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Last week I noticed some things weren't completely frozen in our upright freezer I thought it was just new stuff or maybe the door hadn't been shut completely. After a couple days, I noticed the temperature display had increased to 17 degrees even though it's set at 0. The compressor has been running a LOT, but the freezer is in our garage in Phoenix, so I figured that was just the heat.
So yesterday I emptied out the bottom half and removed the evaporator cover. Sure enough, they were covered in ice, but a pretty even coat. I did this a couple minutes at a time to avoid letting the freezer temp increase too much. The time it took to work out the cover allowed the temp to get up in the 40's. After the temperature got back down to freezing, I tried to manually start the defrost cycle from the control board. I got the De on the display and the compressor and fan shut off as expected. But there was no heat on the heating element.
Once it was cooled back down, I tried using the blow dryer to thaw the frost. It was a very slow process and I stopped after a few minutes because the freezer temp was in the 60's. It took the rest of the evening for it to cool back down to 30ish. Before going to bed, I set the cover back in the freezer so it was over the evaporator, but not all screwed in. By this morning, the temp was down to 21.
I checked the evaporator this morning and it was still a little too much frost, but not totally thick like before. If it's just the frosted coils restricting air flow, shouldn't it still get the temperature back down lower? Or do they need to be totally clear to tell if it will cool? Or do I need to completely reinstall the cover and re-load the bottom of the freezer to judge? I've been trying to avoid having it open more than a minute at a time, but that makes it hard to do anything.
Should I keep going down the path of diagnosing defroster issues, or should I be concerned that it isn't cooling well even with the majority of frost gone?
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Here are your parts Parts for Frigidaire LFFH21F7HWE Freezer - AppliancePartsPros.com[COLOR="Blue"]Should I keep going down the path of diagnosing defroster issues, or should I be concerned that it isn't cooling well even with the majority of frost gone?[/COLOR] Yes I would check out the defrost problem. With the unit unplugged the defrost heater (item 14 in section 07) should be around 30 ohms. The defrost thermostat (item 20 in section 07) should be 0 ohms when frozen. Note: that it must be frozen as it opens just above freezing. If both are OK then odds are that the control board is toast. I also would be concerned with the the cooling but without being there it is hard to tell what is going on. The evaporator coil must be clear so that the evaporator fan can pull air though it otherwise it does not cool properly. Also the fan circulates the air in the freezer. I am assuming that the evaporator/freezer fan runs whenever the compressor is on. Also how fast a unit cools down is dependent on ambient temperature and how much frozen or unfrozen food id in the unit |
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We did a little bit more investigating last night. First, we totally defrosting the evaporator. I tried manually starting a defrost cycle from the control panel with no luck. DH tested the resistance across the heating element and it was 30 - 40 ohms. He didn't do a continuity test on the thermostat since it was 40-50 degrees in the freezer by then. He did remove the thermostat from the circuit and connect the power directly to the heating element and still no luck. He tested the voltage at the power wire for the heater and he said it looked like 24V. We put the cover back on and let it run overnight. After about 12 hours running, the temp readout was about 20 degrees. When I had it open for about a minute, it jumped to 30 degrees. The coils were starting to frost over again. Heavier frost at the bottom right half, some at the top left corner and filling in towards the middle. Whether or not the defroster is running, it just seems like it's not cooling as expected. This is how it looked when we first opened it up Sunday night.  This is how it looks this morning after a complete hairdryer defrost last night and running for 12 hours. 
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Well, I officially deserve the stupid stick. We had a service call this morning and the tech determined we needed a new control board because there was inadequate voltage to the heater. I scheduled the appointment for the repair. But it kept bugging me that the freezer was barely 4 years old since we often buy service plans for big ticket items., but I couldn't find the receipt and assumed whatever warranty must have been expired and the receipt trashed. Just for entertainment, I called Lowe's and sure enough we do have a plan that expires in September. So we're starting over tomorrow with the warranty vendor. I told them about the other tech's diagnosis, but they have to do their process.
Fortunately the trip fee for the tech this morning was quite reasonable and he did totally thaw our coils and the freezer is down to 12 degrees this afternoon. Not great, but I'm okay with it being there for a few days if we stay out of it. And I chalk it up to a fine for being stupid/impatient/disorganized.
Thanks for the help though. It got us far enough that we didn't just go shopping last night!!!
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You are welcome.
I also feel it is a control board problem.
If you live in a place with high humidity then the frost build up on the coils can be excessive.
One thing you may want to check is your door seal just to keep as much warm moist air out or the unit as possible. This will ensure that the unit runs more efficiently.
Check that the door seal and the frame are clean.
Check that the unit is level front to back or leaning slightly to the back.
Take a two inch wide piece of paper. Place it between the door seal and the unit's frame and then pull it out to see how well the door seals. Work your way around the door every 6 inches or so.
Check the hinge side of the seal to be sure that it is not grabbing and twisting when the door closes. If it does a light coating of white lithium grease or Vaseline should fix this.
On the door and the hinge there are plastic pieces (ramps) that help hold the door close. Check that they are both intact. |
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Tech from the warranty company agrees it's the control board and so now it's just waiting for the approval and part. He said the coils still looked good and should be fine for a few days. He also said the seal looked good. I actually have to break the seal with my finger to open the freezer.
It's not humid here, but it is definitely hot.
Thanks again for all the help. If nothing else, I've learned a lot. :)
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