Top freezer doesn't defrost and the thing just keeps on running. The element looks good after i put a light in it to melt all the ice,were does the problem lie.

Hi Nancy,

I bet you've got all kinds of frost / ice behind the plastic cover that protects (and shields from view) the cooling coil in the freezer compartment.

You probably have one or more: defrost timer, defrost terminator or defrost heating element that has failed. Call for service - or empty the fridge and unplug with door open for a day - ice will melt and when you plug in again it will work just fine. Until frost builds up again that is.

Good luck!

The defrost circuit has failed. Typical failures are the defrost heater has opened, the defrost timer if equiped, is not advancing or the defrost thermostat is open. To check the heater, melt the ice, and use a meter to check if the heating elements are open, if they are, then you will need to replace the heating element.

Hello,

You may wait to see if it gets cold, but more than likely you are going to have to remove the rear freezer panel and defrost it there UNPLUG THE UNIT BEFORE STARTING. While you are there the very most common problem is a loose connection going to your defrost heater. Your defrost heater is located behind that rear wall under the coils and looks similar to an oven element, Trace the black wire at the end of the element and disconnect the wire at the connectors. Look inside of the connectors for ice. Melt that out and reconnect being sure you feel it snap in..it takes quite a bit of pressure to get them in. Melt any ice out of the coils keeping in mind that the plastic will melt at a very low temperature so be careful.

Thanks

if your freezer is cold but your fridg isn't then you have a defrosting problem. behind the back wall of your freezer you will probably find a very large mass of ice. unplug your ref and using hot water melt the ice. you will need several large towels for this since it will make a mess. once the ice is cleared if you have an ohm meter you can check the defrost element you are looking for continuity( closed circiut) if that tests ok find the defrost termintor(also called a bi-metal defrost) it is about the size of a quarter and is usually located in the top left side of the freezer. It will be clipped to one of the tubes. if it looks like it has popped then it is bad. If the bi-metal looks ok you will need to hook the element back up and go to the control panel in the fridge. looking up at it you will see a small hole and a gear inside that you can turn with a slotted screwdriver. turn it until you hear it click and the fans stop running. if the defrost heater comes on then change the defrost timer(the part you just turned)

If freezer is icing up, you might have a defrost problem. Frost free models have a heating element that is controlled by a timer to automatically defrost ice, defrost timer turns on defrost heating element every 12 hours to melt ice in freezer and allow good air flow.
You can test defrost element with an ohm meter(located inside freezer coils-will have two wires going to a plug connection), if OK replace defrost timer (located in various places depending on make and model
thumbs up

If freezer is icing up, you might have a defrost problem. Frost free models have a heating element that is controlled by a timer to automatically defrost ice, defrost timer turns on defrost heating element every 12 hours to melt ice in freezer and allow good air flow.
You can test defrost element with an ohm meter(located inside freezer coils-will have two wires going to a plug connection), if OK replace defrost timer (located in various places depending on make and model

you might have a defrost problem. Frost free models have a heating element that is controlled by a timer to automatically defrost ice, defrost timer turns on defrost heating element every 12 hours to melt ice in freezer and allow good air flow.
You can test defrost element with an ohm meter(located inside freezer coils-will have two wires going to a plug connection), if OK replace defrost timer (located in various places depending on make and model

If freezer is icing up, you might have a defrost problem. Frost free models have a heating element that is controlled by a timer to automatically defrost ice, ie defrost timer turns on defrost heating element every 12 hours to melt ice in freezer and allow good air flow.
You can test defrost element with an ohm meter(located inside freezer coils-will have two wires going to a plug connection), if OK replace defrost timer (located in various places depending on make and model

If freezer is icing up, you might have a defrost problem. Frost free models have a heating element that is controlled by a timer to automatically defrost ice, ie defrost timer turns on defrost heating element every 12 hours to melt ice in freezer and allow good air flow.
You can test defrost element with an ohm meter(located inside freezer coils-will have two wires going to a plug connection), if OK replace defrost timer (located in various places depending on make and model of fridge)

From your comment. It's not that you have to defrost the parts, that's what they're called. "defrost timer", "defrost t-stat" and "heat element". Defrosting the whole fridge for a few days actually will clear the ice blockage if that's it but it will return in a couple weeks if the "defrost cycle" isn't doing its thing. A fridge typically goes into some form of "defrost cycle" to keep it "frost free". As an example, every 12 hours the compressor turns off and the evap. fan turns off then a heat element turns on to melt the light coating of ice on the "cooling coils". Once about 1/2 hour goes by the heating turns off and the cooling turns back on again. This repeats over and over to keep the ice from building up too much. If that cycle is broken, the ice will build and build till the whole coil is a block of ice. Then the air can't flow around it to provide cold air for the whole unit. It acts basically like putting a large block of ice in the freezer and keeping the doors closed... without a fan to move the cold air only the very lower portion of the freezer is cold, the rest is warm.