Fridge Defrost Timer Repaired
From our techie group one fridge repair technician contacted me for help, he is having some problem in Defrost timer of fridge. Told him to visit my place on next morning. As discussed he comes to my place with the bad Defrost timer.
Actually I am not aware of working process of this timer. On visual inspection I found it was broken from the fitting. Technician admitted it was broken by him while opening for the repair.
Further I asked him about working process of the unit. He explained the use of timer that this timer periodically turns off the compressor and activates a defrost heater to melt frost buildup on the evaporator coils.
His sentence indicates this timer click & contact some pins two times to activate function one by one as per duty cycle.
I asked him why you not buying new, he told me it is not available in the nearby part supplier & customer wants to get the fridge repair at earliest.
I checked label marked on the unit it indicating the duty cycle.as per label marking compressor working time is 7 hours & heating element working time for defrost is 54minute (The AC supply frequency in India is 50 Hz)
Unit pins marked as follows
I did not understand the connection initially but technician explained me the connection. I asked him what is exact problem with unit. He told me timer does not activate the heater due to that ice accumulates in freezer & cooling fan blades touches the ice & making loud grinding Noise.
I checked the connection using my LED continuity tester I noticed LED of continuity light up on Compressor but when we rotate the Timer knob manually it does not show continuity on the Heater Terminal.
So I dismantled the unit for further inspection.
First I checked all the gears for any sign of the damage. But found all gears in good working condition.
Checked & cleaned Contacts leafs for oxidation. Checked using LED tester it shows proper connection.
Now reassembled the unit for testing. But it shows same symptom as earlier, it is not showing continuity when it makes sound of clicking while rotating the spindle manually.
I opened the unit again for inspection checked gear which directly involved for clicking and making contacts. But it seems OK.
Again checked leaf clicking by manual spinning the gear.
Found Compressor contact is ok but Heater leaf is making contact intermittent.
Realigned the leaf & tried again manually still it stuck some time ….in this process I noticed this leaf is shaking while moving & it getting stuck on plastic.
I applied super glue after adjusting the leaf horizontally, so that it cannot shake while contacting.
After drying of glue I tested again by spinning gear manually, now it works OK so I assembled the unit again for further testing.
Checked Unit for continuity after assembling.
Handed over the unit to the technician for installation at customer place & evening I got call from him that everything working fine.
This article was prepared for you by Yogesh Panchal who works as a Computer Hardware Engineer in Mumbai India.
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Note: You can check his previous repair articles on Desktop Computer Repaired And Serviced
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Waleed Rishmawi
July 5, 2025 at 12:44 pm
Very tricky device but you got it fixed. Good job my friend and thanks for sharing .
Yogesh Panchal
July 5, 2025 at 6:34 pm
Thank You! Waleed
John Smith
September 5, 2025 at 6:19 am
Having the same problem with my defrost time like this , getting a reading from 3 to 4 ,turn button no reading on 2 to 3 and still getting a reading on 3 to 4
Albert van Bemmelen
July 5, 2025 at 3:16 pm
These partially mechanical devices are hard to test and fix. But the unknown device without any clear info and Chinese markings didn't stop you and was completely fixed! Well done Yogesh!
Yogesh Panchal
July 5, 2025 at 6:36 pm
Thank you! Albert,
When we know proper working process of the equipment, Markings never makes difference.
Francis Bouthillette
July 5, 2025 at 4:43 pm
Thanks for sharing this repair
I had a similar problem long time ago on a relay for the compressor of a refrigerator, I did fix it by opening the rivets and cleaning the contacts
The repair man give a capacitor relay to replace and it was not working so he said I had to change the refrigerator the refrigerator was working with the old relay after cleaning so I found another one the same and told my sister to change when stop and clean again
Yogesh Panchal
July 5, 2025 at 6:42 pm
Thanks! Francis Bouthillette,
Sometimes technicians don't bother to repair the parts even if they know how to do it... because they can't make the money they need without wasting their time.many technicians having their target for daily earnings.
Parasuraman S
July 5, 2025 at 7:44 pm
Very determined effort to fix the unit! You handled the repair work very nicely and smartly! Thanks for sharing!
Yogesh Panchal
July 7, 2025 at 5:00 pm
Thank You! sir
Tim Sprouse
July 5, 2025 at 11:32 pm
Fantastic repair Yogesh, good job. I recently had my refrigerator freezer repaired with a defective defrost time also. The repairman went out to his truck, got a new part and replaced it. If I would have known then what you just taught me, I would have tried to repair it myself. I love these repair articles Jestine and have learned a lot from them. You guys keep up the good work.
Yogesh Panchal
July 7, 2025 at 5:02 pm
Thank You! Tim Sprouse,
Learning is process of the life keep on going....
Mark J
July 6, 2025 at 2:32 am
Yogesh good job on the repair. I rarely repair any HVAC stuff. Maybe this article will help me if I ever come across a defrost timer repair job.
Yogesh Panchal
July 7, 2025 at 5:05 pm
Thanks! Mark j
There is nothing to lose by trying... if you don't succeed, you will learn something new..
Humberto
July 10, 2025 at 8:17 pm
Intereing repair Yogesh, and thanks for sharing this article.
Yogesh Panchal
July 12, 2025 at 4:09 pm
Thanks! Humberto