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RedTrex  
#1 Posted : Monday, September 30, 2013 3:36:07 PM(UTC)
RedTrex

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Greetings,

On my small upright freezer, noticed the hi-temp light has been illuminating for the past couple weeks, even with control set at max cold. Foods have not been freezing.

Finally yesterday, I was able to unplug, rinse out and, clean the compressor area (of dust bunnies). Freezer then plugged back in, and has 1 10lb bag of ice in it.
I placed thermometer inside, set control at 5 and left. Checked at 5 pm today and hi-temp light was out. Opened and thermo said 23 f. closed door and 3 min later hi-temp light came on. checked temp again at it was at 34 f.
Compressor sounds fine and I am getting cold air being blown out of vent near top back (interior).
I called Frigidaire customer support and was told possible the thermostat. but in parts I se thermistor, defrost thermo , and some other thermo part. all fairly cheap parts, but where do I start?
Thanks Rick
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denman  
#2 Posted : Tuesday, October 1, 2013 1:09:36 AM(UTC)
denman

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Here are your parts
Parts for FFU14F5HW - AppliancePartsPros.com

Double check that the compressor is running. You can usually hear it but also should be able to feel it vibrating.

I am going to assume the it runs all the time other than when the unit goes into a defrost cycle.

If the above is true then it is not a main control thermostat problem.

Remove the cover at the back/inside of the freezer so you can inspect the evaporator coils.

If they are heavily iced/frosted over, you have a defrost problem.
Get back to us for info on how to troubleshoot this.

If there is just frost in one area (usually where the freon enters the coils) then you have a sealed system problem. This will be an expensive repair as you need a pro. Often it makes more sense to put the dollars towards a new unit.

I would check the warranty on the unit as often the sealed system has a longer warranty.
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RedTrex  
#3 Posted : Tuesday, October 1, 2013 11:52:00 AM(UTC)
RedTrex

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Well, I removed the cover and there is heavy frost on left side and along most up the top row of coil assembly. Based upon your post I would assume the sealed system is kaput, right?
Thanks
Rick


EDIT: Just for shits and grins I called a local repair place and was told $300-$600 to repair sealed system (depending upon what parts it needs). I paid $$430 for the unit May 2010, I'm thinking no way Jose.........
denman  
#4 Posted : Tuesday, October 1, 2013 12:12:00 PM(UTC)
denman

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Yes it sounds like it.

Below is a link with some example pictures about half way down the page.
http://www.applianceaid.com/ref...ator-not-cold-enough.php
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RedTrex  
#5 Posted : Wednesday, October 2, 2013 2:01:34 PM(UTC)
RedTrex

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Okay, I left the unit run set at "5" with the inside cover off and the entire coil unit frosted over. Sometime later I saw it had frost on the entry and top coil, I guess on defrost cycle. So what is your opinion now?
Thanks
Rick
denman  
#6 Posted : Friday, October 4, 2013 1:32:54 AM(UTC)
denman

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[COLOR="Blue"]So what is your opinion now?[/COLOR]
Sort of stumped here.

[COLOR="Blue"]
Okay, I left the unit run set at "5" with the inside cover off and the entire coil unit frosted over. [/COLOR]
This sounds like the unit is OK.

[COLOR="Blue"]Sometime later I saw it had frost on the entry and top coil, I guess on defrost cycle.[/COLOR]
This sounds like that is a problem. If this was during a defrost cycle then It would be normal as it is defrosted from the bottom then up.

Note that you may get a poor diagnosis with the cover off as the air flow through the evaporator coils is not correct.

I would check the freezer temperature with a thermometer.
Put it on a center shelf.
It should be 0 to 5 degrees F.
When the unit hits this set point the compressor should start a normal on/off cycle.

With the compressor running all the time there can be a number of things.

The main thermostat is not working correctly so the unit is trying to reach too low of a set point and cannot do it. The thermometer will read too low of a temperature.

There is a sealed system problem. The unit is trying to reach set point but cannot because of low freon etc. The thermometer will read too high of a temperature.

There is a door seal leak. The unit is trying to reach set point but cannot because warm air is entering the compartment and the compressor cannot cool it down fast enough. The thermometer will read too high.
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RedTrex  
#7 Posted : Saturday, October 5, 2013 11:41:32 AM(UTC)
RedTrex

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I think we are back to sealed system problem because I did have a thermometer in there the whole time and temp was only like 32 f with coil completely frozen.
denman  
#8 Posted : Saturday, October 5, 2013 11:49:49 AM(UTC)
denman

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Yes if the compressor runs continuously except when in a defrost cycle AND the evaporator coils are not clogged with frost/ice to the point where the evaporator fan cannot pull air through them AND the fan is running correctly as far as speed AND the temperature will not get down to around 0 to 5 degrees F, then I would also conclude that it is a defrost problem.

A couple other things to check are:
The door seals but it would have to be a bad seal leak.
Make sure that the interior lights go off when the door is closed.
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