Zanussi ZX99/5si - Fridge Temp rising

[cos140]

Hi everyone,

Can I first say what a great forum this is, its been very usefull looking through all the various threads, but now I have a problem.


My father in law gave us his old fridge freezer, a Zanussi ZX99/5si, saying that the fridge isnt as cold as it should be, so I thought it may just want turning off for a couple of days. So thats what I did.

Couple of days later I turned it on and left it for an hour or so to do its stuff. I measured the temperature of both the Freezer and Fridge sections with a digital thermometer and all seemed ok (Freezer -20, Fridge +4) So we decided to transfer all our products from our old unit into the new.

All has been fine for a couple of weeks but I have noticed that things are not as cold as it used to be, so I measures the temp again and it was +13 degress!

Luckily I have kept 'old bertha' so I have turned it back on this morning to transfer things back once again (lucky I didnt throw it away!)

I have had a quick look at the evaporator at the top of the freezer compartment and there is a good 20mm of ice build up either side, just below where the vents are for the fridge. It's not blocking the vents up but then again, its not far off.

The thermostat settings have not been changed. Initially set it to mid point for freezer and fridge and the temp seemed ok. I have since tried turning up the fridge control to max but this has made no difference to the temperature of it.

Once I have emptied it, what should I check? The fan seems to be working ok as when you close the door it starts up. can you remove the evaporator enough to check for any obstructions behind it? Ive read on here somewehere that there shoulde be a heater on the evaporator which is part of the automatic defrost cycle. Is this located on the evaporator itself?

And just to clarify, does the 'frost free' basically cycle at a fixed time to defrost or are there sensors that detect a build up of ice?

The fridge freezer is a cracking unit and is perfect for my large family, surely it's worth fixing?

Your help would be a huge help,
Best regards
Justin.
dN Wales

[cos140]

Well, after further investigation and using the diagnostic mode I have traced it down to the Defrost Heater which is o/c.
Not a problem getting hold of a replacement but will I need to recover and then remove the evaporator from the unit to aid the repair?
Any of you members had to fit one?

Thanks for your help,

Regards
Justin

[Amy63]

This is a pretty neat forum! Glad you got everything figured out!

[emyrj2005]

Hi everyone,

Can I first say what a great forum this is, its been very usefull looking through all the various threads, but now I have a problem.


My father in law gave us his old fridge freezer, a Zanussi ZX99/5si, saying that the fridge isnt as cold as it should be, so I thought it may just want turning off for a couple of days. So thats what I did.

Couple of days later I turned it on and left it for an hour or so to do its stuff. I measured the temperature of both the Freezer and Fridge sections with a digital thermometer and all seemed ok (Freezer -20, Fridge +4) So we decided to transfer all our products from our old unit into the new.

All has been fine for a couple of weeks but I have noticed that things are not as cold as it used to be, so I measures the temp again and it was +13 degress!

Luckily I have kept 'old bertha' so I have turned it back on this morning to transfer things back once again (lucky I didnt throw it away!)

I have had a quick look at the evaporator at the top of the freezer compartment and there is a good 20mm of ice build up either side, just below where the vents are for the fridge. It's not blocking the vents up but then again, its not far off.

The thermostat settings have not been changed. Initially set it to mid point for freezer and fridge and the temp seemed ok. I have since tried turning up the fridge control to max but this has made no difference to the temperature of it.

Once I have emptied it, what should I check? The fan seems to be working ok as when you close the door it starts up. can you remove the evaporator enough to check for any obstructions behind it? Ive read on here somewehere that there shoulde be a heater on the evaporator which is part of the automatic defrost cycle. Is this located on the evaporator itself?

And just to clarify, does the 'frost free' basically cycle at a fixed time to defrost or are there sensors that detect a build up of ice?

The fridge freezer is a cracking unit and is perfect for my large family, surely it's worth fixing?

Your help would be a huge help,
Best regards
Justin.
dN Wales

Unfortunately i'd have to say that it is'nt worth repairing as this is one of the most unreliable fridge=freezers ever made,if you replace the defrost timer the chances are the recirc fan will fail next,change that and the next thing to go will be the switch panel/board at the top of the fridge compartment,then the door switches,the main ecu is also weak on them,basically they are made using very cheap components and Zanussi totally ruined their reputation with these models.

[tonto33]

Unfortunately i'd have to say that it is'nt worth repairing as this is one of the most unreliable fridge=freezers ever made,if you replace the defrost timer the chances are the recirc fan will fail next,change that and the next thing to go will be the switch panel/board at the top of the fridge compartment,then the door switches,the main ecu is also weak on them,basically they are made using very cheap components and Zanussi totally ruined their reputation with these models.

God help us if you are a fridge engineer with advice like that..