The black bar running between the 2 refrigerator doors become hot; the refrigerator stops cooling; the freezer is fine except the vents in back of the freezer ices up and becomes clogged. We need to take a hair dryer to melt off the ice. Then refrigerator works again and the black bar cools down.

Hi,
My guess would be that the defrost is sticking on...

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

Hi Louis,

This is what has happened. Due to the door being opened for so long moisture which is naturally in the air has collected on your freezer coils. What you need to do is turn the whole thing off for at least 24 hours. Open the doors and put some towels around it to let the frost melt out.
All the air that gets cooled in your unit gets cooled by a fan that pulls air through those coils. Once the frost has melted out of them it should cool just fine.

TRY DISCONNECTING THE ICE MAKER FROM INSIDE AND RUN HOT WATER OVER IT UN TIL IT IS COMPLETELY THAWED, THEN RECONNECT IT AND SEE IF IT WILL MAKE ICE NOW. SOMETIMES ICE MAKERS CAN BECOMED BLOCKED BY ICE.

I had this problem. The Evaporator fan in the freezer was working but no air would be circulated from the freezer into the refridgerator. To test this you open the door of the freezer, and depress the door button(s) of the upper refridgerator doors so that the light extinqueshes in the refridgerator. This will engage the evaporator fan in the freezer. You can check to see if air is venting from the freezer into the refridgerator by feeling the holes at the top most part of the multi-air flow channel in the refridgerator. If air is comming out when the freezer door is open, close the freezer door and feel if air has stopped. If you have kept the upper door buttons pushed in on the refridgerator and now have the freezer door closed, you should still hear the fan running, but may have not air flow with the freezer door closed. The cause of this is the air return channel from the refridgerator to the freezer is either frozen or clogged. My return-air channel was not frozen but clogged by a residue from something that spilled inside of the bottom of the refridgerator. The return-air channel has two vents in the rear-bottom of the refridgerator that exit into the freezer behind the evaporator (cooling coils). You can't see it even if the back interior panel is removed from the freezer compartment.

The bottom line here is that if air is prevented from moving from the refridgerator, back down to the freezer, then your refridgerator will not cool, but your freezer will work just fine. You will not need to replace the fan, unless the fan is not functioning. You may need to check the dampener, to ensure that your multi-air flow channel is open - (allowing air to come into the refridgerator). The multi-air flow channel is easy to remove once all of the shelves are removed from your refridgerator. Only 2 screws holding it in (securing the center rack top and bottom). The top screw is located behind a small plastic cover that can be removed.

That's what worked for me.

HI, you will need to inspect the compressor to make sure it is cycling in intervals. if the compressor is not cycling, this will confirm compressor failure. The evaporator fan blows cold air into the freezer and from there it vents into the refrigerator. Occasionally the vents between the freezer and refrigerator can become clogged with ice, food or other debris. In most refrigerators the cold control for the refrigerator opens and closes these vents. That mechanism may become inoperative resulting in the vents becoming stuck open or closed.

Inspect the vents to determine what is preventing the free flow of air. An overcrowded refrigerator or freezer may be the cause. In other cases the vents may need to be cleaned or ice melted away. To remove a build up of ice, use a hair dryer set to "low". Using a higher setting may damage the freezer. CAUTION: Do not let melting ice drip onto the hair dryer. In some models, the vent is located under the temperature control console. The housing either snaps into place or is held in place with screws. Remove the screws, or gently depress the retaining clips with a small screwdriver. Allow the housing to hang by its wiring. A freezer vent control may also have to be removed to access the vent. In some freezer-on-top models, it may be necessary to remove the floor of the freezer to inspect for obstructions.

The condenser coils dissipate heat. If dust and debris accumulate around the coils, your refrigerator may not be able to cool properly, it may run continuously or it may stop completely as a result of an overheated compressor. You should clean rear-mounted coils once a year. Unplug the refrigerator before cleaning. Refrigerators are heavy, never tip one forward or backward. Never attempt to move a refrigerator without an assistant. Vacuum or brush the coils. If coils have a filmy build-up, use warm soapy water to clean them. Take care not to spill or drip water onto the components of the refrigerator.You should clean floor level coils at least twice a year. Unplug the refrigerator before cleaning. Vacuum or brush the coils. Remove the grill from the front of the refrigerator and use a vacuum with a wand attachment to remove any dust and debris. The grill should snap off and on. Pull firmly toward you and possibly upward to remove the grill. If it does not come off with a modest effort, check for screws or retaining clips that may hold it in place.

Another inspection point will be the door seals. This is a easy way for the cold air to escape from your unit as well. this will cause the temperature to rise. The seal should make smooth continuous contact with the refrigerator case. When the seal does not seal completely, warm air enters the appliance. This results in more frequently compressor operation and possibly the inability of the appliance to maintain proper temperature. To test the seal, use the dollar bill test. Place a a dollar bill or a piece of paper between the seal and the refrigerator and close the door. Now pull the paper out. You should feel tension as you pull. Retest along the entire door seal. Replace the seal if the test was unsuccessful.

Next will be the door switch. The interior light in most refrigerators, and the fan in some, is controlled by a door switch. When the door is closed, the switch is depressed and the interior light goes off and the fan resumes normal operation. If the door is misaligned or the switch malfunctions, the refrigerator may become warm as a result of the non-operation of the evaporator fan and the heat generated by the interior light. Test the switch for continuity using a multimeter. Set the multimeter to the ohms setting X1. Place a probe on each terminal. The multimeter should change from a reading of infinity to zero when the probes touch the terminals. With the probes still touching the terminals depress the switch, the reading should change back to infinity. If it does not pass both of these tests, the switch should be replaced.

Be sure to confirm evaporator fan function as well. if the fan is defective, it will prevent proper cooling as well.

This will conclude the most common issue with a under preforming unit. I would advise to check all the above and, if the unit continues to not cool after all the above adjustments are made, i will recommend replacing the cold control device,thermostat and main circuit board.

Try completely defrosting unplugged with doors open for a full day. Remove back panel of freezer and make sure no blockage to evapoartor drain. After defrosted make sure hot water flows down drain.

I’m happy to help further over the phone at https://www.6ya.com/expert/josh_87ce33216d7b2148

There are 2 or 3 things that would cause this. first make sure the condenser coils are not plugged with dust (vacumn or blow them out) next check to make sure the fan that cools these coils is running, (this is the most likely problem). if both of these check out ok then you would need to check to make sure your interior lights ar going off when the doors are closed as these will add extra heat and cause the center rails to run hot. last and most uncommon would be a freon system problem.  

fyi there is a hot gas freon line that runs in between the doors to prevent exterior sweating. when poor or no air flow problems for the condenser coil exist it causes this area to become hotter. 
One more thing. if you do determine that the condenser fan motor is bad you can put a normal house fan blowing on to the coil to help cool this area down until you can get the unit repaired. 
If you need any further assistance leave me a comment here and I'll gladly get back to you. Thanks Peyton  

The frame between the doors has a refrigerant line running through it to prevent moisture build up between doors (should be room temp. or slightly warm, not hot).
If that area between the doors is hot to the touch, you have two things to check: 1 - are the condenser coils under unit or in the back clean? 2 - is the condenser fan running in the back that is near the compressor running?

I turned off the refrigerator and left the freezer door open so the coils and the vents could thaw out. The cold air was not getting to the refrigerator section because of ice blocking the vents.

If you are sure the fan in the freezer is running and you don't feel any air flow out of the top middle vent inside the fridge section, then the damper motor must be bad. The damper motor is behind that vent cover inside the fridge section.