wiring harness type device. These will only connect one way - unless you force it.

The defrost terminator is a simple temperature sensor. It is often clipped directly to the refrigerant coil - but may be anywhere in the refrigerant coil compartment (which is most often found behind the back wall of the freezer itself). It operates like a simple switch. It is closed when the coil or compartment temperature is below about 50 degrees F (normal cooling or compressor mode). When the defrost timer switches from compressor mode to defrost mode, power is passed through the terminator to the heater. When the temperature rises above this point (the defrost heater has been energized and melted the frost) it opens, and stops power from reaching the heater, preventing it from continuing to heat. This device has 2 wires and there is no "polarity" or "wrong way" to wire it.

The last is the defrost heater. Like the defrost terminator, it too is located in the refrigerant coil compartment, and almost always directly below it. It is a fairly low wattage, two wire heater that also has no polarity and can't be wired wrong.

You'll need some simple test equipment (volt meter and ohm meter) to test these components successfully.

I hope this helps and good luck!

It sounds like the defrost circuit is on. Usually this circuit comes on every 8 hours or so and runs for about 20 minutes - or until a thermal sensor on (or near) the actual freezer coil rises to about 50 degrees F - whichever happens first.

The defrost circuit on some fridges not only activate the defrost heater in the freezer coil compartment - but one or more small heaters in the fridge cabinet door jambs where moisture is likely to form on humid days. Some fridges have a selector switches that enable or disable these "moisture control" heater(s). In any case, the defrost should not be on all the time.

Rising temperature in the freezer / fresh food compartment can be the result of a dirty condenser coil. Depending on the fridge, the condenser coil may be viewed and cleaned (vacuumed) from lower front (after removing the toe space bezel) or from the rear - behind an easily removed cover - often made of a thick cardboard / fiber material. You should only vacuum and clean the coils, fan blades, etc. when the fridge unplugged.

The fans that blow cold air from the freezer into the fresh food compartment may no longer be spinning - due to disconnected wires, motor failure or physical obstruction.

The defrost circuit timer may have become stuck in the defrost mode. Even though the thermal sensor will stop the heat once it reaches 50 degrees - if the timer is stuck - it will never enable the compressor. Defrost related repairs are cheap compared to a compressor failure.

Lastly, the compressor or refrigerant lines may have failed. This can be a costly fix. I hope this helps and good luck!

Hi,
Defrost timer/control board is sticking...
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heatman101

sounds like your auto defrost isn't working. my maytag does same thing. the cooling core in the freezer is probably iced up. when it becomes solid ice no air(or very little) can pass by, leading to too little cold air reaching the fridge. you can try to cycle the temp levers(usually doesn't work) you can manually defrost the freezer. pull the cover off the back(inside freezer) and use a blow dryer. not sure how much parts are for whirlpool. hopefully this is just a one time thing. there are tests you can find to check some of the parts.like the heat element for the defroster, just search for the tests.

Because the model FRT21P5A has a manual adjusting vent I believe your problem is either the defrost heater and defrost thermostat and or the cold control (thermostst) is not working correctly. When temperatures rise in the refrigerator side first that is a sign that the air flow from the freezer is restricted. You will need to unplug the refrigerator and remove the rear panel in back of freezer to confirm. If Iced over use a hair dryer to defrost and disconnect one wire on the defrost heater. Check the defrost heater with an ohm meter. You should get a reading. If defective and no reading you need to replace the defrost heater and defrost thermostat. Let me know what you find, Thanks Sea Breeze

My husband left the freezer door open a couple of months ago, causing ice to form. The loud rattling noise was the fan hitting the ice. The reason why the temperature started to rise but the noise stopped was because the fan had got stuck in a block of ice and was no longer working. Simple solution - defrost the freezer for 24 hours. Touch wood, it is all working fine now!

Sounds like a defrost problem or a plugged drain... to get it to work temporary defrost the freezer. Unplug the refrigerator, open the door and get a blow dryer and warm up the freezer. wait until the water stop dripping out or about 12 to 24 hours and then you can plug it back in . it will work for 2 to 3 weeks.

To unplug the drain.defrost the freezer .remove the back cover. Use a pipe cleaner to clear the drain. pour a few cups of hot water down the drain.

The defrost systems is:
HEATER-DEFROST
THERMOSTAT-DEFROST
Adaptive defrost control
Start with the adaptive defrost control board. The fresh food section light switch and light bulb must work. To initiate a defrost cycle, open the door and push the light switch in and out 5 times within 6 seconds. The compressor and fans should shut off and the defrost heater should come on. Open the door and push the light switch in and out 5 times within 6 seconds to remove the refrigerator from the defrost mode and back into a cooling mode.
Frigidaire - referance model FSC23F7DSB3
This product comes equipped with an Adaptive Defrost Control (ADC). To activate manual defrost, press and hold the Freezer temperature UP (WARMER) key while pressing the Fresh Food temperature DOWN (COLDER) key 5 times within 6 seconds. A �d� in the freezer temperature window and �F� in the refrigerator temperature window will display when the heater is activated. To deactivate manual defrost, press and hold Freezer temperature UP (WARMER) key while pressing the Fresh Food temperature DOWN (COLDER) key 5 times within 6 seconds. �d� and �F� will be displayed until the defrost cycle is complete. (approx. 8 minutes)

Heater / Thermostat
You will have to remove the back panel of the freezer to check the heater for and thermostat for continuity. Heater are the lease likely part to go bad... I always change thermostat and timers together.
let me know if this helps or we can chat if you need more help.

Sounds like a defrost problem or a plugged drain... to get it to work temporary defrost the freezer. Unplug the refrigerator, open the door and get a blow dryer and warm up the freezer. wait until the water stop dripping out or about 12 to 24 hours and then you can plug it back in . it will work for 2 to 3 weeks.

To unplug the drain.defrost the freezer .remove the back cover. Use a pipe cleaner to clear the drain. pour a few cups of hot water down the drain.

The defrost systems is:
HEATER-DEFROST
THERMOSTAT-DEFROST
Adaptive defrost control
Start with the adaptive defrost control board. The fresh food section light switch and light bulb must work. To initiate a defrost cycle, open the door and push the light switch in and out 5 times within 6 seconds. The compressor and fans should shut off and the defrost heater should come on. Open the door and push the light switch in and out 5 times within 6 seconds to remove the refrigerator from the defrost mode and back into a cooling mode.
Frigidaire - referance model FSC23F7DSB3
This product comes equipped with an Adaptive Defrost Control (ADC). To activate manual defrost, press and hold the Freezer temperature UP (WARMER) key while pressing the Fresh Food temperature DOWN (COLDER) key 5 times within 6 seconds. A �d� in the freezer temperature window and �F� in the refrigerator temperature window will display when the heater is activated. To deactivate manual defrost, press and hold Freezer temperature UP (WARMER) key while pressing the Fresh Food temperature DOWN (COLDER) key 5 times within 6 seconds. �d� and �F� will be displayed until the defrost cycle is complete. (approx. 8 minutes)

Heater / Thermostat
You will have to remove the back panel of the freezer to check the heater for and thermostat for continuity. Heater are the lease likely part to go bad... I always change thermostat and timers together.
let me know if this helps or we can chat if you need more help.

if the unit is a auto defrost sound like a defrosting problem, if not a self defrost and the coils are not covered in thick frost then a sealed system issue would be the problem to check