Hotpoint FF200E Fridge Freezer Fault

[Mr_Damage]

I think I have found one !!
http://www.pandorasoem.com/Genuine-G...New_p_943.html
or
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1209634808...819%26_rdc%3D1

Can anyone please confirm that this will be the correct one?

[tonto33]

wrong part

[Mr_Damage]

wrong part

Do you know how to identify the correct part or can you tell me what is the correct part?
It isn't listed on the hotpoint site

[Chris Homewood]

Please can you post a picture of where to the engineer moved the defrost heating element from and to. Thanks in advance.

Service engineer arrived and removed the ice blockage and carried out a modification to relocate the defrost heating element to prevent the icing, the engineer was great and took the trouble to explain the reason for the fault and modification. Seems Hotpoint were aware of the problem and came out with a simple corrective action that makes sense, just a pity they were not more proactive and arranged the modification before they had customer complaint, however I am now confident the issue is resolved but only time will tell.

Hladnjaci

[Mad_angler1]

There are a few problems that affect these models however all result in a warm fridge, depending on the fault affects the repair required.

There are 2 versions of these with a top mounted module and a rear mounted module. if you have the rear mounted board there will be a large black box on the rear LH side.

Top mounted board Models ONLY

The first thing is these shipped with a defrost cycle of around 30 minutes, this was found not to be long enough and was extended to around 50 minutes in later models, a reprogram of the module with the latest file will extend this cycle, however i would do this as well as one of the below as normally just reprogramming does not resolve the issue.

1st Problem. ice buildup on the evaporator, this can extend down to the gutter but the evaporator its self is frozen solid. sometimes you can see a gap where the gutter heater is melting the very bottom of it.


First thing is to Isolate the fridge power, remove the multi flow and defrost the evaporator, use a steamer ideally, wall paper one with out the end works well, DO NOT use a hairdryer or heat gun, water + electricity = A&E, also do not use tools to brake away the ice, catch a pipe its it skip time for the unit.

Next disconnect the plug and check the resistance of the defrost heater, the two white wires, you should get around 360 ohm, you also have 4 wires going to the overheat stat in the same plug, normally 2 blue and 2 brown, check for continuity between the two of each colour, if any of these are open circuit then there is your problem.

next on the socket in the cabinet where the plug was located find the two pins that the white wires for the defrost heater went into, this is the wiring to the gutter heater, check the resistance across these two pins, you should get about 3.6k on the meter. is its open circuit the defrost heater burnt out, see issue two on resolving this, if it ok read on.


If all are fine then its likely the Evaporator sensor has failed, moisture get into these and then freezes and kills the sensor, this is non replaceable HOWEVER there is a modification that can be made to bypass the sensor,the module then works on timed values rather than readings from the sensor, this can only done by Hotpoint or a service agent as it requires the board to be reprogrammed as well as the sensor being cut out. this modification is very good and does solve most of the problems.


2nd Problem, Ice building up in the gutter, the evaporator is mostly clear but a large block of ice has built up below it.

Again first thing is to Isolate the fridge power, remove the multi flow and defrost the evaporator, use a steamer ideally, wall paper one with out the end works well, DO NOT use a hairdryer or heat gun, water + electricity = A&E, also do not use tools to brake away the ice, catch a pipe its it skip time for the unit.

now on the socket in the cabinet where the plug was located find the two pins that the white wires for the defrost heater went into, check the resistance across these two pins, you should get about 3.6k on the meter. is its open circuit the defrost heater is open.

If the defrost heater is open circuit then there is a heater kit available that sticks on the gutter, depending on the type some have round pins and some have spade connectors.

If the defrost heater is fine then check the drain hole is clear, there is a larger defrost heater kit available that extends further down the gutter, sometimes this resolves the issue however not always, of the gutter heater is showing resistance you should not fit the extra heater kit because you could melt the back of the fridge out however i have seen this done and it has resolved the issue with out damaging the freezer, but this is not recommended at all.

If the gutter heater is fine but the ice is still building up you could try hanging a pice of copper wire from the defrost heater down the drain hole, wrap it around the heater and just let it hang, it helps stop it from freezing over, if all this fails then i would recommend the sensor bypass modification above. this should resolve the problem.


Rear Mounted Board Models.

Basically its the same as the above but the sensor bypass can not be performed on these units, so if after checking all the heaters and you are still getting ongoing issues i can't really suggest anything else, most get replaced at this point, its likely the gutter heater has moved away from the lining slightly, you could add the external heater kit but be warned it COULD melt the lining out.

[petea]

Which, and how many, screws have to be undone to takeoff the freezer compartment back panel? Can the drain be accessed without taking off the panel?

[JohnMumford]

Hi All,

First of all, I need to say a big thanks for those who have given out useful advice on this forum - got my fridge up and running quickly... though I am worried it is only a temporary fix...

In order to help others like I have been helped, I took a couple of photos of how to dismantle the panels.

1 - open freezer section (no photo)
2 - remove all freezer drawers (no photo)
3 - remove first main panel - beware the screws "hidden" in the deep holes - lift from bottom and it should pop out quite easily (no photo at this stage)
4 - remove secondary panel - be carefull with the clips on both sides (and the top) (photo here and here)
5 - you now have access to the cooling coil (photo here)
6 - if you have ice build-up blocking the vent, it will be here (photo here or here)

I'm still getting some frost build up and don't know whether that is normal?

I have read about several solutions, and don't know which to follow to be honest.... too much advice kills the advice :P

From what I have read, there are two paths to follow:
1 - fit new parts (cost approx £110) that will ensure the defrost of the dripping tray area
2 - check defrosting cycle & parts work and unless it is a simple replacement of the defrost coil, you need to get it seen by and engineer....

Please can someone confirm I have summarised the above correctly?

Thanks again guys, and I hope the little I have brought above will also help others!

Cheers,

John.

[JohnMumford]

Dear Mad_Angler1,

Thanks for your post - I have followed it to the letter and have found the following;
1- white wires connected to defrost heater coil show 360 ohm so OK
2- blue & yellow wires show closed circuit so OK
3- socket where white wires give me 1.6kohm... so less than you advise... OK or NOT OK?

From here I don't really understand where I am supposed to go... if the defrost heater is ok (it show 360 ohm) I don't understand what to replace.... you mention a heater kit (from other posts, I am assuming it is this) however this seems (just looking at the picture here) like replacing the defrost heater coil which is working (closed circuit?)... or have I missed something?

Thanks in advance for your help,

John.