Have a Kenmore upright Freezer.

On Saturday I found the door open a few inches and the temperature alarm and red light were on. I thought perhaps the kids had left it open. Some of the stuff inside was already thawing and there was a puddle of water under the freezer. The door couldn't have been open for more than a few hours. I closed the door and checked that it was running and waited 3 hours and the light was still on.

So we thought perhaps thee was an issue and we unloaded it and moved everything to a different freezer (thanks Mom!). Within a few hours the red light went out and everything seemed fine. So we decided to wait and see what happened.

A few days later, we found the door open again and this time we are sure that the kids didn't get into. And again the red light was on and there was a puddle of water. We closed it and it eventually cooled off again.

I'm no expert, but I think there is an issue with the defrost cycle running too long or getting too hot. This causes it to cool down enough that the door looses suction and opens on its own. Or I guess it could be a bad door seal...

It seems to get it down to temperature just fine.

My problem is I have no idea how to confirm the real issue and if it is the issue, what parts to replace. I'm capable of looking up the schematics and find the parts and doing the work, I just need a place to start so I am fixing the real issue.

If it is the defrost, can it just be disabled and defrosted manually?

Any help is much appreciated.