re: Frigidaire freezer stopped working

unless it's a dual evap the freezer does all the work and the fridge gets the warmer air.

If there is frost present then you have a defrost problem, if there is ice resent then you have a drain problem. Frost is frozen water molecules, ice is frozen water.

If there is no frost present then likely the relay for the compressor failed.


35 on the fridge is normal.
you want the freezer between 0 and 20.



If defrost failure

You need to melt the ice. Most peopl can't get the back panel off (only 6 1/4" hex screws) so they will unplug it for a few hours to melt the ice.

A steam gun or water sprayed out of a pump sprayer worls best, hair dryer would work too.

Could be a bad heater or bad defrost terminator (most likely the terminator or thermostat on a frigidaire) You rarely see the adaptive defrost control fail on a frigidaire. If it were a GE I would say replace the control board, but frigidaire. It's going to be a bad defrost terminator or the compressor relay if it's not iced up..
The only reason I think it may be something besides a frost issue is the fact that the fridge is still cold and the freezer is warm. Usually the opposite happens in a defrost failure.

pull fridge out comltely and put your hand on the compressor.


is it really hot?

do you have pets?, are the coils covered in dust/hair?

if compressor is cold, replace relay.

You can use a universal RC0410 to test. I use Whirlpool relays for everything though. No manufacturer not from Korea makes their own compressors, so relays for american units only have a few variations. This $25 kit has them all.

LINK

(unless you unit is a three phase compressor, and then it would have an inverter on the compressor terminals - usually only see tjis on really high end models. )


Lastly it could be out of freon.

Good luck there. If it is the case, fridges use the same freon as cars, but the adding process is difficult.

Compressor running? Feel it.
Or unplug the condensor fan and see if you can feel it.

Do you have a voltage meter? You should have 120V ac between the black and blue or black and orange wires leading to it.

If voltage isn't present then it's a control failure. If voltage is present, the compressor relay failed. I changed two yesterday, so note this is a common problem.
Paying someone it would be around $150-175. Diy would be as cheap as $25-30.

I unplugged the unit for 5 minutes, plugged it back in and compressor kicked on.

Ill give it a few minutes and see if that does the trick, before I unplugged it compressor was not running and was cold to touch. If not I will run to RE Michael and hopefully grab a relay, might do that anyways to play it safe.

Temp slowly dropping on freezer, started at 58, currently at 55. Refrigerator has been sitting on 52 with no movement yet

Compressor is getting warm to touch. Freezer down to 53, refrigerator still at 52

I would also try unplugging for a few minutes in the hopes that the issue may resolve itself. Maybe unplug and defrost, then replicate and see if it resets itself then.
Get icechests, put stuff in there while trying procedure.

The fridge won't get cold until the freezer is normal.
The fridge is just the warmer air from the freezer.