Top 20 Frigidaire FRT18S6AW Top Freezer Refrigerator Questions & Answers

may have debris or algae in drain that runs down to underneath pan other than that the inside is glass plastic and metal with plastic covering nothing that would cause a smell or odor

Good Afternoon Friend, I understand that your Frigidaire freezer, model# FRT18S6AWX, is not getting cold enough in either the freezer or refrigerator. I suggest changing the settings to a colder setting and give it 24 hours to stabilize at the set temperatures. Also, I recommend cleaning the toe grille and condenser coils. You can do this by taking the toe grille off and cleaning it with soap and water and rinsing it thoroughly with water. While the toe grille is off, get your vacuum with extension, and vacuum underneath your refrigerator. I ask that you please follow up with a comment on the post, at your convenience, to advise if further troubleshooting is needed or if your refrigerator status has changed successfully. Hope this is helpful. -Best Regards- WP

Do you notice where the water is coming from? Like a nearby shelf or an ice build up? Ice build up indicates an air leak.

lose connection or corrosion

This unit appears to drip defrost cycle water down the inside the back wall of the fresh food compartment to the fresh food compartment drain. There is a tube connected to that drain that is item 84 of this link:
http://www.appliancepartspros.com/partsearch/model.aspx?model_id=114825&diagram_id=28705718#d28705718

You need to make sure that the compartment drain and the tube to the drip pan is free of obstructions. It is not uncommon after a long period for the compartment drain to clog. Also underneath the unit were the tube terminates in the drip pan the very end of the tube can sit in some pretty foul muck and clog just from drying out with lint and gunk on the end of the tube between defrost cycles. I often poke spot / zip ties in them initially to clear obstructions because they are so dirty.

Please feel free to respond with any more commets at any time if cleaning the drain tube and catch basin do not resolve the issue.

Thanks for choosing FixYa,
Kelly

When your unit thaws - do you hear the compressor kicking on at the start of a cycle? If not, maybe the compressor relay it hanging up somehow. Or the compessor capacitor is malfunctioning. It is NOT a compressor problem though.

If you are capable of getting to the defrost heater circuit, you should check the defrost thermostat and timer (if there is not ice build up behind the panel. If the defrost circuit is active too long it could cause that condition - but you defrost heater is not the problem unless there is an ice build up.

Hi,

Check out these tips...they can help you figure out whats going wrong with yourrefrigerator and why it is not cooling

Refrigerator not Cooling or Fridge not Cooling

How to Defrost Refrigerator Defrost Timer Problem

Water Running in refrigerator from Freezer

heatman101

See tis for sources of noise:
http://www.applianceaid.com/images/fridgenoises.JPG

Hi,

Many times a freezer and/or refrigeratordo not work right because of a dirty condenser coil...there are also many otherthings that can go wrong. If you are hearing a clicking or buzzing then check out thelast two tips.

If your refrigerator is running but warm, then...

Check out this tip that I wrote about that... it is a great place to starttrouble shooting your unit...and something that you can do rather then callinga repair person to do a simple thing for you...

Refrigerator Condenser Coil Cleaning Refrigerator Repair

Refrigerator Troubleshooting Refrigerator Compressor

Refrigerator Compressor Start Capacitor and Start Relay
Refrigerator or Freezer not Cooling or Getting Cold

heatman101
...

You most likely have a stopped up drain in the freezer. When the freezer goes into defrost, the water drains out and down the back of the unit. Into a pan located on top of or close to the compressor. You will need to unclog the drain.

Hi, With the information you supplied I’m going to assume there is an ice build up at the rear of the freezer. Your problem is going to be with your defrost system. I will also assume you have the ability to repair this yourself.
This is going to be one of three problems with your refrigerator, 1st thing to do is remove shelf’s and panel in the back of the Freezer. You may see ice build up on the evaporator, don't worry get a hair dryer and melt the ice.
Next locate the wires for the defrost heater and using a multi-meter/ohms meter test the heater for continuity (it should read infinite) if the defrost heater is bad replace it.
This is what a typical defrost heater looks like:
　
If the heater is good test the defrost thermostat. This should normally be done when the evaporator is still covered with ice since it will only activate at 40f - 50f depending on the thermostat. When tested with the ohms meter at below 40f it will read infinite. It is normally clipped to the upper right of the evaporator and look something like this:
The next possible problem could be the defrost timer. If you have tested the heater and thermostat and they have tested good next find the defrost timer, If your refrigerator has a mechanical one it will either be located inside the control panel in the fridge or behind the panel below the doors. Once you have located it advance the dial until you hear a click. This will initiate the defrost cycle. If your heater begins to get hot this will tell you that your timer has stalled and needs to be replaced. A typical mechanical timer looks like this:
If your refrigerator has a digital defrost timer you should locate the tech sheet. Normally you can find this behind the panel under the doors. It will tell you how to initiate a manual defrost cycle. As before if the heater gets hot you will have to replace the mother board normally located behind a panel at the rear of your refrigerator.
If your fridge is warm and there is no build up of frost/ice on the back panel inside the freezer then you problem is most likely going to be the evaporator fan, have you heard the fan running in the past few hours? if you are not sure pull the panel out to where you can see fan and watch it over the space of an hour to see if it turns. If you don’t see it turning replace the motor. This is what a typical evaporator fan looks like:
Hope this helps. If you have any other questions please feel free to comment again. If you decide to get a repair guy in should not cost you any more then $120 - $200 depending on make/model/problem Good luck & thanks for using Fixya! Mike

The air circulation is neede to prevent this Make sure it's the freezer fan you hear running.

The fridge gets its cold air from the freezer through a vent(damper)between the freezer and fridge.The fan in the freezer blows air throughit. There is a flap you adjust with thefridge temp. control. Make sure it's opening and closing when you adjust thefridge temp ..
If the evaporator coils behind the back panel of the freezerare icing up because of auto defrost failure that will stop the circulation ofcold air and eventually affect the freezer too.

check defrost timer, defrost heater, defrost thermostat. Inmost newer models the timer has been replaced by an electronic control board.If the heater and thermostat are ok it’ll be the control.

You can turn the defrost timer till it clicksand everything shuts down. The heater should now come on. If it does, replacethe timer. If it doesn't, check the heater and defrost thermostat. Turn thetimer again till everything starts back up to end the defrost cycle.



How to check stuff>
http://www.acmehowto.com/howto/appliance/refrigerator/refrigerator.php

The water may come from ice that have built up inside the freezer coils or from other items inside the fridge. I suggest to clean it out and check. If it is from ice formation, I advise to have it unplugged for a while and let it melt. Clean it in the process. Once you get the coils and the fridge free your fridge should also run more efficiently.

yes you should.

There should be some heat were the Anti-condensators are installed. They should not be 'hot but more 'warm'. This prevents water condensation on the walls of the frige If you need further help, I’m available over the phone at https://www.6ya.com/expert/craig_3fa289bf857b1a3c

Hi. I can help you. Look carefully at the hinge side of the door and you will see the screw pattern. Now look in the exact same areas on the non hinge side of both the door and the frame and you should see little plactic buttons which pry up and expose screw holes.

As long as you have these buttons/holes you can reverse the swing. If you do not have the predrilled holes on the other side, you can not reverse it. Most can be reversed so I am hoping yours is one of them. Good luck.

there are certain posibilities as the pa refrigerator needs electricity. If the refrigerator's light doesn't work and it's motor doesn't run:

1) Check the power. Make sure the receptacle works (plug in a working lamp or a circuit tester). If the receptacle doesn't work, check for a tripped circuit breaker or blown fuse.

2) Be sure the cold control is turned on.

3) If you discover that the refrigerator is plugged into a working outlet and the cold control is on but the device shows no signs of life, leave the door closed to retain the cold air and call an appliance repairperson

the bi metal defrost is a defrost thermostat also known as a defrost limiter, it turns of the defrost heater after it warms up the evaporator sufficiently, it resets itself once the compressor comes back on after the defrost timer has timed out.

Check the freezer section for frost build up, there is probably a problem with the defrost cycle. 1 of 3 things defrost bi metal would be the likely problem.The back panel in the freezer should be removed to see if there is too much frost.