Freezer Repair
How to fix a freezer
You can never be ready for a home appliance fault — it always happens when you least need it. For housekeepers, one of the most discouraging things to fail is a freezer, as meat, fish, ice cream, and other products kept there can easily get spoiled. Luckily, in many cases a freezer can be fixed by yourself provided that you have some skills and tools.
The reason for a freezer fault can be either very simple and trivial, or quite serious and requiring professional help. Owners of this appliance usually complain about the following problems:
- The freezer is not working;
- The freezer is not freezing;
- The freezer is not turning off;
- The appliance turns on and immediately off.
Simple fault causes
Don’t jump to conclusions if a freezing unit is not turning on — it might be still working. You should start looking for problems from simple to complicated.
Outlet check
First of all, check if the power plug, electric cable, and socket are in working order. Cables may come off the plug or socket terminals, and cable cores may have a breakage resulting in a non-working freezer. Check the voltage availability — the appliance will not start with low voltage.
Connect any other electric device to a socket for checking. If it works, then look for the problem in the plug. If the plug is fine, test the cable circuit with a tester. If a lamp inside the freezer is not turning on, it’s another indication of a damaged cable. Use a tester to check voltage availability. The appliance requires 120 V to start.
Wrong mode selection
If it looks like the freezer compartment is not turning off, we recommend keeping an eye on the appliance for a while. Usually, it works in a "one-to-two" mode — for example, 10 min working and 20 min idling. The time may increase if the appliance is half-empty or the ambient temperature is too high. If you have confirmed your observations and the unit never turns off or keeps working for too long, you should pay attention to the following conditions.
The commonly accepted optimum temperature inside a freezer is from -0.4 to -2.2 °F. If the settings are higher, the appliance will be working non-stop. That is why you shouldn’t set the thermal regulator to a very low temperature even in a hot room. It’s easier for a unit to keep the internal chamber temperature at a standard rate than trying to reach an overstated rate. Also make sure that the freezer is not placed next to any heaters.
- "Shock freezing" mode might be turned on. The old models do not turn off automatically when this mode is selected. Only modern units have an auto turn-off.
Another example is timer seizure in defrosting mode which sometimes happens with Frigidaire models. At that point, the freezer is not turning on. To bring the appliance back to work just turn the wheel by a few degrees. The timer defect is explained by a gear seizure in the clockwork. The Amana model also may have a timer problem.
Worn-out door sealings
A rubber sealing on the door may get cracked, deformed, scuffed, or flaked off over long-term usage. As a result, the door is not closing tight, the unit is not freezing properly inside, and a constant frost leak makes the compressor work non-stop and wear out faster.
A Whirlpool freezer leaves no chance to avoid sealing wear. If you see a red lamp on, it means the compartment temperature is growing (the reason might be in poor door closing). The green light means the temperature has come back to normal. If you notice wear and poor freezing, replace the rubber sealing as soon as possible. If you need to replace a sealing, call our company.
Failure of parts
If all above-mentioned situations are ruled out but the freezer is still not working, one of the elements may have a fault.
Compressor
If a unit is not freezing properly, the motor is not working at all or turns on for a few seconds and then shuts off, the problem is likely to be in the compressor. Or in one of them, if the unit has independent compartments.
Causes of compressor failure:
- Start-up relay fault;
- Motor overload;
- Damaged starter winding;
- Natural wear.
If you hear clicks at start-up or smell a distinct burning smell, the problem lies in the safety relay or starter respectively. A motor may overload in summer in kitchens without air conditioning if a thermal regulator is set to full power. The optimum solution is to replace the old compressor with a new one.
Air sensor
Such elements are usually installed on electronic control models. In case of a module failure, it sends wrong commands or nothing at all. As a result, the start-up relay receives no signal, while the compressor fails to start up. That said, the motor may be working normally, but with long pauses.
Air sensor repair requires too much skill and relevant equipment, so it might cost more than the module. That is why this task is better assigned to our company’s specialists.
Thermostat
These kinds of regulators are installed in fridges with electromechanical control. A thermostat is responsible for temperature modes. In case of a regulator fault, the main module will not receive signals about freezer temperature change. As a result, neither the motor nor the compressor will start to maintain the temperature.
The obvious indications of a faulty thermostat are a non-working motor and always-lighted lamps in a freezer. Take out and test the element circuit with a multimeter to check its serviceability. If the device shows 1, it means the thermostat is faulty. It doesn’t cost a fortune, so it’s easier just to replace it.
Bypass Valve
A faulty bypass valve may be responsible for a too low temperature in the compartment. This element often has a short circuit between the cooling systems of independent compartments — fridge and freezer — resulting in leveling the two compartments to one temperature. In this case, the freezer will have the same temperature as the main compartment.
This problem is especially typical of NoFrost systems using one common compressor.
Just like with the thermostat, repairing the bypass valve seems unreasonable. It’s easier and cheaper to replace it with a new one.
Freon leakage
If a fridge is not turning on after a long downtime with indications working, the body may have been damaged and resulted in a cooling agent leak. It usually happens when a user interferes in defrosting procedure by chipping off ice from the compartment walls, putting in containers with hot water, etc. While these methods worked fine in older models, the new appliances are extremely finicky to such radical interference with their natural operation. Punctures and cracks may also appear from transportation.
Freon leakage is typical of appliances with capillary cooling system and freezers located at the bottom. Budget models are equipped with thin tubes with a mediocre coating that is easy to damage.
This problem can be solved by soldering or replacing specific parts. After that, for normal operation the system must be refilled with required amount of cooling agent.
Control Module
The main board is the last thing to check as it hardly ever fails. Almost any modern fridge is equipped with a control module. If an element is damaged, it may affect the operation of all systems: lack of freezing, wrong indication, motor and compressor operation periods, etc.
The problem can be solved by reflashing the module, if you have a laptop, software, and a special adapter, or by completely replacing the main board. In both cases, this job is better be done by our specialists.
Preventive maintenance
You can avoid most technical misfortunes and extend the operation life of your cooling equipment by following our simple recommendations.
Preventive measures:
- don’t put hot products into compartments, their temperature must be ambient;
- Set the fridge thermal regulator to 0 before powering it off;
- Do not interfere in defrosting to speed up the process;
- Do not turn on the appliance after a downtime if it has liquid inside;
- The doors must always fit tight to the body.
It’s worth reading the manual carefully before turning on a new model for the first time as every employed technology requires certain operation conditions.