Appliance Repair Blog

Model #TBX14DRGRWH, this top mount (freezer on top) unit would cool intermittently for the customer, but didn’t seem to have any specific pattern. Sometimes the unit worked, and other times it didn’t. I had but one question for them to determine which direction I was going to start looking for the failure. Are the fans always running?

This style refrigerator usually consists of a fairly basic control and wiring system and that is the reason for my question. Because if the fans are always running, that tells me the defrost timer and cold control are both functioning, where as if they were off, well one of them is causing the problem. The customer knew from recent experience that when the fans were on, the unit was cooling, but when it would start to get warm, the fans were off. I knew power was going to the unit since the fresh food light was on, which leaves one of the two components above as the likely problem.

A quick look at the wiring diagram shows the relative simplicity of the circuit and how the fan and cooling portion goes through the cold control and defrost timer. Both are located inside the fresh food section near the interior light bulb and can be easily checked by verifying voltage is present using a multimeter.

When I arrived, the unit was not cooling and both fans had been off for several hours according to the customer. Figuring I had either a defrost or cold control failure, I resorted to an old trick to test which one was at fault. My test is to tap the front of the temperature selector rather hard with my finger. In doing so, if the cold control switch contacts have become stuck open, the contact with my finger will snap them closed and the unit will start to operate. And happily the quick tap started the unit running along with both fans and the compressor. It seems the intermittent operation was due to the cold control sticking open, but the occasional slamming of the door was enough to snap the contacts closed again. Had the tap not worked, I could have verified voltage to the control. If voltage goes in but does not come out, well it is broken.

With the cold control in a state of intermittent operation, I installed a new part that doesn’t require any external vibration to help keep it working. The unit is back up and cooling better than before.

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The topic for this post came from an email I received recently from someone that was finding water leaking from her side by side refrigerator. Not to spoil the fun, here is what Diana had to say in the email.

My freezer compartment floor is filling up with water and freezing, the ice maker is disconnected at this time so I am not sure where the water is coming from and how to fix it. My model number is 363.9550921. If you can help please reply. Thank you in advance!

Water in the freezer is not a good thing not only because it turns to ice, but it can turn to ice in places we don’t want it to. Here is my take on the problem Diana is having, and how easily the problem can be resolved.

Frost free refrigerators and freezers (like Diana’s) use a defrosting mechanism to removed unwanted moisture in the form of frost that has accumulated on the evaporators cooling coils. This moisture enters the unit each time we open the doors and let in the warm moist air from kitchen. Because an excessive amount of frost will disrupt airflow in the unit and ultimately reduce it’s cooling capabilities, we must get rid of it. To do this, the refrigerator will enter a defrosting cycle at predetermined times of the units operation. During these cycles, heat will be applied to the evaporator coils to melt any frost or ice from these cooling coils and allow the water to run out a drain below and into a pan under the cabinet. Here the water will evaporate into the surrounding room to start the cycle all over again. Everything works very well until the drain gets plugged.

The drains located in the back of the freezer sections are usually just small openings to allow water to flow, but not large enough to allow large amounts of air to enter our cold freezer section. It is possible, however, for objects such as wrappers, butcher paper, peas, corn, or any other small item to find it’s way to the drain and get lodged inside the hose leading to the pan below. When this happens, the water that is defrosted from the evaporator has no place to go and then refreezes in the form of a sheet of ice when the cooling process continues. After several days and many defrost cycles, the drain area is completely frozen and the water has no place else to get but into the bottom of the freezer (or into the fresh food section of a freezer on top model). If the cycle of thawing and freezing is allowed to continue, water will start leaking out the front of the freezer door, but I assure you, the bottom of the freezer will be a block of ice well before that happens. How do we solve this problem? Well here is the advice I gave to Diana.

Chip out as much ice as you can, then using warm water, melt the rest you cannot chip away at. Have plenty of towels handy because it is going to get wet. Once you have all the ice melted, you will need to locate the drain opening to get it cleared. This may require removing a few screws and a panel cover, but it will be much easier once you have. After locating the drain opening, again pour warm water to melt the ice and use something flexible yet stiff to snake the drain hose. I prefer 1/4″ water line, but that’s because I have it handy. Continue the process until you can get water to drain into the pan below without any bubbling or gurgling from the drain. If you are the adventurous type, removed the front grill or rear cover so you can get to the pan below and see what it was that was creating the blockage. Don’t be sad if you don’t find anything exciting because oftentimes you won’t. Dry off the inside of the freezer the best you can, reassembly anything you took apart and put everything back in the freezer. It’s just that easy. Then sit back and glow in your success.

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Yes it is true, to much detergent can not only shorten the life of your clothes washer, it can cost a pretty penny if you plan to get it fixed. Using the right kind and amount of laundry detergent can not only prolong the use of your washer, it can ensure your clothes are cleaner, and will save you some money at the same time. Got your attention? Lets take a look at laundry detergent.

Detergent is a rather generic term we use to describe the cleaning products we use in our washing machine. These detergents are made up of numerous ingredients each added to provide for a specific benefit to the wash. The key ingredient to any detergent is the surfactant. Surfactants are substance that helps break down the surface tension of water enabling water to wash clothing surfaces better. Building compounds are added to enhance the surfactant effect, by adjusting the pH level of the water. Detergents also contain other ingredients to help keep your colors looking bright and your clothes smelling fresh. Then we get to the additives that we are concerned with and those are the fillers. These are the ingredients that keep the detergent free flowing from the bottle, keep it from freezing in the garage during the winter, and the most important to us, the anti-foaming agents that prevent excessive sudsing during the agitation process. Why is this important? Let take a look at our washer.

The washing machine referred to in this post as one of the more modern, front load style, high efficiency unit that uses about 1/4th the water of a typical top load washer. When these units operate, they use a small amount of water to wash the same quantity or more of clothes. This means the same level of dirt that would normally be suspended in a large amount of water, must now be contained in a much small amount. This is where newer he labeled detergents come into play.

The he detergents are specifically designed for use in high efficiency washer because they contain active ingredients to capture and hold on to dirt particles and hold them in suspension in a much smaller amount of water. But more importantly, the he detergent has more anti-foaming ingredients that prevent excessive sudsing of the detergent during the wash process. Because front load washers use a small quantity of water, the sudsing must be maintained at a low level to protect the inner workings of the washer.

When large amounts of suds from the detergent begin to form during the wash cycle, components such as the tub bearing are exposed to moisture which they are not designed to do. Prolonged exposure can cause damage little by little until the final failure of the component. Once this occurs, the repair can become very expensive and time consuming, but entirely preventable. The simple answer is to use the correct detergent and the correct amount for your washer.

High efficiency washers need low sudsing he detergents to operate most efficiently and effectively. Using regular non-he detergents will cause large amounts of suds and will ultimately result in odors in your washer, intermittent leaking, or in the case of the photo above, a very expensive repair bill. Even to much he detergent can cause lasting problems so always follow the manufactures recommendations for the proper amount to use. If you still see excessive suds during the wash cycle, reduce the amount until you see low suds, and still get your clothes clean. Don’t end up like the owner of the washer in the photo above. I can fix it and make it all better. But it’s going to cost a lot of money. Do the right thing by your washer and use the correct detergent for the machine, and the right amount to allow it to get the job done.

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Its the time of year when people gather together, friends and family, to give thanks and to enjoy the company of loved ones. Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and for service techs, one of the busier weeks of the year is upon us. See the common trend during your holiday planning is to tidy the place up a bit so those visiting your home see your picture perfect living style. In my home, the process takes the better part of the day to take the home from lived in to ready for inspection by Martha Stewart, and because the kitchen is front and center for this holiday, focus is always placed on the oven.

We use our oven quite a bit to cook things (no really) and all to often, we get the usual spill over from the dish, or maybe that random fry that didn’t want to leave with the rest of them. These items lay on the bottom of the oven and turn into this sort of black crusty goo that we ignore until Thanksgiving rolls around. Then suddenly, the oven must be cleaned, top to bottom and inside out. Many people will toil for hours, scrubbing away at their oven to make it shinny and new, while others will use modern technology and press the self-clean button on the control panel. For those people that want a nice clean oven to display to your guests, I say good for you. But for those poised to start that self-cleaning cycle, I say DON’T DO IT!

OK, maybe I am a little over reactive. Self-cleaning has been around for years, and many many people enjoy the benefits and convenience it brings to their lives. But as a technician, I tend to see more bad than good from this wondrous feature. Many times I see oven heating element failures. Control board and door latch failures. The occasional fire damage, broken door glass, and thermal limiter failures. These are not inherent problems with self-cleaning, but those unintended consequences from starting that cycle. Here is what this cycle looks like from a technicians perspective.

When you press the button, the door will either lock, or you will need to lock it with the manual latch. The heating elements will turn on and rather quickly rise the interior oven temperature in excess of 700 degrees and maintain that temperature for a preset length of time. Anything remaining inside the oven cavity will become exposed to these incinerator like temperatures, burning up and leaving a pile of ash in their place. These very high temperatures are contained within the oven liners cavity, but sometimes, a bit to much heat makes its way to areas where it shouldn’t be. When this happens, trouble is a brewing and the end result is a last minute service call to an already busy service department out fixing 100 other ovens, and thanksgiving dinner getting cooked in the microwave.

Don’t Panic. My intent is not to scare you away from using technology, but instead to educate you in the possibilities that can arise from using it. Many ovens will get self cleaned just fine this year, and if those people read this post and laugh, I am perfectly fine with that. But others will start the cycle, only to find the oven no longer works in the end. So the point is to understand what is going on during these self-cleaning cycles and to make an educated decision about pressing that button. If it worked before, it should work again. Or maybe not. But I don’t want to leave you with only these two options to clean or not to clean. I have here a few other things you can do to better your chances of hosting a successful holiday feast with a clean oven for your guests to be envious of.

First, go ahead and press the button. Yes I said it, use the self-clean function. But before you do, remove your racks and clean up as much debris from the bottom of the oven as you can. This will prevent fires and hot spots from forming during the cycle.

Second, after doing what I wrote above, run a shorter cycle. Many self-clean cycles allow you to select the length of time for the complete cycle. Choose something shorter if possible and only run the cycle as long as necessary. If your oven really isn’t to bad, make it a short one. For those that don’t have the ability to run a short cycle, set your timer for 1 hour. When the buzzer goes off, press the stop button, and take control of technology.

Third, try an alternative to self-clean such as a bit of elbow grease and some hot soapy water. It’s great fun for the kids. OK maybe not, but take some hot water, mix in some baking soda into a past and spread it over the areas with the heaviest soiled areas. Let it work on the mess for a few hours then return and use a plastic putty knife to scrape away whats left.

Fourth, take an oven safe container, fill it with water and place it on the middle oven rack. Set the oven for 350 and hit the go button. The water will heat, turn to steam, and the steam will begin to permeate everything inside the oven cavity, including the stuff stuck to the bottom. Let it heat until most of the water is gone, then once the oven has cooled enough so you can safely begin your work, get in there and start cleaning up.

Fifth, use some of the name brand oven cleaners designed for self cleaning ovens. Read the labels and ensure you are following all the directions such as providing for proper ventilation during usage. Many of the newer cleaning options are biodegradable and non-toxic, and they work rather well.

And finally, when you have your oven clean and ready for it’s presentation, clean up the spills as they happen. Cleaning up spills as they occur is much easier than letting them bake onto the bottom of the oven.

This handful of advice taken from the top of my head to help you have a wonderful holiday, and to hopefully not need to call for that last minute service call. I am sure many ovens will work just fine this year, but the reality of my job is everyone I see, is broken. So forgive me if I see things from a skewed point of view. I want you to have a happy holiday, and to be happy with your appliances. I do want to point out these comments and suggestions are my own opinion based on observations as an appliance technician. Do some other looking around and see what others have to say. Because admittedly, I am no Marta Stewart.

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