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Thread: Strange behaviour fridge

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    Default Strange behaviour fridge

    I have done some searching and can not find a similar issue.

    My fridge / Freezer has started allowing iceblocks and ice cream to melt in the freezer while i notice at the same time there is a massive icicle forming at the back of the fridge about half way up in a section. it is about the size of a small toaster.

    where should i start looking to troubleshoot this issue?
    or is this a case where this fridge may have an appointment with the dump.



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    Defrost it. Turn it back on and see if it improves the situation.

    My mother in law has a large one in her fridge, but refuses to defrost the fridge. I wont eat any food when we go there, as it doesn't keep food at a proper temperature.
    She also has an ice block the size of a small planet in her freezer, food in there does the same as what you mentioned. The ice block is that big, you cant put much in there. She, and I am not joking here, chiselled out a groove through the ice so she can slide a frozen pizza in there.

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    Defrost it, clean it out, and see if that fixes it, otherwise you may need to convert it to a big esky.
    I'm out of my mind, but feel free to leave a message...

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    I had an older fridge that used to ice up. It worked fantastic after a defrost until the next time it was required!

    ......Leroy

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    Defrost always does the trick for me. If it's a bit long in the tooth it's not unusual to defrost it once a year. Best to keep the door open and let it defrost au natural, rather than chisel, hair dryer etc

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    What sort of fridge is it? Is it supposed to be frost free?
    The fact that there's a highway to hell and a stairway to heaven says a lot about the anticipated traffic flow.

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    Had a frost free fridge that did this. Worked fine but kept icing up. Researched it and found it could be 1. The de-icing element died or 2. The thermostat died or 3. The electronics that control either died. In the end I just bought a new fridge.

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    Quote Originally Posted by enf View Post
    What sort of fridge is it? Is it supposed to be frost free?
    it is a Fisher Paykal fridge freezer. it is supposed to be frost free but it is from around 2005
    400l
    The freezer is at the bottom.

    i think i will defrost it properly and see how it goes.

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    There is a drain hole at the back in a frost free that is supposed to get rid of the moisture which evaporates. It's a kind of tube and it may be blocked. Defrost the thing thoroughly before anything else.

    IIRC its at the back. There is usually some sort of downward slope leading to it. If you can locate it push some wire down it. I used to have a piece of piano wire for that purpose.
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    As mandc mentioned, your de-icing system is faulty.

    You might be lucky if you power it down and restart it again after the ice has melted.
    The controller might just need to reset itself.
    Otherwise try to locate the controller board and pull all the connections and re-seat them. I have even found mould growing on these boards too. If any components on the board are in sockets then re-seat them as well.

    Probably hard to get at the heating element. You might find a service manual online so you can test it for continuity.
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    Quote Originally Posted by mandc View Post
    Had a frost free fridge that did this. Worked fine but kept icing up. Researched it and found it could be 1. The de-icing element died or 2. The thermostat died or 3. The electronics that control either died. In the end I just bought a new fridge.


    With Fisher Paykal fridge freezer's (freezer at the bottom) the heating element can be accessed via a panel in the back of the freezer section.
    Cheers
    Ted (Al)

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    or simply a broken door seal????

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    Just a correction to my above post, I double checked with my daughter and hers was a Westinghouse not a Fisher and Paykal, I shall delve further.
    Cheers
    Ted (Al)

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    I had a fridge/freezer that began to ice up the drain tube and when it defrosted, water was dripping in the fridge compartment.
    I persevered with it over several months by fully defrosting it, chasing the drain tube and cleaning it out etc, etc but it kept on doing it.
    We noticed it didnt seem to be freezing as well as it had done either so we eventually bit the bullet and bought a fridge only replacement as we had a chest deep freeze.
    I stand unequivicably behind everything I say , I just dont ever remember saying it !!

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    Quote Originally Posted by gordon_s1942 View Post
    I had a fridge/freezer that began to ice up the drain tube and when it defrosted, water was dripping in the fridge compartment.
    I persevered with it over several months by fully defrosting it, chasing the drain tube and cleaning it out etc, etc but it kept on doing it.
    We noticed it didnt seem to be freezing as well as it had done either so we eventually bit the bullet and bought a fridge only replacement as we had a chest deep freeze.
    That's what I said in post #9...it's exactly what it sounds like to me.
    The fact that there's a highway to hell and a stairway to heaven says a lot about the anticipated traffic flow.

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    In this one, there was a 'rubber' elbow pipe that came off the bottom of the top tray into the fridge compartment at the top LEFT corner, this connected to the drain pipe that ran down the back to sit over the motor where it collected and evaporated by the heat of the motor.
    No matter what I tried, I could not stop the area above the elbow from icing up.
    Last edited by gordon_s1942; 31-07-18 at 03:20 PM.
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    With ours it was fairly straight. A total defrost and some vigorous pushing and pulling with piano wire cleared it, although it would re occur eventually.
    The fact that there's a highway to hell and a stairway to heaven says a lot about the anticipated traffic flow.

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