My frige stops working after 3 days of running

There are a few possibilities. Freeze-ups are a result of the unit either not having sufficient airflow or the compressor running too long and too often. As you note the fan is good, chances are airflow is not the issue. There are a few quick items that you can check on:

1. Check door seals. Leaks will cause the interior to lose cooling faster and result in compressor overloading.
2. Do not overload the freezer. Too much inside the freezer will cause loss of airflow INSIDE the unit and can cause issues.
3. Avoid putting too much unfrozen material into the freezer at once. It takes a lot of work to remove all the heat from a large amount of material.
4. Avoid multiple opening and closing of the door. Upright freezers are inefficient as they lose all their cold air as soon as you open the door. Chest freezers do better if you must go into the unit often.

Lastly, undercharged refrigerant system can cause the same issue. If you don't have any of the other problems noted, have a serviceman check the refrigerant and fill the system as needed.

Check your defrost timer also make sure its turning also there's a thermostat and heating element that defrost the ice at given cycles

Fixing the defrost circuit is relatively simple. It made of three things, the defrost heater, the thermostat and the timer. The usual parts that fail are the heater and the timer. The first thing to check is the defrost timer. It looks like this:

It can found either near the compressor or in the little box inside that controls the temperature. What it does is that it powers the compressor for about 8 hours and then turns off the power for 45 minutes to allow the defrost heater to melt the frost buildup. The timer is run by a little motor. Often the motor stops working and the freezer is either stuck running the compressor continously or the defrost heater.

On the side of the timer is a little cam that you can turn with a straight blade screwdriver. Turn it until it clicks. When it does, the compressor should shut off and the heater should start to heat up. If you hear the crackling of ice melting, then the problem is with your timer not working. If the ice is not melting then the problem is either with the heater/thermostat. Check to see if the heater is burned out or use a meter to check continuity between the heater and the thermostat. If it is open then replace the heater and thermostat.

Any of the defrost parts should be available from an appliance supply house or online. Hope this helps you.

Hi and welcome to FixYa. I am Kelly
If your sure the compressor is running and it is not freezing then there has to be a system coolant leak.
Having said that there are a few things to check:
1. Is the compressor in fact running Y / N
a. Yes = coolant level problem or coolant system blockage
b. Not running = (Possibilites below)
1) PTC / Klixon Thermal overload failure
2) Run capacitor failure
3) Temp control failure
4) Automatic defrost thermostat or thermistor
5) Defrost timer or Adaptive defrost control failure (depending on model)
2. Is the compressor very hot to the touch or room temp?
a. VERY hot = unplug the unit for at least 30 minutes and then plug it back in.
b. ROOM temp = any of the above in 1b items 1) - 5)
3. Is the evaporator fan running?
a. Yes = Temp control is ok Defrost system is probably ok
b. No = same as 2b

With a model number I could pass on a few additional things to do. For the moment use the above.

Thanks for choosing FixYa,

Kelly

Hi. I am Kelly and welcome to FixYa. Here is the real question..... Is the food staying frozen?

Freezers usually defrost 3 times a day (8 hr intervals) Some as often as 4 times a day. The freezer use concept is that it is not opened more than 3 times a day. (Yes there will be more times than that any given week)

Having said all of that.... some things to look at.

1. Check the door seal for any signs of tears... grease... collapse...

2. Make sure there are no gaps in the door or between the closed door and the seal.

3. Many people don't check this one... but make sure it is level. An un-level freezer can cause the door seal not to function correctly.

Now if your saying that the food is actually defrosting... then there are a few other things that can cause that.

A. Sticking / defective Defrost timer

B. Defrost element is not heating and the freezer goes through a VERY long defrost cycle as the contents have to reach 60 Deg F for the 60 Deg bi-metal thermostat to close and advance the defrost timer to start the compressor.

C. Intermittent operation of the 60 Deg thermostat

I hope this clears things up a bit for you.

Thanks for using FixYa.

Kelly

You got the right idea. your fridge have a deforst problem, and it can be cause by a number of items. 1. the timer, 2 the defrost temperature control. 3 the defrost element itself.
Before you use the hair dryer when there is ice forming in the back panel, try to turn the timer and see wheather you can set it to defrost cycle manually if you can then the timer need to be change. the 2 and 3 item is a bit more work for normal people to deal with, you better call in a serviceman and watch him how he handle it so you can try it yourself next time. God Bless

John,
What you are hearing is popping caused by thermal expansion inside the evaporator enclosure during its' defrost cycle.
Depending on your make and model, it'll go into defrost every 8 to 12 hours of compressor "run time". That is, the defrost timer "monitors" how long the compressor runs and after it accumulates the pre-set "run time", the timer then shuts the compressor off and initiates its' programmed defrost routine. This routine lasts for 20-30 minutes, or until the defrost thermostat opens.
The defrost routine sends 120 volts to a heating element in the evaporator compartment which gets red hot. This sudden temperature change (from below freezing to warm) causes the cabinet to expand slightly. That's when you hear the "Pop".

I hope this helps, John. Thanks for using FixYa, and don't forget to rate my answer.

SG

If not defrost, could be timer, or heater is not working for some reason. Bad time can cause lots. Compressor could run during defrost, heaters not working, and such. Doubt that the t'stat would be the fix. Could be having a defrost cycle that is too short. Repairing all 3 plus the cost of a tech could get very pricey.

High Orlando,
I would really like to have a complete model number to give you the best help possible. But one thing that comes to mind is your thermostat should be cutting the compressor off when it reaches its temperature, then again your defrost timer should be defrosting every 8 hours or so. If you do have a 106 source refrigerator you should still have a defrost timer. It will be inside the freshfood section under the control panel. Good luck. [email protected]

There are generally 2 reasons why this would happen. The defrost timer or heater has gone bad. Or, the fan is not working. Because you state that it runs all day long, I would think that the coils are now a block of ice and cannot cool. In any case, manually defrost it now. Turn off the power and use a hair drier on low (not hot) setting. This should fix the electrical cost for now. Then you can determine if the fan is running properly, or the defroster.