KitchenAid KRMF706ESS PO Error Code - Answer

[mSabaro]

I purchased my KitchenAid KRMF706ESS Multi-Door Refrigerator-Stainless Steel from a major home improvement store in the Atlanta area.  I also purchased the extended warranty from said home improvement store as well.  About a month ago, a on again off again fan buzzing sound could be hear coming from back of the lower freezer door.  I had my suspicions that it sounded like a fan hitting on ice buildup.  The next day, the fridge is beeping and displaying an error code of ‘PO’.  I googled on the PO error and saw several mentions of the issue likely being related to the control board, or power supply board and on down the list.  Well, at $800 for a control board, I was not going to turn this into a DIY project when I have a warranty. I pulled up my warranty and called it in.  Two days later, the local appliance warriors showed up, I told them about the noise at the back of the freezer that led up to the PO error.  They declared it was the control board or maybe the power supply board.  Well, that was in line with what I read online, so sure, okay, you’re the pros.  Well parts have to be ordered and it will be a week.  I’ll skip the part of the story where these appliance warriors drag this out over three weeks and several wasted trips, but they replaced the control board and power supply board which did not help.  The tech said he had to Google for next steps (?) his Googling apparently informed him that the problem is likely the board that managed the display panel where the PO error code was flashing (??)  After he left, I googled on how to disassemble the freezer drawer and get to the back of the freezer where there should be an evaporator fan.  My suspicion was that something was wrong with the fan and it causing a fault.  When I removed the plastic back panel and the styrofoam insulator panel, I found that the coil was encased in ice and the fan at the top was locked in ice.  After taking a hair dryer to the ice and defrosting the coil, I put the freezer door back on and plugged in the fridge.  Worked great, PO error code gone.

I used to do maintenance for rentals back some 25 years ago.  Appliances were simpler to repair, but I was not wanting to tackle this 'modern' fridge. But after three weeks with no freezer, enough was enough.  The problem with the repair service tech that was coming to work on my fridge was that he worked from Google as his first fall back, rather than prior experience or lessons learned, which led to poor his troubleshooting skills.  He should have looked for the obvious and listened to the customer's symptoms leading to the PO error, ie the ‘fan hitting ice’ noise coming from the back of the freezer.

[houptee]

I'm not a pro but I read of this problem on many LG and it is some problem with the defrost system and think they updated the software to correct it, also saw a guy put a small piece of copper wire down the drain hole and wrapped it around the defrost heater so the drain did not freeze shut the wires gets warm and keeps tube flowing.

Here is a video he posted. https://youtu.be/x_PPdSF2Ze4

[houptee]

Did you have to pay anything for the labor for them to come out under that extended warranty?
Is there a deductible or any sort of fee per call?

[mSabaro]

I did not have to pay anything.  All was covered by the warranty. 

[Patricio]

Not to burst your bubble, its more than likely going to ice again.   Those models are plagued with all kinds of different problems from evaporator fan thermistor failure to multiple board problems & points in between. Don't think you're  out of the woods yet. 

[sarjushah]

most likely your defrost thermistor or main pcb is the problem for ice

[mSabaro]

Not to burst your bubble, its more than likely going to ice again.   Those models are plagued with all kinds of different problems from evaporator fan thermistor failure to multiple board problems & points in between. Don't think you're  out of the woods yet.

Quite possible, but at least we are step closer to determining the issue than three weeks of swap-tronics.  A friend of mine is in the A/C business and he mentioned that it could be a bad seal and too much moisture is getting into the freezer.  if so, this could cause moisture to ice build up faster than the defrost cycle can handle, thereby causing a run away process of ice build-up.  Will wait and see.  Thanks for the additional hints.

[mSabaro]

most likely your defrost thermistor or main pcb is the problem for ice

The main control board and the power supply board was already replaced, per my post.  Thanks for the recommendation of defrost thermistor should the issue come back.  Its been two days, so when I get off of work, I will be pulling the back panel off to inspect for ice accumulation and reinspect my freezer seals as well.

[houptee]

If you can find the service manual for it there should be a way to do test modes and you can force it into defrost mode make sure heater actually get hot.
And there should be a chart for thermister ohm readings at various temperatures.

[DaleCaskanette]

try this

[mSabaro]

Update.  Two things to report.

1. So it has been little over a week since I posted here about my issue.  I can report that here has been no further issues, as of yet.  After three days, I reassembled the freezer and put it back in service.  It is an extreme PITA to take the freeze drawers out and the back panels to check on the coils again, so I am marking this as a win for now.

2. As to the warranty, I did not pay a dime for any of the work.  The only reason I took it on myself to attempt to remediate the issue was that the warranty company had agreed to make good on not being able to fix the KitchenAid by refunding me the cost of the purchase plus tax. Check now in hand, I can report that they indeed had made good on that promise. 

So the Fridge is fixed and I was reimbursed as well.

[houptee]

Wow what warranty plan is that?
How much extra did it cost at time of sale and what was the additional years coverage beyond the mfg warranty?
I always try and calculate if those plans are worth it.
I read all the fine print and most say they are allowed to use refurbished parts or aftermarket parts or give you a similar style machine that may be refurbished if unit cannot be repaired so I never but those plans.
Bottom line is whatever they gave you for the fridge, you have to deduct the cost you paid for the plan.

[mSabaro]

Wow what warranty plan is that?
How much extra did it cost at time of sale and what was the additional years coverage beyond the mfg warranty?
I always try and calculate if those plans are worth it.
I read all the fine print and most say they are allowed to use refurbished parts or aftermarket parts or give you a similar style machine that may be refurbished if unit cannot be repaired so I never but those plans.
Bottom line is whatever they gave you for the fridge, you have to deduct the cost you paid for the plan.

I believe its the 5 year plan from HD and cost around ~$250 at the time, summer 2016.  I may be out the insurance, but I'm not out the original cost of the fridge plus tax.  If you buy a Fridge in the $3k range, having an extended warranty you can lean on makes me feel better.  Yes, fine print, read the fine print.

As I mentioned above, so far everything seems to be running fine.  While the freezer temps hit 0 degrees and cycles as expected, I noticed that the fridge is sticking to 39 degrees and not budging lower even though I reduced it from the recommended 37 degrees to 35 degrees.  I lowered the temp to see if the temp would go lower to verify temps would adjust per user requirements.  I bought a laser temp gun, $20 amazon, and have those little temp gauges as well, they read the same 39 degrees in the fridge.  Not sure if this is pointing to a low Freon or other issue brewing.

[dougdebnc]

In hopes that it will help someone else with this problem, I just spent a week plus with a repair company trying to correct the PO Error Code Issue on my KitchenAid KRMF706ESS01 refrigerator/freezer. Here is what was the diagnostics and repairs performed:
1) Found main PCB bad. Check low voltage coming out from power supply. But no voltage coming to EVAP. Motor in
freezer. Because main PCB bad. Replace PCB and still PO Error.

2) Ordered Power Supply Board. Replaced both boards and still PO ERROR.

3) ORDERED FREEZER FAN MOTOR.
Left both boards in refrigerator. And found EVAP. Coil was frosted on top and bottom. Fan was bad. Replace evap. Fan
motor kit in freezer. And working ok. No error.

I'm out $565 and wondering if just replacing the fan motor would have solved the problem. Anyone else with the issue, might want to check that first.

Good Luck!