Frost in frostless freezer, fan not blowing into warm fridge

In my experience, the biggest culprit causing these symptoms is the defrost heater. This is a heating device that melts frost off the "evaporator coils" better known as the coils usually located inside the freezer area of the unit. These coils get very cold and warm air that is let inside when any door is open, will carry moisture with it that will accumulate like water on the outside of a cold glass in summer time, only it accumulates on the evaporator coils and turns to frost.

As your fridge cycles through its operating stages, one part of the cycle turns off the cooling and turns on a heating device of varying types to melt the frost and ice off of the evaporator coils so it can drip down and flow through a small hose through an opening in the bottom of the fridge and into a pan underneath the fridge where it evaporates back into the air again.

If the heating device never comes on, or becomes inoperative, the frost will slowly continue to collect on the evaporator coils until it becomes a solid block of ice. This now greatly reduces the ability of the evaporator fan to blow the cold air around the coils throughout the freezer and the rest of the fridge. The ice built up around the evaporator coils will still provide some cold, but will significantly prevent the fridge from operating properly.

Another cause may be the evaporator fan not operating correctly. If it doesn't blow air over the evaporator coils well enough, cold air will not get distributed through out the fridge. Cold air tends to "fall", so the bottom of the freezer will be the coldest. Generally, there is an adjustable hole in "side by side" units so that the amount of air coming through that hole can make the "meat crisper" colder. In fridges where the freezer is on the top, I've seen the evaporator coils (which often incorporate "fins" like those on a car radiator, turn into a solid block of ice.
Also check for dust collecting on the condenser coils on the outside of the fridge. These dissipate heat drawn from inside the fridge and take it outside the fridge. These are often located on the back of the fridge or underneath the fridge. Dust and fluff act as insulation and degrade their ability to work properly.

Obviously, to repair the fridge, you should relocate the contents of your unit until you can repair the fridge. Fixing your fridge will take at least a few hours even if you can get your hands on repair parts quickly. This will involve unplugging the unit and locating the items I've referred to. Either allow the accumulated ice to melt naturally or GENTLY speed up the process with a hair dryer or heat gun. Do not use any force removing the accumulated ice and frost, you could easily damage the coils and make things much worse than they already are. Even to the point of making the unit uneconomical to repair.

Without your posting a make, model, type of freezer/fridge arrangement or other details, it is difficult to assist you further. Part placement and component locations vary greatly in this appliance.

this fan needs to run when the compressor runs,check fan blade for being jammed by ice if you have this much ice on back wall as ice will stall motor,if no fan there will be no cool air to refrige compartment also the defrost drain tray will fill with water then freeze over which in turn floods the freezer floor and refrige compartments cause it cannot drain to the pan in the bottom

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Is the compressor motor running.If no check starter/overload relay.
Check to see if the condenser fan at the back underneath near the compressor is running. If no check fan.

Are the condenser coils near there warm or room temp. should be warm


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


Is the evaporator fan in the freezer running. It blows cold air into the fridge side through a damper in the wall between the freezer and fridge. Make sure the damper is open.

Below the evaporator fan is the evaporator coils. Remove the back cover in the freezer to observe the frost pattern. Light frost everywhere(NORMAL) or a partial pattern of ice(LOW ON FREON) or nothing(LOW FREON OR COMPRESSOR PROBLEM). Heavy frost indicates defrost problem.

YOU HAVE A DEFROST PROBLEM. FROST HAS BUILT UP SOMEWHERE AND THE FAN CAN'T BLOW PAST THE BLOCKAGE. OR ONLY A SMALL SECTION OF YOUR COILS IN THE FREEZER ARE COOLING DUE TO A CLOGGED FILTER OR BAD COMPRESSOR. PULL THE BACK COVER FROM INSIDE THE FREEZER AND LOOK AT THE COILS. THEY SHOULD HAVE A LIGHT FROST AVER THE ENTIRE COIL.IF IT IS A BIG BLOCK OF ICE YOU HAVE A DEFROST PROBLEM.

if one of the panels in the fridge has frost on it, the evaporator coils may be iced up. this restricts the cold air flow. to defrost: empty the fridge and freezer, turn it off, remove the panel in the freezer that has the frost, use a hairdryer and defrost the ice buildup, sop up excess water, dry it up, replace the panel, turn it on (while it's empty), set the temp halfway, and close the doors. when the compressor turns off, fill the fridge. if the panels are frostless and the coils are warm, you may be out of refrigerant from a freon leak somewhere. it might be cheaper to replace the fridge.

Is the compressor motor running.If no check starter/overload relay.
Check to see if the condenser fan at the back underneath near the compressor is running. If no check fan.

Are the condenser coils near there warm or room temp. should be warm

Is the evaporator fan in the freezer running. It blows cold air into the fridge side through a damper in the wall between the freezer and fridge. Make sure the damper is open.

Below the evaporator fan is the evaporator coils. Remove the back cover in the freezer to observe the frost pattern. Light frost everywhere(NORMAL) or a partial pattern of ice(LOW ON FREON) or nothing(LOW FREON OR COMPRESSOR PROBLEM).

hi
is this a frost free fridge if so then it is possibly not defrostingand has built up to much ice in the evaperator
cheers grantsreps

Thre is a fan inside the freezer which circulates the cold air around both the fridge and the freezer compartments.
You should be able to feel cold air blowing around the inside, particularly at the top of the freezer.
If the defrost thermostat fails open, the internal fan (depending on freezer) will stop and this can be the cause of the freezer being warm at the top and no ice.
You say the bottom of the freezer is blowing cold, but are you sure its blowing, as it can feel like a cold blow. Of course the fan could have failed or may be the defrost heater itself.
Have a look at this site for some useful trouble shooting
And a good site for troubleshooting and general info
Refrigeration Help Section, Fridges, refrigerators, not cold enough, frost free problems and how to test, noisy fan motors, clicking on and off compressors, door gaskets
Nige

too much ice bulid up will stop enough cold air being blown into the fridge.Try turning it off letting all ice melt then turn it back on again and set thermostat at a lower temp.There may be ice you can't see.

what to you mean by defrosted fridg. was frost built up in freezer>? check freezer for frost build up and if fan blowing, check condenser make sure clean, and fan blowing, check vents in refrig. make sure no blockage, freezer control should be in the middle setting, OR you can try turning that to Warmer freezer allowing MORE air to refrigertor side.