refrigerator lines freezing

[v65]

Tried some of the do-it-yourself forums, but not much help. So, I have a Jenn Air side-by-side frig. If the refridgerator door is left open then the coolant line to the fridge freezes and it stops working. Its a pain in the rear because in warm humid weather you have to close the door pretty hard. With our kids and the neighbor kids in and out all the time it inevitably gets left open. Getting tired of dethawing the line, is there a fix where we can prevent the lines from freezing - ie insulation or some such? BTW no ice or water in the door. FWIW we bought the house with Jenn Air appliances and I am not impressed with the fridge or stovetop.

 

[radman]

1) Replace the door gasket. They're magnetic, and yours is probably old, cracked, and leaky.

2) A low freon level also can cause evap freezing

3) Temp set too low so as to compensate for poor performance due to door seal and kid issues

4) Replace fridge with 3-4 large ice chests. Once rug rats unnerstan the alternative, more success with door issues are predictable.

 

[Tim05fjr]

+1 on what Rad said.

Are talking about the type of JenAir that has the compresser unit on the top ?

First I would suggest cleaning all the dust out of the condenser. That would help the unit run more efficiently. Also check on the freezer side and make sure there is no frost or ice build up along the evaporator coils. That would hinder air flow across the coils and make the unit over run. That would be why the suction line to the compresser is frosting up.

If that is the case, then remove the cover from the evaporator and let the coils completely defrost and make sure the drain is clear. Then restart the machine and see how it goes.

If you can post a pic of the frosted line I could evaluate your situation better.

BTW, I used to be a refrigerator repair man.

Tim

 

[v65]

Will work on the pic, the compressor is on the bottom of the fridge. The fridge is a little under seven years old, gasket looks like new. Course the wife is getting older, so my reference for old and cracked is not what it used to be

If that is the case, then remove the cover from the evaporator and let the coils completely defrost and make sure the drain is clear.

New you were going to say that, its become a yearly event. Second time this summer.

BTW, I used to be a refrigerator repair man.

Why I asked here, new somebody would have a good answer. Probably somebody on here that could even fix an ectoplasmic proton pack :lol:

 

[Powerman]

Crank the front leveling feet up to use a little gravity action on the door.

 

[weekend rider]

Get rid of the kids :yahoo: :yahoo:

Think about this soulution: find an area of in your home and buy a small fridg. just for them

the your big fridg will be left alone. Of course that mesns stocking it with there favorite beverages.

Might it be one or two pony kegs?????????

 

[Bustanut joker]

I would suspect rads #2 reply is most likely as the problems happened twice this year.Time to spend a buck on somethin 'sides farkles

:jester:

 

[jrd14]

I too have a Jenn Air (parent company is Maytag) side by side that is about 7 years old and I'll be the first to tell you it is a pirce of s#*! and I would NEVER buy one again. Yes I did buy this one because I thought it would be a quality appliance, boy was I wrong.

I too had a problem with the the freezer coil icing up soild. The problem was, there is a computer controlled counter that actually counts how many times the freezer door is opened, it uses the freezer door light switch. The frequency of the defrost cycle is predicated upon the door opening. Good idea if only it would work. My computer stopped functioning and when this happens the cooling coil does not defrost at all. Eventually it will freeze soild. How long this takes depends upon humidity levels, frequency of door opening among other things. Mine would go for about 3 to 5 days before freezing. Once this computer panel was changed, the freezing stopped. This cost about $250 and the computer panel is located in the top of the refrigerator.

I have had many other minor problems with this unit including the doors not wanting to close very well, interior shelving and drawers comming apart, freezer drain line plugging up, outside of doors sweating in summer months causing the finish to rust (stainless steel finish), water in door button sticking on and water running everywhere. Like I said, this thing is a piece of s#*! and I'm done with Maytag products for good.

I hope you have better luck.

Jay

 

[radman]

Perhaps a group frig buy will be forthcoming. I mean ****, we don't buy anything here individually anymore, it's a gawdamn Feejer Sams Club 'round here.......

 

[mbottoms]

You might also check the air flow duct between the freezer and the refrigerator.

When the compressor comes on, the cold air flows into the freezer first and then thru the crossover duct into

the refrigerator side.

When the coils froze, you probably also froze the water and condensation in this duct area.

Take the cover off the duct from both sides and shove a screwdriver up in there to bust up the ice and knock it out. You wont believe how much ice can come out of that duct.

If that duct is blocked with ice, then you wont get good air flow and it will freeze up much faster.

There is a door that opens and closes in this duct and it can get obstructed by ice build up as well.

Also, make sure the wife hasn't put anything on the freezer side that gets in the way of the door closing securley. A frozen loaf of Garlic Bread was causing this syndrom at my house.

It would seem as though the door was closing, but it was causing enough pressure on the door from the inside to allow air to leak out and start the freeze up issue all over again.

Took me several freeze ups in one summer and a repair man call to learn about the importance of the crossover duct.

Mark

 

[v65]

After putting out several other fires I finally got some pics. All the pics are from inside the freezer. The first two are of a duct at the top of the freezer that go into the fridge.

Cover on:

Cover off:

The cover has a foam gasket to seal it to the side of the freezer, the gasket is definitely not working. Tthere was ice behind the cover and in the rectangular hole(you can the hole in the second pic, the one with wires). What is the spring for? Had some ice build up around it.

Now we have a pic of a bit of a freeze up:

Found two other ducts that look like they go into the fridge, both of these seemed to be open:

top of condenser:

last ones hard to see, its behind a drain pan at the bottom of the condenser, it also appears to be open:

Well the wife has defrosted the condenser with a hair dryer while I sit here typing, told her I was working on the fridge

 

[jrd14]

That coil looks exactally like mine when mine froze up. There is a heater coil at the bottom of the evaporator coil which will defrost the frozen if working properly. I'll bet your defrost computer panel is not functioning properly. When I called the repairman out and explained the problem to him in detail, he went right to this panel and replaced it. He said this is a common problem with these units.

 

[v65]

Well a repairman might be in order, especially if it is low on freon. However, this only happens in the summer when it is humid and someone leaves the door open. So far I like Rad's suggestion, problem is our kids would switch to an all peanut butter sandwich diet.

One more piccy, wife does good work:

 

[OhioFJR1300]

v65,

I've been in the HVAC field for over 30 years, I am not a refrigerator repair man, but I can tell you from the photos that your unit is NOT defrosting properly. It may be a timer, or a computer, but it is not working. The freon level is most likely okay, but the added humidity in summer and the number of times the doors are opened add lots of moisture to the inside of the unit and the coil is very cold, so this is going to end up forming ice. If the defrost cycle does not clear it out, you will have a build up. I'd say call the repair man and show him the photos. He should know what to do.

 

[v65]

Thanks guys.

I'd say call the repair man and show him the photos.

Wasn't being cheap, I live in the boondocks and have serious doubts about repair people around here. Can tell stories, but you've heard similar. Anyways, thanks again.

 

[jestal]

Have you checked on-line for any repair assistance from JennAire or Maytag?? I had some problems with my GE appliances and discovered that GE has a Tech Line that you can call for repair help and info. There is a slight charge but the service allows you to call and talk to a knowlegeable repair type person as many times as you want for several months while you try to fix it. It was extremely helpful in my case.

Your unit is definitely not defrosting. The icing is perfectly normal but the system should defrost it self and not stop working because the air flow is blocked by the ice. Icing is always worse in the summer due to the higher humidity in the air.

There are also usually some switches are settings on the unit to allow turning off the defrosting function as an "energy saving" feature. Are you sure the unit is set up to auto defrost or was it turned off by someone selecting an 'energy conserving" setting.....that turns off the auto defrost??

 

[tripletango]

Interesting thread. Do you keep your FJR in there?

 

[Tim05fjr]

O.K.

I was busy all weekend w/ the girlfriend and her new Ninja 650.

But that is for another thread.

By looking at your pics, I concur that the unit is not self defrosting.

With the ice and frost build up. The air will not flow to the refrigerator side well enough to cool to temp. Thus the machine will run all the time and just keep frosting the lines.

As jrd14 stated, this may be a computer controlled defrost system.

I am not familiar with this type, as I got out of the field just as they were comming out. The older styles are controle by a defrost timer that will allow the machine to run for approx. 6 hours and then go into a 20 min. defrost cycle that would turn on the heater element in the evaporator. That would then be cycled off by a thermal switch so it would not be on for more than needed to defrost the coils.

The energy saving switches that Jetsal mentioned are for the heater elements in the doors that help keep condensation from building up around the door edges. They have nothing to do with the defrost cycle of the evaporator coil.

To see if you have a defrost timer. Remove the front grille from the bottom of the unit. the timer is usually mounted somewhere accessable from the front by the drain pan. It will be round in shape w/ a four wire connector. It should have a little window on the back so you could see if it is running. Also there will be a small knob that you could turn and advance the timer manually. After you locate it, let the machine run until the coils freeze a little bit. Then advance the timer by hand slowly until it clicks and the compresser will shut off. At this point the heater element should start to get hot. DON'T touch it !!! If you have an amp meter you should read about 6-10 amps that means the heater is working and the timer is not advancing. If the heater does not go on the unplug the unit and test across the heater wires with and olhm meter. If it shows an open circut then you need a new heater element.

I hope this helps you out.

Tim

 

[OhioFJR1300]

Thanks guys.

I'd say call the repair man and show him the photos.

Wasn't being cheap, I live in the boondocks and have serious doubts about repair people around here. Can tell stories, but you've heard similar. Anyways, thanks again.

I wasn't saying that you are being cheap, and I do understand about living in the boondocks, I have the same problem. It seems that the defrost cycle is not working and it should be repaired under the warranty, or for a simple labor fee after showing the photos to the service man. Unless it is his first day on the job, those photos very clearly show a defrost problem and he should be able to fix it in short order. Call the Jenn -Air 800 number and see if they can send you the defrost timer and put it in yourself. Hope this helps.