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My APM6855 has been playing up for ages with the usual problem, ie fridge not cooling (‘fixed’ by defrosting the unit the 48 hours). It has been increasing in frequency and now fails about once every two or three weeks.
It’s just failed again and I thought I would remove the inside back of the freezer compartment when the fridge has just started to warm up to see what might be going on.
First, the fan has NOT frozen up, there’s no icing on it or it’s mechanism and it rotates quite happily (I can hear it when the door is shut and see it spinning down when I open the freezer door – it won’t of course spin with the freezer door open as it’s not supposed to). As the fan is okay I haven’t photographed it.
I’ve taken a couple of pictures of the inside of the freezer area when the problem has occurred (with the panels removed of course!).
First, here’s a close-up of the top of the area:
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g319/ … oparea.jpg
and a picture of the whole of the freezer area:
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g319/ … learea.jpg
Does this help in any way to identify the possible cause of the fault?
Is this icing up normal?
Many thanks! 🙂If the defrost heater is okay, you get continuity, then it’s likely to be a PCB failure. Can’t guarantee it 100{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d}, but it’s very likely.
HTH
K.
Re: My APM6855 – some pics of the frozen area
Thanks for the reply. Which part is the defrost heater then? 🙂
Re: My APM6855 – some pics of the frozen area
Buttons wrote:Which part is the defrost heater then? 🙂
And, at that point, I’d advise an engineer. 😉
The heater is the silver “thin tube” like part you can see which surrounds the evaporator.
K.
Re: My APM6855 – some pics of the frozen area
kwatt wrote:
Buttons wrote:
Which part is the defrost heater then? 🙂And, at that point, I’d advise an engineer. 😉
It’s okay, I’m technically minded (I repair old arcade game PCBs for a living. 🙂 ) Not familiar with fridge freezers of course, but if I know which part to test and the best way to remove it for testing then no worries. 🙂
The heater is the silver “thin tube” like part you can see which surrounds the evaporator.
K.
So the defrost heater is the silver part connected to the thin copper tubing (which has the blue heat shrink on it)? Mostly covered in ice in the picture of course ……….
Re: My APM6855 – some pics of the frozen area
Buttons wrote:So the defrost heater is the silver part connected to the thin copper tubing (which has the blue heat shrink on it)? Mostly covered in ice in the picture of course ……….
Nope, that would be the gas line for the evaporator. 😉
It’s the electrical element that surrounds that, you can see it in the larger view at the bottom.
K.
Re: My APM6855 – some pics of the frozen area
I see. So in order to measure the continuity on that would I remove the polystyrene cover or do I need to pull the fridge freezer out completely and access the very back of it?
If only there was a technical manual for this unit …………..
Re: My APM6855 – some pics of the frozen area
Will do that next time it fails (I’ve only just put it all back together and switched it back on). So give it 2 or 3 weeks ………..
I should point out that I’m not averse to dismantling things (I love it) but I like to have an idea of what to do/what I’m looking for. Not too keen on trying to pull out the F/F unit as it’s so heavy and cumbersome, but will do so if there’s no other (cheap) option.
I also feel that if it’s a PCB problem I could fix the PCB itself – it’s housed in the top of the unit isn’t it?
Do service manuals exist for these F/F units?
Cheers.
Re: My APM6855 – some pics of the frozen area
Buttons wrote:Do service manuals exist for these F/F units?
😆
Service manuals… what are those then? 😉
Basically, appliances are so cheap that that’s one of the areas that takes a hammering on costs, virtually nobody produces any form of manual beyond a parts list and wiring schematic, if you’re lucky. Also this is why you get generic and rubbish instruction books, they cost to write and produce. And, even if any manufacturer does produce anything it’s invariably copyrighted and we cannot republish or distribute it or we get sued.
So, short answer, not a hope I’m afraid.
K.
Re: My APM6855 – some pics of the frozen area
Ah well, had to ask. 🙂
I’ll be back to resurrect this thread in a few short weeks …………………….. 🙂
Re: My APM6855 – some pics of the frozen area
Well, it’s gone again. That’s only 12 days since it was last defrosted. 🙁
Now I assume that the evaporator is behind the polystyrene block, is that correct? If so then the evaporator is frozen solid with ice.
And I need to measure the continuity of the defrost heater (the metal ‘loop’ that I can see at the bottom), but where is the plug for that? Behind the polystyrene block? No doubt I’ll need to let it completely defrost before removing the polystyrene block?
BTW, feel free to elucidate me on exactly what to do – if I break the F/F then no worries as I have an ’emergency spare’ in another building which will do until I find a replacement for this APM6855. I’d rather fix this one myself though (with a little friendly guidance). 🙂
Thanks
Re: My APM6855 – some pics of the frozen area
I did see it but, if you read the forum rules, we cannot legally give you step by step instructions in case you decide to fry yourself or others then blame us. It’s the world we live in these days. 😉
Yes the evaporator is behind the rear plate and insulation.
But, 99/100 it’ll be the PCB on these things, which is this one but obviously I can’t 100{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d} guarantee that. I would be pretty confident that is the problem though as I said.
You need to trace out the wiring but most of them are on connector blocks at the back of the freezer and at the PCB.
HTH
K.
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