Humidifiers and Dehumidifiers - Humidifier doesn't stop

I just moved in to a new place and noticed the basement is cold and damp. I fired up my Maytag dehumidifier and set it at 60% rel. humidity. The digital display shows 75% constantly even after hours of running. In my old place with a slightly smaller basement it used to cycle on an off every few minutes.

Does this mean the humidifier is unable to cope? If I manually switch the unit off, I immediately hear crackling sound akin to ice breaking up. Is the unit icing up the coils to the point it is not working?

I first suspected the gauge may be flaky, hence it is running nonstop but even after letting it rest a few hours it still does the same. :mad:

Thanks.

Buy a cheap RH meter at radio shack ETC and let us know what that is reading!