Zanussi ZI 921/8FF Problem

[KellyClan]

Hi there, I have a problem with my 2 year old Zanussi Frost Free intergrated Fridge Freezer. Basically the top refridgerator compartment is freezing all my fresh food. The bottom freezer compartment seems to be working fine. I have completely defrosted the whole fridge freezer and it hasent solved the problem. I can hear normal sounds from it and the fan in the freezer compartment works fine. What happens is a layer of frost builds up on the back wall of the refridgeration compartment and then it slowly freezes everything in there. I remember that this layer of frost used to melt periodically and drain off down the small drain hole but this no longer happens.
I have had the whole fridge out to look at the back and the large radiator at the back gets warm and the compresser at the bottom seems to be working fine, along with the thermostat control knob.
Any ideas?
Thanks in advance.
Mark.

[nike123]

Ideas is, that your defrost heater somehow doesn't work.
How to check this is right question.

[Southsidebobby]

Hi there, I have a problem with my 2 year old Zanussi Frost Free intergrated Fridge Freezer. Basically the top refridgerator compartment is freezing all my fresh food. The bottom freezer compartment seems to be working fine. I have completely defrosted the whole fridge freezer and it hasent solved the problem. I can hear normal sounds from it and the fan in the freezer compartment works fine. What happens is a layer of frost builds up on the back wall of the refridgeration compartment and then it slowly freezes everything in there. I remember that this layer of frost used to melt periodically and drain off down the small drain hole but this no longer happens.
I have had the whole fridge out to look at the back and the large radiator at the back gets warm and the compresser at the bottom seems to be working fine, along with the thermostat control knob.
Any ideas?
Thanks in advance.
Mark.

Hi Mark
you mention 'thermostat' in your thread - thats the most likely cause of your problem. Probably the thermostat has lost its gas charge from its capillary pipe, and has failed safe to an 'always on' condition to protect frozen food. These thermostats are inexpensive and for zannusi products can be purchased fro serviceforce.com or electrolux.com.
you can also look up spare part info from these sites. Be sure it is actually a thermostst though - modern appliances more likely use electronic controls, pcb's and sensors, also available as spares.
Also remotely possible could be a slight loss of refrigerant gas in this event the chilling on the back wall of the fridge doesnt reach the sensor point of the thermostat, so it never switches off. Try a new stat first, if a stat is fitted. Hope this helps.

[KellyClan]

Hi Mark
you mention 'thermostat' in your thread - thats the most likely cause of your problem. Probably the thermostat has lost its gas charge from its capillary pipe, and has failed safe to an 'always on' condition to protect frozen food. These thermostats are inexpensive and for zannusi products can be purchased fro serviceforce.com or electrolux.com.
you can also look up spare part info from these sites. Be sure it is actually a thermostst though - modern appliances more likely use electronic controls, pcb's and sensors, also available as spares.
Also remotely possible could be a slight loss of refrigerant gas in this event the chilling on the back wall of the fridge doesnt reach the sensor point of the thermostat, so it never switches off. Try a new stat first, if a stat is fitted. Hope this helps.

Thanks for the replies guys, I will try the thermostat first and go from there, I'm a complete novice though and i'm unfamiliar with the workings of a fride but i'll do some more research. I wonder if I can download a diagram from somewere that explains how this fridge works and were each part is fitted inside the fridge? That would be most helpfull.
Will let you know how I get on.
Thanks again.
Mark.

[nike123]

Thanks for the replies guys, I will try the thermostat first and go from there, I'm a complete novice though and i'm unfamiliar with the workings of a fride but i'll do some more research. I wonder if I can download a diagram from somewere that explains how this fridge works and were each part is fitted inside the fridge? That would be most helpfull.
Will let you know how I get on.
Thanks again.
Mark.

Try to find that here:
http://www.ukwhitegoods.co.uk/modules.php?name=Forums

[KellyClan]

My wife phoned an engineer today while I was at work and he said that it sounded like the control panel had gone. He added though, that this would not be worth replacing as they were really expensive. I checked this online and it shows up as £15.46. Now i'm not sure this is what he was talking about. I have brought up a list of all parts for my fridge freezer at this site

ww.espares.co.uk/parts/fridges-and-freezers/zanussi/zi921%2f8ffa/p/1084/332/0/604817?page=6

to try and get a better understanding on how this appliance works. I just wish I could figure out how to fix this myself as a £25 call out chrarge for an egineer to come out plus parts and labour is something I cannot afford right now.
Anyway thanks for the advice guys.
Mark.

[Electrocoolman]

Hi there,
Are you sure that this unit is only 2 years old, as The control board is listed as obsolete which I find hard to believe. This is a Zanussi unit, not Zanussi-Electrolux so this could be so.

You say that you have defrosted the unit. Can I ask for how long?

My suggestion would be to take all food out (assuming you have backup storage for frozen) and turn the unit off for at least 48hrs, and then retry operation.

The way many types of unit operate is to divert cold air from the freezer into the fridge via a duct and flap...if ice builds up then the flap does not close properly.

But I'm not sure if this is how your unit is designed, as you mention that the back wall of the fridge ices up, suggesting a secondary evaporator. This might well have a heater associated with it.

What you need to do is to measure the freezer temperature with a thermometer and post back the result....it should be somewhere in the region of - 20deg C. If it is running at -30 deg C, it would suggest that the system is running continuously (also check that Fast Freeze switch is not active).

The problem could be the sensor or the control board causing the unit to run continuously.

[KellyClan]

Hi there,
Are you sure that this unit is only 2 years old, as The control board is listed as obsolete which I find hard to believe. This is a Zanussi unit, not Zanussi-Electrolux so this could be so.

You say that you have defrosted the unit. Can I ask for how long?

My suggestion would be to take all food out (assuming you have backup storage for frozen) and turn the unit off for at least 48hrs, and then retry operation.

The way many types of unit operate is to divert cold air from the freezer into the fridge via a duct and flap...if ice builds up then the flap does not close properly.

But I'm not sure if this is how your unit is designed, as you mention that the back wall of the fridge ices up, suggesting a secondary evaporator. This might well have a heater associated with it.

What you need to do is to measure the freezer temperature with a thermometer and post back the result....it should be somewhere in the region of - 20deg C. If it is running at -30 deg C, it would suggest that the system is running continuously (also check that Fast Freeze switch is not active).

The problem could be the sensor or the control board causing the unit to run continuously.

Hi there thanks for helping me out on this it really is appriciated. The unit was bought 2 years ago and all I know is that it is a Zanussi ZI 921/8FFA I've just notice that I have missed the "A" off the end of the topic title, sorry if this has made a whole lot of difference I would have thought that these two models would be similar anyway or maybe not? sorry my mistake.

The product number is 925 771 713 02. I have only defrosted the unit for a few hours with the carefull use of a hairdryer and I made sure that the element in the bottom freezer compartment was completely de-iced as this was quite badly iced up. We are just waiting for a backup freezer to arrive so I can leave it defrosting for at least 48 as you suggest.

There is a fan in the bottom freezer compartment but I cant see any duct or flap to carry cold air up. It just looks like an air circulation fan to me and the top refridgeration compartment is completely sealed apart from a small drainage whole. Also I can see the frosted patten of an element on the back wall of the fridge part when it freezes up as though there is some kind of element behind there.

Also it says in the manual this: "The refridgerator automatically defrosts every time the compressor stops" and also say's "A thermostat controls the compressor and you will hear a faint click when the thermostat cuts in and out"

This suggests to me that the thermostat is at fault or some kind of timer associated with it but I cant find a replacement part anywere.

I'm a little bit confused but I will test the temperature of the freezer compartment and post back here when I get the results.
Thanks.
Mark.

EDIT: The freezer temperature is measuring between -25c and -30c so I am pretty sure the compressor is running constantly.