This is just a short guide addressing some of the most common problems that occur in refrigerators. These are shortcuts I learned through the years from experience. This guide mainly applies to Frigidaire and Whirlpool Refrigerators.

Notice: I will not be held responsible for any injuries or damage incurred as I have no control over what someone may do. This guide is for informational purposes only !!!!!

Problem # 1 - The refrigerator section is warm and the freezer section is cold and has ice built up on the back wall:

This is a problem with the DEFROST system. Every 8 to 12 hours depending on your refrigerator, it goes into a defrost cycle lasting from 20 to 30 minutes. This defrost cycle is to remove any excess ice built up on the evaporator coil which would reduce air flow and therefore reduce cooling to the refrigerator section and eventually the freezer section.

The defective components could be the DEFROST TIMER which is usually located near the thermostat control in the refrigerator section, the DEFROST THERMOSTAT, which is located on the evaporator coil or the DEFROST HEATER which is located under the evaporator coil.

The first thing I do do when I see this situation is to manually put the defrost timer into defrost mode. To do this, Use a flat blade screwdriver and insert it into a hole in the thermostat control panel ( located in the top or back wall of the refrigerator section ). It should be easy to find; it's usually the biggest hole you see in the panel and if you look inside of the hole, you should see a round "knob" with tangs on it. With the screwdriver, turn it slowly until you hear it click. It should now be in defrost mode. Open the freezer section and listen for a sizzling sound which will be the defrosted ice falling on the defrost heater. The defrost heater is a heat element and it gets red hot.

If after manually putting it into Defrost Mode you notice that it is defrosting, then the defrost timer is defective.

If you don't notice that it is defrosting,  you will have to pull the  cover located at the back wall of the freezer section off  and check the defrost thermostat or the defrost heater. The back cover usually has about 4 screws you'll have to remove first.

Once you get the back freezer wall off, you are looking at the evaporator coil. Look for a little round device that is clipped to the evaporator coil; it's usually on the right side. That's the DEFROST THERMOSTAT. The defrost thermostat is hooked up in series with the defrost heater.  To check the defrost thermostat, You'll need to bypass it.  To do this, first disconnect the power to the refrigerator and then disconnect the wires from the defrost thermostat and connect them up directly to the defrost heater. It's pretty self explanatory once you actually see how the wires are connected.  Now reconnect power to the refrigerator and  after doing these steps the defrost heater comes on, then the DEFROST THERMOSTAT is defective.

After doing this, If the defrost heater doesn't come on, then it  is defective. (the defrost heater)

( Note: In very rare occassions, the contacts in the defrost timer could be bad and not sending current to the defrost thermostat and defrost heater. I didn't mention this when I first wrote this guide because as I said, this is extremely rare and may only occur on VERY old refrigerators. The steps I've outlined solve your problem 99.9% of the time. )

Problem # 2 The Freezer and Refrigerator section is not cooling as it should.

Make sure that the refrigerator is running. The Compressor should be running, the evaporator fan motor should be running and the condensor motor in the back of the refrigerator should be running also ( If it has one ).

If you can't get the refrigerator to start running then the thermostat could be bad. A shortcut to checking the thermostat is to disconnect the two wires going to it and then touch or "jump" them together. If the refrigerator starts running, you'll know the thermostat is bad. Be careful when doing these tests not to touch any metal part of the connectors as they are "hot". Only hold the plastic part of the connectors or to be extra safe, use rubber gloves. I have used the rubber dishwashing gloves before as they work great !!! ( Also, Make sure the refrigerator is not in defrost mode.) ( See Above)

Also check the condensor coils and make sure they are clean. Some refrigerators have this coil located on the back of the refrigerator while others have the coil located in the bottom near the compressor and condensor fan motor.

 If all of these are working properly and the condensor coils are clean, then most likely the refrigerator is low on Freon.

Problem # 3

Water leaks down into the bottom of the refrigerator:

The defrost drain is stopped up. During the defrost cycle water flows down through a drain tube to the bottom of the refrigerator into a drain pan. When the defrost drain gets stopped up, usually from food particles, the water has no place to go except into your refrigerator.

I usually take an air tank and blow air up through the drain tube located at the back of the refrigerator where it drains into the drain pan and that usually clears the debris out of the drain tube.

Extra Tips:

When putting food into the freezer be careful not to block the air vent holes on the back wall of the refrigerator.

Make sure the refrigerator is level. If it's not level it can cause the doors not to seal.

If you start hearing a squeaking sound when you close the doors, it could be the door gaskets rubbing on the hinge side of the door. Spray some Pam cooking Oil on the gaskets on the hinge side of the doors.

If you have an icemaker, expect it to slow down in ice production after you load the refrigerator with fresh food from the supermarket. It takes a while to cool new groceries down and the temperature in the refrigerator and freezer will rise for a while.

That's all for now.

Thanks for reading my Guide !!!