[sbj]

Hi, my freezer does not defrost, so the coils fill up with ice. I would realize that there was a problem when the over-temperature alarm would sound. We had the fridge serviced, but it wasn't adequately fixed (its a long story).

Initially, I would manually defrost using a hair dryer, and the fridge would work for a while. Then, I realized that I could force the defrost heater on by running a diagnostics mode. This is what I've been doing for the past year about every other day. The diagnostics mode runs the fridge in defrost mode for 20 minutes before switching back to normal operation. During these 20 minutes, I can hear water flowing into the pan. As long as I do this step regularly, the fridge works fine. If I go too long without doing this step, the over-temperature alarm goes on (and the fridge items do feel a bit warm).

This makes me believe that the controller board assembly is faulty since the defrost timer is built into this board (I've been told). It has been suggested to me that I should just install a defrost timer and rewire accordingly. Although this would be cheaper, it would be easier for me to just replace the board. Also, I do care about energy usage, and wonder if the timer will be less efficient since it just switches back and forth without intelligence.

So, is my diagnosis correct? And what course of action should I take?

Thanks in advance for any help,
sbj

[woodchuck]

I think your diagnosis is correct.I would replace the board. Rewiring with all the solid state would be beyond me. The controller board is more efficient, just defrosting when it's needed and not every 8,10, or 12 hours. It detects how many times and how long the doors are open to calculate when to defrost.