Westinghouse fridge has CL on front panel and everything is defrosting cant find any info in the manual

try from bottom at tray

Either the thermostat is failing to switch on the defrost panel at the end of each cooling cycle or the defrost panel has failed...

Possibly child lock. Look at your user manual for explanation

It gets hot to defrost the fins on the freezer coils. You either have a bad timer or switch that tells the defroster to stop working.

its easy to remove the ice ( just add heat ) / but you do need to correct the problem . this sounds like a defrost cycle failure .. ck the defrost heater and the defrost terminator . and the heater itself .. the model # is not complete try to find the one on the unit itself . in order to get better info .. hope this helps mmm. feed back pls.. 7/10 //11

Hi,

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heatman101

defrost element is cactus

The evaporator coil behind the cover on the back wall inside the freezer will ice up under normal conditions. Every 8 to 10 hours for around 20 minutes the defrost timer (or in most newer models the electronic adaptive defrost control) will turn the defrost heater on to melt the built up ice. There is a defrost thermostat which prevents the heater from overheating the freezer by breaking the heater circuit when the temp reaches close to 32 degrees F. The entire cooling system shuts off during the defrost cycle and starts back when the timer advances through the cycle.

If this ice is not melted it will continue to build up until the air can't flow over the coil to circulate the cold air through the freezer and into the fridge. The temperature change in the fridge is usually noticed first followed by the freezer. Is the fan in the freezer working.

If the defrost thermostat is bad, it can prevent the heater from coming on OR it won't turn the heater off when it gets too warm. It is clamped to the evaporator coil at the top to sense the temp. If it appears to be misshapen it is bad.
With an ohm meter it should show continuity when cold and none when warm.
You can also bypass(disconnect the two wires plugged into it and twist them together) the thermostat to see if the heater comes on then. If it does then you know the thermostat is bad and needs replaced.

The defrost heater is located on the evaporator. It is in a tube which is at the bottom and can also go up the sides of the evaporator. On some types you can see a burnt spot if it's bad. With an ohm meter it should show continuity from end to end when disconnected from the wiring in the freezer. You can also test the wiring for voltage when it's in the defrost mode.

If you have a defrost timer you can test it. It can be located under the fridge behind the kick panel on the front. Some are in the fridge with the controls at the top. You can turn the defrost timer till it clicks and everything shuts down. The heater should now come on. If it does, replace the timer because that means the timer is not running. If it doesn't, check the heater and defrost thermostat. Turn the timer again till everything starts back up to end the defrost cycle.

If you have an adaptive defrost control instead of a timer, replace it if the heater and thermostat test good. It is located in the fridge with the controls in some models and on the back in others.

Hi,

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heatman101

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.