Frost Free Freezer Repair Guide
If your frost free freezer is broken and needs repairing this freezer repair guide can help. Your freezer can have hundreds even thousands of dollars worth of food inside it and sometimes you can’t wait for a repairman. Even if you can wait you can save lots of money with my do-it-yourself freezer repair guide. So read each section carefully until your freezer is fixed. Note that this repair guide is only for upright freeze
Frost Free Freezer Running But Not Cooling
If you can hear your freezer running, but its not cold enough read this
section of the freezer repair guide. Below is a list of parts that will cause
this and instructions on how to diagnose the problem.
Fan
If the fan is not running, inside the freezer it will not cool properly. This is an easy do-it-yourself frost free freezer repair. Open the door and listen for the fan running. Note that on some freezers the fan will not run unless the door is closed so you may have to push the door switch to see if the fan will run. If the fan is not running, replace it. On most freezers you can access the fan by removing the evaporator cover (the back bottom cover). Also note that sometimes you can turn the fan by hand to temporary fix your freezer until you get the fan. Freezer fans can be found at AppliancePartsPros.com.
Defrost
If the fan is ok, check to see if the freezer is defrosting properly. To do this, look at the evaporator cover. If there is excessive frost on the cover, the freezer is not defrosting. There are three parts that will cause this problem, defrost timer, defrost thermostat and defrost heater. To check these parts first, locate the defrost timer, most of the time its under the freezer but it can be inside the freezer. Once located, turn it clockwise until the freezer cuts off. Then remove the evaporator cover and if the defrost heater is getting hot replace the timer, melt the ice and the problem is fixed. If the heater is not on melt the ice then check the heater. To check the heater first, unplug the freezer then disconnect wires from heater. Next using your ohmmeter check to see if you have continuity between the two heating element terminals. If you don’t have continuity, the heater is bad and needs replacing. If you do have continuity, replace the thermostat. These parts can be found at AppliancePartsPros.com.
Door Gasket
If the door gasket is bad it will cause your frost free freezer to be less efficient. In extreme cases it can cause the freezer not to cool and cause frost to build up blocking air just as if the defrost was bad. To fix this, replace the door gasket and remove any frost that the bad door gasket caused. Freezer door gaskets can be found at AppliancePartsPros.com.
Refrigeration
If your freezer is not cooling it may be a refrigeration problem, such as low
refrigerant, bad compressor or stopped up capillary tube. All of these are bad
and will justify a new freezer but if you want it fixed I recommend calling a
repairman because this is not an easy do-it-yourself freezer repair. To check to
see if you have refrigeration a problem first feel the sides of the freezer. If
it’s refrigerating properly the sides will be warm from top to bottom. If not,
you can confirm this by removing the evaporator cover. There should be a thin
layer of frost from one end of the coils to the other. If not, it is not
refrigerating. If there is a thick layer of frost on all the coils go back and
read the defrost section of this guide.
Frost Free Freezer Not Running/ No Sound
If your freezer is not running at all, read this
section of the freezer repair guide. Below is a list of parts that will cause
this and instructions on how to diagnose the problem.
Start
Relay
The start relay is the most common cause for freezers not running. To check,
this disconnect power from freezer then remove the cover off the side of the
compressor. Once off you should see the start relay and the overload. The start
relay is the device plugged into the two terminals on the compressor and the
over load is connected to the third one. Note that on some freezers the start
relay and the overload will be made together. Unplug the start relay and shake
it, if it rattles its bad. If not, it’s most likely ok. Start relays can be
found at AppliancePartsPros.com.
Identifying Start Relays
 |
 |
Cold Control
The cold control is the control that turns the compressor off when the temperature inside the freezer reaches below a certain level. If the cold control is bad it can cause the freezer not to run. To check this, open the freezer and locate the control knob, tap on it. If the freezer comes on after you tap on it, the cold control is bad and needs replacing. If not, it still may be bad, unplug the freezer then remove the cover to access the cold control. Disconnect the wires from the cold control then use an ohmmeter check to see if you have continuity between the two terminals on the control if not, the control is bad and needs replacing. Cold controlz can be found at AppliancePartsPros.com.
Return From Frost Free Freezer Repair Guide