Good evening.

Thank you all in advance for your time and consideration.

I have a Frigidaire refrigerator/freezer that stopped cooling entirely. I added a piercing valve and charged it with R-134a. For over an hour, it kept reading as having negative pressure (~ -18 PSI). FINALLY, the evaporator coils began to frost and the freezer temperature began to drop.

I had added at least 5 - 6 oz. of refrigerant (it's supposed to hold 4.5 oz.). After only a few minutes, the frost was gone and the temperature climbed to room temperature and remained there until the next morning. I've tested it again, and it always shows negative pressure. I see no visible evidence of a leak - no oily spots and I can't see or hear any leaks on the visible lines or capillary tubes.

I'm thinking that there must be a significant leak (otherwise where is all that coolant going?), perhaps inside the housing in the middle of all that expanding foam. Does this sound likely to you professionals? No way all that R-134a is somehow in the compressor or blocked inside filter dryer, right? I'm just a layman, but I still want to know what's going on even if it "can't" be fixed.

Thanks again!