Below the evaporator fan is the evaporator coils. Remove the back cover in the freezer to observe the frost pattern. stopped up? clear? ice in one spot . frost everywhere.
If the auto defrost system isn't working you should notice it within a week. check defrost timer, defrost heater, defrost thermostat http://www.acmehowto.com/howto/appliance/refrigerator/refrigerator.php
In most of the new units they now have the adaptive defrost control instead of timer. It senses when to defrost based on how many times and for how long the door is opened. It's more energy efficient but there does seem to be lots of problems with the board. If the heater and thermostat are ok itll be the control.
Checked that link for my model number. Looks like I have the 'timer' style defrost by the parts listed and from what I am identifying inside the unit. (Timer, thermostat, heater strip element)http://www.partselect.com/
... and do a search for timer, adaptive defrost control, control board. It may show you a diagram of your fridge and which kind of defrost control you have.
Thanks, I haven't pulled the timer yet. In fact, I stopped by the parts place yestrday to check if they had the part in stock and got the same smarts about what this "zero" reading means with the heater element. (I understand the terms "open" and "closed" circuit, but resistance, infinity... I guess if I understood how the heater element actually uses the current, I might have a better visual concept in my mind.)The needle should move when you touch the ends of the heater element. If you don't get a reading like you do on the screwdriver then element is bad.
Great, so I pull the heater today and replace...Everything should continue running when heater elements are taken off.
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