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Hi everyone, my fridge has been warm (55 F) for a few days now, and the freezer at about 15 F. The evaporator was full of ice so I tested the defrost thermostat, fan motor, and defrost heater on the bench and they are all ok. I then entered the fridge into Test Mode and everything checked out ok except when I test the Defrost Heater it doesn’t get hot (on the bench it showed continuity @22k Ohms) Is there anything else I need to test? I’ve read about a “Defrost timer” but I am not sure where it is located and how to test. Should the defrost heater get hot during Test Mode? Thank you in advance for any help you can give me.
hi @nelaco , The defrost heater element is faulty and needs to be replaced. Usually refrigerator defrost heater elements have a resistance value of <50 Ohms. According to this link it should have a resistance value of between 21-27 Ohms not 22,000 Ohms. Scroll down to the Q & A section to view the answer regarding the resistance. FYI the manufacturer’s (Whirlpool) heater part number indicates that this heater element is used in a lot of different refrigerator makes and models. Here’s a link to the parts for your model. Scroll down to part #33 and click on it to find the manufacturer’s part number (not the part supplier’s part number) (You’ll end up on the same link as posted above) There are other suppliers that may suit you better. Just search online using the manufacturer’s part number (WP2323198) only in the search term of your browser, to get results
