Customer Questions and Answers for Defrost Control Board by Whirlpool

Hello, You will have a defrost heater and a defrost thermostat. Sensors are not used unless there is an electronic control board for the defrost circuit. If there is a defrost timer, it is an analog circuit. These have a calrod type heater WP2161322 and, while they do fail, the defrost thermostat WPW10225581 is much more common to fail.

Hello Afabes, Your unit has an adaptive defrost control 61005988 located in the ceiling of the fresh food compartment. Of course you will unplug the unit before beginning as there is 120Vac on multiple components in this area. In addition to that, the bulbs will leave unsightly scars from laying on the back of your hands and arms. There is a 1/4 inch hex headed screw in the rear center of the assembly which will have to be removed. Then there are two 1/4 in hex headed screws in the ceiling at each end of the temperature control slides. Lastly there are two Phillips head screws several inches further toward the rear, but still thread into the ceiling of the unit. Now the control will drop low enough to get to the control. It is in the extreme right top corner of the fresh food section. There should be two tiny hex head screws that hold it to the control assembly. These two screws can be thrown away as they are not needed. The new control has a plastic enclosure to prevent condensation on the board. once you plug it in, it's just a matter of reassembling the control assembly in reverse order. It may not be a bad idea to take a few pictures of the assembly at different stages of disassembly for reference during the reassembly process.

Bill, Everything you've mentioned or commented on is pretty much normal. Yes the freezer temperature fluctuates constantly, The control checks for a specific resistance for a specific amount of time, in order to average and maintain temperature in the freezer. During a defrost cycle, the temperatures can get a bit high( yours are in range) but it usually takes a couple of hours to return to the designated temp. You may want to conduct the "diagnostic service test mode" and considwer the Evaporator Motor 12002054 could occasionally get stuck and run at a slow speed. or the compressor control board 12002799 It could also have a fault, and could cause the compressor to run in a slow mode as well. Your Tech data sheet is locateed up inside the compressor compartment, you can conduct the diagnostic tests whenever you can or wish, just remeber to return it back in the compartment.

Hello Robert. Check and make sure the evaporator fan motor is good in the unit and is running properly. If so, it sounds like the damper assembly is bad and will need to be replaced. You can disassemble the control panel and check to see if the damper door is open. If it is closed or broke, you will need to replace the damper assembly WP61005993.

Hello Robert. The first thing you need to check is do you see any frost on the back of the freezer wall? If so, It sounds like you may have a defrost problem with the unit. You will need to test the defrost heater and the defrost thermostat WP61006198. They should read closed for continuity when cold. You can test this with a multi-meter TJMA-DMT3. I will include a link at the end to assist you how to use the multi-meter if needed. If both parts are good, you will need to replace the defrost timer 61005988. Once the problem is repaired, you will need to thaw out the ice on the coils before the unit will operate properly. http://forum.appliancepartspros.com/oven-repair-including-ranges-cooktops/4810-how-check-continuity-ohmmeter.html

Hello Robert. If the air tunnel is freezing up, it may not be a defrost issue. You need to check and make sure both doors are sealing properly and that the lights inside turn off when the doors are closed. If all of this is good, then the evaporator fan motor WP61004888 may not be turning fast enough and is causing the issue with the freezing.

Hello Jack, It is normal to see some frost, but it should not clogged and freeze over the coils. The back cover needs to be on so the air flow works properly, this will help keep the frost down on the coils as well.

Hello Adam, The adaptive defrost control is in the ceiling of the fresh food compartment. You have to disassemble the controls to get to it. Two 1/4 inch head screws almost straight up, one 1/4 inch screw straight back in the middle, and two Phillips head screws up in the assembly about halfway to the back into the ceiling. Disconnect the unit from the power supply before beginning the disassembly as there is not only 120Vac present in there, but there are those two light bulbs that get so very hot and will leave a scar before you can blink. As an after thought, you will need to completely defrost the unit as the control is designed to remove the frost from between defrost cycles but it can't melt off the ice-buildup from a long-time defrost circuit failure.

Hi Jake. Cycle the cold control fully off and then on again and set the control to mid point. Your new updated adaptive defrost control board uses a on/off cycling from the cold control within a period of 6-seconds to initiate forced defrost (Remember this if needed). Look at the electrical connector at thew new board to see if the terminals are correctly placed and fully inserted in the connector plug itself. While pushing on it may have pushed back the wire terminals out of the connector half way... If you need to, remove the power and jump the cold control wires together momentarily to see if the unit now runs. If so you need to replace the cold control part # 61005327. When you removed the upper control assy., did you mistakenly remove the cold control timing gear on top of the controls ? , or has the control levers become mis-timmed ? Look at the top of the defrost gears and the beveled gears on the end of the levers. In the middle of the gears there are straight marks that will help you realign the timing effect. This will effect the on/off of the cold controls. Thank You.

Tom, Here you are, "Disconnect the unit from the power source. 2. Open the fresh food door and remove any items on the top shelf. 3. Remove the light shield cover by pulling down on the back corners of the cover and sliding the cover forward. 4. Remove the fascia/radiant shield mounting screws. Remove the control housing mounting screw at the back of the control housing. Slide the control housing to the right and lower it from the control housing supports. 5. Disconnect the temperature control housing electrical quick disconnects. 6. Remove the temperature control housing from the refrigerator and place on a flat work surface. 7. Remove the two timer mounting screws.8. Disconnect the electrical connector from the timer. 9. Install the replacement timer in reverse order of removal." Thanks and Good Luck