How can ADC Work on Frigidaire Refrigerators?
Since your refrigerator’s compressor passes refrigerant liquid throughout the evaporator coil inside the appliance, the cold liquid in the coil cools the air inside the fridge and freezer. With the years, ice and frost build up around the coil, limiting the cooling efficiency of this unit. Some Frigidaire refrigerators are equipped with a digital defrost system — adaptive defrost controller or ADC — that removes ice from the coil at the most energy efficient way possible.
Defrost Cycles
A refrigerator’s defrost cycle works by turning on a heating element that is integrated into the evaporator coil at the appliance’s freezer. The heat element warms the evaporator coil and melts any ice that has accumulated around the coil. In a system with automatic defrosting, the defrost heater is linked to a timer that turns off the freezer’s cooling system after a specified period of time and turns on the heater; a detector determines if the evaporator coil has reached the appropriate temperature for defrosting, and at that point the heater switches off and the cooling system switches back on.
Adaptive Defrost Control
An adaptive defrost control or ADC system tries to save energy by tilting the timing of defrost cycles. An electronic processor monitors how long it takes to defrost the evaporator coil through each cycle cycle and also adjusts the time between cycles to optimize efficacy. Frigidaire ADC systems run defrost cycles of approximately half an hour, with between six and 72 hours of compressor run time between cycles.
Manual Defrosting
A few Frigidaire refrigerators with ADC allow you to manually initiate a defrost cycle if you would like to defrost the freezer between automatic cycles. To start a manual defrost cycle, open the fridge door and then depress the new food light switch five times inside a six-second period. To stop the cycle, depress the switch again in the same pattern. The new food light must be operable in order for this method to work.
Normal Operation
Several indicators the defrost cycle is functioning might look or sound like malfunctions but are in fact evidence of ordinary operation. The refrigerator’s compressor will not run through a defrost cycle, but it will switch back on when the cycle is completed. You may see a reddish glow from the defrost heater via the ports in the back wall of the freezer compartment. Water dripping onto the heater might cause a hissing or sizzling noise during the cycle, and water dripping to the drain pan may be audible, too. The lights may make a clicking or snapping noise when they switch off or on.