The short answer
A AVG RDTM cabinet that ices repeatedly after being cleared is reporting one of two things: a way in for humid air, or a way out for meltwater that is blocked. Both are owner-checkable on this family, and the order below is set by how these compact top-mount refrigerators are built rather than by generic refrigerator advice.
What you observe on these models
- A sheet of frost on the rear interior wall — A sheet rather than a dusting is the airflow-closing kind, and it is the version that ends as a temperature complaint.
- Ice at one point of the door line — Ice concentrated at a single point on the seal is a map: the air is entering exactly there.
- Ice under the lowest shelf or basket that returns after clearing — Meltwater that cannot leave.
- Items nearest the rear wall are frozen, the rest is not — On a compact top-mount refrigerator that is the load touching the cold surface rather than a control fault.
- NEAR MISS — no ice, but the cabinet will not hold temperature — That is a cooling-failure page, not this one.
Causes, most likely first on RDTM
- A defrost cycle that is not completing — Frost that returns as a sheet rather than a dusting means the cycle that should clear it is stalling, and the sheet closes the airflow path down as it grows. Ice in the upper compartment blocks the vent that feeds the lower one. First on this family. On a compact top-mount refrigerator the path this fault travels is shorter and more exposed than the generic advice assumes.
- A blocked defrost drain — Melt water that cannot leave refreezes where it stood, so the ice appears at the bottom of the compartment or under the lowest shelf. The drain runs down the back of the cabinet from the upper compartment.
- A door seal drawing humid room air — Warm room air meeting a cold surface deposits water, and at these temperatures that water becomes ice at the point of entry — which is why the ice is always worst nearest the leak.
- Room humidity and how often the door opens — Every door opening exchanges the cabinet air for room air, and the water in that air stays behind. A cabinet opened constantly in a humid room ices for no other reason. Last on this list, and the item that every cause above it can imitate exactly.
Check in this order, and why that order
- Clear the ice completely, with the power off, and note the date — You cannot diagnose ice you cannot see the growth of. Defrost with time rather than heat, and never chip at it — the tubing under the surface is thin-walled.
- Check the seal at every point of the door line — A strip of paper closed in the door and pulled at intervals will find a slack point. On a glass door, check the hinge side, which is the side people never check.
- Find and clear the drain — The freezer rear panel from inside the upper compartment, and the base bay from behind with the cabinet drawn forward. A drain that has blocked once will block again, so clear it properly rather than poking at the opening.
- Count the door openings and note the room — Humid rooms and frequent opening produce ice with nothing broken at all. If the ice returns slowly and evenly, this is the answer.
Before you open anything
Safety
Unplug the appliance or switch off its breaker before clearing ice or removing any panel. Never chip, lever or heat ice off an evaporator or an interior wall: the tubing beneath is thin-walled and a puncture ends the cabinet. A capacitor can hold a charge after the power is off.
Models this page covers — the RDTM family
Reference| Model number | Family key |
|---|---|
| RDTM181SE | avg:refrigerator:rdtm |
| RDTM181WE | avg:refrigerator:rdtm |
When to call a technician
Call when ice returns quickly after a full defrost and the seal, the drain and the set point are all ruled out, because at that point the defrost arrangement or the sensor that governs it is the remaining candidate. Call immediately if you find ice where a line enters the cabinet, or if clearing the ice has exposed damaged tubing. On AVG RDTM it is worth being direct: the three owner checks above resolve most of these cabinets, and a technician called before they are done will do them first anyway. A note on scope: this page is written for the RDTM compact top-mount refrigerator and for the 2 model numbers the variant table names. A sibling family from the same brand will have a different order.
Other problems covered for the RDTM family
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