Refridgerator's Icemaker & Freezer Problems

[cjaluy]

I have a Maytag MTB2456DEW refridgerator ~6 years old. Noticed that ice cream was soft. Thought this was due to the cold weather since we kept the temperature down (about 58 degrees) as no one was home. But it has been a few days since we got back and have had the house temperature in the 60s. The freezer temperature is ~ 46 degrees; and the icemaker is not making any ice of course! I have tried to change the freezer's temperature to a colder setting but this still did not work; the temperature only moved a couple of degrees cooler to ~42 to 44 degrees.

Any suggestions on what I should check first before calling in the repair man?

P.S. Have also noticed that the fridge needs levelling as the freezer door does not look levelled although have not really checked how far off it is. But I do not feel any cold air escaping from the seal.

[woodchuck]

I would check the coils which are located behind the panel in the back of the freezer.(side by side) They are probably iced over because the defrost timer or the heater elements are defective. You can use a hair drier to melt the ice. The timer is usually accessable at the front under the unit. When you melt the ice you can see the heater elements. That would be the first thing I would check.

[cjaluy]

Thanks! Checked the coils but they looked okay and were not frozen. But at least I had a chance to clean up the back of the fridge since I have not done that in years!! :)

Any other suggestions?

[woodchuck]

Is your compressor coming on and staying on.

Is the evaporator fan near the compressor running when the compressor is on.It removes the heat taken from the freezer.

Is the condensor fan in the freezer running. It blows the cold air from the coils into the freezer.

If your coils inside the freezer had no frost at all I would suspect the compresor. could be low on freon, or not running enough because of low freon.

[cjaluy]

Yes, the compressor does come on and intermittently shuts off. And the fan is running as well and rather happily after the cleaning I did! :) The fan inside the freezer is also running.

Hmm, come to think of it, as I did not see anything frozen up behind the fridge, maybe I did not check it right! I actually do not see the coils that I usually see in a standard up & down fridge. :D The back of my fridge is just a grey wall, and the compressor, and the fan were all located in the bottom part of the fridge. Where else could the coils be located?

[woodchuck]

How long is the compressor running. If it runs just a few minutes and turns off it may be overheating or low on freon.

In the units I have seen the coils are located behind the back wall of the freezer side. There should be screws holding it.

In a freezer I have the shelves themselfs are the coils.

The fan inside the unit moves the air from the freezer to the fridge. You might could see where that fan is pulling air from to find the coils.

There could be a panel on the back of the unit to give access to the coils.

[cjaluy]

The evaporator fan in the freezer is working. My next step as you have suggested is to check the cooling coils inside the freezer itself. I will try to do this once I decipher how to open the access panel in the freezer!

So if the coils are iced up, I'll attempt to melt the ice by using a hairdryer. Would this mean that I have to replace the defrost timer, heating element as well as the thermostat? Is replacing these parts easy to do?

[woodchuck]

The most likely would be the timer which you may be able to bypass to check the heating elements or turn it to the defrost position to check the elements.
Replacing the parts should not be difficult.

[cjaluy]

Thanks! Found the defrost timer and activated the defrost cycle. Then about 2 hours later, I decided to try my hand at opening the access panel in the back of the freezer. It was easier than I thought! The cooling coils were partially iced up and when I re-activated the defrost cycle, it started melting what was left of the ice on the coils. So I guess the heating element is working fine.

It has been almost 10 hours since I did this, but the freezer is still not cold. When I did the fix earlier, the freezer did get cooler. But hours later, it is not that cold. I'll wait overnight to see how it goes.

If it is still not cold enough, could it be the defrost thermostat? Or as you suggested earlier, it could be due to insufficient freon in the compressor. Would insufficient freon have initially caused the coils to iced up even if the defrost timer & thermostat are ok?

[woodchuck]

Here is a list of things to check- from [COLOR=Navy][COLOR=DarkOrange]AcmeHowTo.com [/COLOR][/COLOR]
*Check the temperature setting
* Assure that there is enough room for air flow in the refrigerator or freezer
* Check for air flow restrictions in vents
* Test the temperature control
* Clean the condensor coils
* Check the door seals
* Test the door switch
* Test defrost heater
* Test defrost timer
* Test evaporator fan
* Check for a clogged drain tube
* Check for refrigerant leak
You've already checked some of these .

A refrigerant leak can cause a freezer to fail to get cold enough; however, leaks are very uncommon. Also, unlike some automobile air conditioners, it is never necessary to "top off" the refrigerant. The refrigeration system is a closed system and the addition of refrigerant is rarely called for.

A refrigerant leak can be repaired only by a qualified service technician. If you have ruled out all other possible causes, have a technician inspect your freezer.

[cjaluy]

OK, the technician came by and confirmed that based on the way the cooling coils were icing up -- just on one side, around the thermostat, the fridge has a bad compressor, and recommends that I replace the fridge instead of trying to replace the compressor!! Sigh....

So it looks like I have to shop for a new fridge this weekend! :)

Many thanks for all your help Woodchuck!

[ruthsg]

I have a side by side Maytag about 6 or 7 yrs old. For some time now my husband has to take off the back panel in the freezer and use a hair dryer to remove the ice build up on the coils. He thinks it may be an evaporator problem. I've told him about your discussion but thought to inquire further. Lucky for us he is very handy.

This has to be done nearly every 7 to 14 days. It's hit and miss as to how long it will last. What happens mostly is the refridgerator side gets warm not neccessarily the freezer. Occasionally the freezer side gets warm like last night but usually I can tell when the OJ gets almost room temp and well....thinks are just not cold like they should be. The defrosting routine seems to help and buy some time but it will happen again. And of course it happens now mostly after the warranty is gone.

I would love to know what you think may be the problem and what hubby should test/examine to determine the cause and therefore the part to fix it. We can't keep hairdrying the freezer every other week.

Help!

Ruth

[RegUS_PatOff]

Your Maytag sounds like it has the infamous ADC (adaptive Defrost Control) problem.

Same as my Maytag MSD2756AEW on page 3

Jennair Maytag ADC defrost board discussion (http://applianceguru.com/forum1/119.html)