Refrigerator not cooling but freezer is freezing

by Jessica
(Arlington, Texas)

We have a Frigidaire model number Frs20zrg, we woke up this morning and the fridge compartment was warm the freezer was warm but it is freezing now. We pulled it away from the wall and blew all the dust out of the bottom, it is still not cooling, any input would be appreciated!
Jessica

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Answer

Hi Jessica,

Replacement parts in FRIGIDAIRE FRS20ZRGB1 Frg(v1) / Refrigerator



It sounds like a defrost problem or a fan motor problem. Check both the freezer fan and the fan next to the compressor to see if they are running and if not replace them. Then look at the back wall of the freezer to see if there is thick frost on the back wall of the freezer and if so you have a defrost problem.

There are three things that will cause a defrost problem and they are the defrost heater, the defrost thermostat and the defrost control. At the bottom if the refrigerator there is a griddle that goes across the bottom of the refrigerator, remove it. Behind the griddle there is the defrost timer take a screwdriver and turn the timer clockwise slowly until the refrigerator cuts off. Note that you should be able to turn the timer without removing it there is a little knob that you can turn with a screwdriver.

Then remove the back wall of the freezer and wait a little bit to see if the defrost heater will come on now that you have turned the timer into defrost manually. If the heater comes on after a while you should hear the sounds of water touching hot surface and you may even see it glow red. If it does come on replace the defrost timer. If it doesn’t come on unplug the refrigerator and manually defrost the ice with a hair dryer or hot water.

At this point the problem will most likely either be the thermostat or the heater. Once you get the ice melted you can check for continuity across the heater if you have an ohmmeter. If it is open replace it.

This page has a picture that shows what freezer coils will look like if there is a defrost problem Refrigerator Not Cooling There is also a picture that shows what the thermostat may look like if it is bad.

Thank you,
Shawn/administrator