[jordad]

Good DaY, to whomever is helping me!

My refrigerator will not cool. I thought maybe it was ice build up, so I unloaded all foods, freexe and refrig. Turned off the unit, unplugged it and let it sit for about 14 hours. There was some water in the drain pan below when I looked. After cleaning the inside I plugged the unit back in and turned both refrig. and freezer back on. I thought all was good, as the freezer worke, as it has been and even the refrigerator chilled to the 40 degrees. I was happy! But, 4 days later, same problem. The refrigerator side would not cool. What might it be? If this has something to do with a defrost mechanism, or the behind the scene parts, can I make the repair or do I have to call a repair person. I'm not scared to do it myself, if I understand all I need to do. But, if it's better to call I will. I just want some idea of what the problem may be so I don't get ripped off, especially labor. If you could approximate, how long should the job take to make the reapir? Thank you! Dee

[denman]

Here ia a parts breakdown
Replacement parts for FRG FRS26LF7DS7 | AppliancePartsPros.com

Here is a tech sheet, includes how to force a defrost
ftp://ftp.electrolux-na.com/ProdInfo.../240389616.pdf

Does sound like a defrost problem
Remove the evaporator coil covers in the freezer so you can see the coils.
If they are heavily ice up then you have a defrost problem.
Force a defrost, see the tech shhet.
Does the heater heat up, don't burn your fingers.
If it does you probably need a new defrost control board. Item 23 in the "Controls" section, listed as F23 at the bottom.
If it does not heat up, it is easiest to check the thermostat and the heater with a meter for continuity.
Sometimes you can see where the heater has burned out or the thermostat is bulged.

If you do not have a meter,I would suggest you purchase one. You can get a decent digital multimeter for under $20.00. You do not need fancy though it is nice if the leads are a couple feet long.
If it saves ordering one unnecessary part it has paid for itself and you end up owning a useful tool.
Most places will not let you return electrical parts so if you order it, you own it.
A couple things to watch when measuring ohms and continuity
1. Always remove power from the machine otherwise you could blow your meter.
2. Always disconnect at least one side of any device you are checking. This eliminates the possibility of measuring an alternate/parallel circuit path.
3. When checking for closed contacts and continuity use the lowest scale (Usually 200 ohms). Then try higher scales. This scale is 0 to 200 ohms so if the device you are measuring is 300 ohms this scale would show an open circuit which it is not, you are just measuring outside the scale's dynamic range.

There is a good STICKY at the start of this forum about it's use.