Refrigerator Temp Control

Agree with Rixter.

I would speculate either a leak or it might just be low on refrigerant.

The icing may have cracked the coil...If everything is running, and the evap coil is not getting cold, and the condenser coil isn't pulling any heat, that is probably the case....You can troubleshoot it with an infrared temperature gun....if you have one....

The comments suggesting low refrigerant/system leak are spot on.

In addition the insulation for the freezer portion may be damaged and damp. That second picture is showing a significant amount of water frozen for just one day, i.e. probably just one freezer volume of air.

The freezer envelope plastic is likely cracked and the insulation behind is probably soaked.

Awesome. Thanks for the insights guys. I'll start trouble shooting and report back on how it goes. Thanks again!

jj

Just to be sure, remember the panels have to be in place for the air to be forced through the evaporator coil....

This refrigerator looks like there is dissimilar metals used between the different components of the system. The evaporator is aluminum, I'm guessing the condenser is copper plated steel. Age will succumb to cathodic corrosion that results in leaks.

I can't tell what the over-exposed part of the pictures is. But, if the return-line is frosting up, and the thermistor is too close it, then maybe it needs to be thermally insulated from it so that it senses the actual box temp instead of the supply-line/return-line temp. Is this a new problem, or was it always there? Did the old insulation degrade, or what changed between new and now? If it worked before, then you need to look for what changed. I don't see any resemblance of a drip-pan here, but if condensation built up, it could have "shorted-out" the existing thermal barrier, making the return-line give the sensor a false reading. When you replaced the thermister, you might have noticed something amiss. If not, then maybe the circuit that processes the signal is faulty.