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Thread: Ice build up in freezer / No water from dispenser / Fridge and freezer too cold

  1. #1

    Ice build up in freezer / No water from dispenser / Fridge and freezer too cold

    Model Number: KSRA22ILWH03
    Brand: KitchenAid
    Age: 6-10 years

    Ice is building up along the bottom of the freezer. The defrost drain and aluminum tray are covered in solid ice. The water dispenser does not dispense water. The water line inside the fridge is frozen. Food stored in the refrigerator meat drawer freezes. It is so bad that a bottle of wine stored on the lowest door shelf froze solid. Ice cream in the freezer is hard as concrete. A service tech has installed a new control panel. After the new control panel was installed, I thawed out the water line with a hair dryer and I got a slow stream of water for a few hours. The water dispenser not longer dispenses water. And now the fridge runs continuously and I am having the same problems as before. I noticed that the on/off button on the new control panel needs to be push several time and quite strongly, to get the fridge to turn on and off. Is it possible that the new control panel is defective? Is the control panel the cause of the original problem or is it something else?

  2. #2
    Admin/Technician Doc Ryan's Avatar
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    The temperature is controlled by three things on your refrigerator, the control board (part# 8201658), the air diffuser(part# 2216112), and the thermistor (part# 2188819).

    When the control board was replaced, did it seem to fix the problem? Or did it start acting up right away again?

    You could have a defective control board, but if it is acting exactly the same as before the control board was replaced then you likely have something else causing your problem. The thermistor that senses the temperature could be bad, the air diffuser could be bad, or you could have multiple bad parts. The drain in the freezer could be iced up because the refrigerator is running all of the time, but you could also have a clogged up defrost drain. You will need to thaw the drain out and then try to pour hot water down the drain to see if it clogged up... or just iced up.
    Ryan

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  3. #3
    After the control board was replaced, the fridge seemed to be fine. The problems re-surfaced a few hours later.

  4. #4
    Admin/Technician Doc Ryan's Avatar
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    A few hours usually isn't long enough to determine whether a refrigerator is working correctly or not. A lot of times the temperature takes 24 hours to even out completely on a refrigerator. The control board originally could have been bad... but I think there is something else relating to the issue too.
    Ryan

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  5. #5
    I have had several service techs from Sears out to replace the control board. Each time they are provided with a used or defective control board. Does Sears not have access to new parts? Is it possible to get a new control board for this refrigerator? Needless to say, the problem has not been corrected. Is it worthwhile repairing a 10 year old refrigerator? Should I give up and just buy a new refrigerator?

  6. #6
    Admin/Technician Doc Ryan's Avatar
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    Sears should have access to a new control board, they list it on their website. Have they replace the air diffuser and/or thermistor? As I said before, it is VERY unlikely that all of the control boards that they have replaced would have the exact same problem as your original one.

    It sounds like your problem is worth fixing to me, if the rest of the refrigerator is in good working condition. I always recommend looking at how much it will cost to fix the appliance versus replacing the appliance.
    Ryan

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  7. #7
    Please note: I am in Canada. I assume if Sears USA can get a new part, then Sears Canada should be able to get a new part. So far, every time they show up to fix it, they have a control board, which is in an opened box and looks used. Even the service tech thought that the parts were not new. To date, they have only installed one of the replacement control boards. I now have the original control board in place. The service tech thinks that the air diffuser and thermistor are okay. They have not been replaced. The total cost to replace the control board is $360+/-. A comparable new fridge is $1,500+/-. I am afraid that if I fix this one problem today, other things will come up soon after. When do you stop putting money into a 10 year old refrigerator?

  8. #8
    Admin/Technician Doc Ryan's Avatar
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    Sears Canada might do things differently. It is your call on how much money you think is worth putting into the refrigerator. I would make sure that you are getting new parts put into your refrigerator. There is no sense in repairing an appliance with used parts.
    Ryan

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  9. #9

    Ice build up in freezer / No water from dispenser / Fridge and freezer too cold

    Quote Originally Posted by Doc Ryan View Post
    Sears Canada might do things differently. It is your call on how much money you think is worth putting into the refrigerator. I would make sure that you are getting new parts put into your refrigerator. There is no sense in repairing an appliance with used parts.



    Finally, Sears got a new control board and it has been installed. The water dispenser worked fine for about a day. Less than 48 hours later and it was frozen again. It has been 3 days since the new control board was installed and it looks as though I have the same problem(s) as before. The tech did not replace the thermistor. He did a diagnostic with the old control board and another diagnostic with the new control board. The thermistor and all other aspects seam to check out okay. The freezer is too cold, the freezer defrost drain is starting to ice up again and the vent on the freezer wall, which is inside the refrigerator section is icing up as well. Do you have any suggestions?

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