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Discover repair information including guides and tips for Whirlpool Refrigerators. Our comprehensive resources offer detailed instructions for troubleshooting and fixing common issues in various Whirlpool refrigerator models.

Tepid Whirlpool side-by-side fridge and freezer

Model WRS325SDHZ01. The freezer temperature was running about 18°. The fridge was at 56°. The unit had recently been defrosted manually which suggests there’s a malfunction in the defrosting cycle. I checked the continuity on the heating coil and it appears fine though when I ran a test cycle, the coil did not become warm to the touch. The evaporator fan and condenser fan are running normally. The unit has a self diagnosis process and it that the defrost sensor is operating normally. There is no damper fan, only an air diverter, essentially an opening between the freezer and the fridge sides. There are two thermistors , one on the freezer side and one on the fridge side. Ohm readings on both thermistors are within range. The compressor seems to be operating normally. There are no strange noises coming from the unit.

After manually defrosting the unit again, about 12 hours later, the evaporator coils already had a heavy coating of frost on them. Is the control board the only other device that could be the issue? I’d hate to spend the money on a new control board if the problem could be something cheaper.

EDIT: I just came across someone else’s old post that suggested the evaporative coil defrost sensor may have detached from the coil, but I don’t see such a device listed in the parts. What would I look for?

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Hi @laurapage

Here's the service manual for the model.

On p.33 of 53 it shows the main control board voltage test points. The defrost heater is connected between P2/7 and P1/2. Check if there 120V AC across these terminals when the refrigerator is in the defrost cycle.

If there's voltage appearing there check if it is also at the heater connections.

Alternatively if you don't fancy testing for AC voltage, disconnect the power to the refrigerator and then disconnect the P1 and P2 harness cable plugs from the control board and then measure for heater continuity between the P2/7 and P1/2 pins on the cable plug (not the board)

If there's no voltage appearing at the heater connections (or continuity from the control board cable plugs) on p.34 it shows that there's an inline thermal fuse in the evap fan/heater harness wiring between the heater connection and where the evap fan/heater wiring harness connects to the cabinet harness back to the control board.

Perhaps there's a faulty harness connection/wiring connection between the control board and the heater or the thermal fuse is faulty.

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Thank you so much for the manual and the detailed instructions. That's extremely helpful. How do I know when the freezer is in defrost mode?

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@laurapage

When the defrost cycle is occurring, both the compressor and the evaporator fan will be off. It lasts for approx. 20-25 minutes, so don't get confused if they're both off for less than this amount of time e.g. 10 minutes before starting again as the set temps may have been reached in the compartments and therefore they don't need to be operating

The manual doesn't show how to manually force a defrost cycle or specify whether the defrost timing cycle is based on the elapsed compressor run time method or the accumulated run time method.

With the 1st method it occurs approx. every 8-10 hours. With the 2nd it could be anywhere between 8-24 hours, depending on external factors such as ambient temp and usage by the user i.e. number of times the door is opened letting cold air out which has to be replaced.

See p.22 onwards for diagnostic tests, then run Step. 13 (p.24) to test the Heater.

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I appreciate that additional information. I had previously run through the diagnostic tests and when I tested the heater, the heating element did not warm up. However, it did have continuity.

I will test the circuit board according to your instructions later today.

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@laurapage

Wonder why it passed the diagnostic tests if it didn't heat up.

Diagnostic Step.13 on p.24 should have turned it on.

What was the resistance value of the defrost heater element?

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Agreed. It doesn’t make sense. I was a bit confused when I was cycling through the testing stages as to whether I needed to push the fifth button to activate the heating coil, but I tried it both ways. Perhaps I was impatient. How long does it take for the coil to heat up? I would think it would start to feel a change in temperature within a couple minutes.

The continuity reading was 43 ohms. I’m using somebody else’s multi tester. When I put the two probes together before testing continuity, the meter reads seven, rather than zero. Is the meter reading OK?

I did check the continuity of the heater wire at the cable plugs. I got a reading of 32.

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