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S/S Frigidaire Gallery FRS20ZSH refrigerator is warm all of a sudden! WTF!

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Posted: Thu Feb 19th, 2009 01:59 am

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alexeinspruch
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Well, I noticed the upper compartment in the fridge was sorta "room temperature" and the milk was warm that was sitting on the uppermost shelf. The freezer was still frozen and acting fine. Fan is running fine. I have an extra S/S in my garage which I moved all the refrigerated items into, and went back to the kitchen and pulled out the fridge to look behind it at the amount of gunk on the coil and compressor. Predictably there was all kinds of pet hair and dust bunnies back there, pretty much gumming it up. I vacuumed everything out after removing the rear cover. The compressor was hot to the touch, but seemed to be running.

That was last night. Today the temp in there had dropped a bit, but not a ton. The items in the freezer seemed to be defrosting. I looked in the very bottom of the freezer and there is a little hole in the dividing wall that had a piece of macaroni down inside it- possibly holding a valve open, as I felt inside with a finger and it seems like there may be little door in there. I cleaned it out.

I calculate that a compressor would be $250, the service visit and install will be $250 or so. For a few hundred more I can have a brand new fridge! This is a nice one that's 9 years old now, so I am sorta on the fence here.

Any idea how I can test what's happening with the fridge?

Last edited on Thu Feb 19th, 2009 11:11 pm by alexeinspruch

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Posted: Thu Feb 19th, 2009 02:24 am

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shane
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Was the condenser fan motor turning beside the compressor?, if it is i would suspect a defrost problem, remove back freezer panel and inspect for large frost built up.

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Posted: Thu Feb 19th, 2009 05:06 pm

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RegUS_PatOff
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depending on the last (2) missing characters of your model number,

this may be your FRS20ZSHB3 Parts Manual

Last edited on Thu Feb 19th, 2009 07:09 pm by RegUS_PatOff

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Posted: Thu Feb 19th, 2009 07:10 pm

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RegUS_PatOff
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How's the Evaporator Coil look ?

Frosted/clogged ?

or post a picture ... 200k MAX

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Posted: Thu Feb 19th, 2009 09:41 pm

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alexeinspruch
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Can you say defrost system not working? I just used a blow dryer to quickly get rid of the ice, and turned system back on, and in the meanwhile I will get parts & fix it. This should still work until it ices up again......wonder what parts to get? Estimate from a reliable apliance Co. is $500.....

Last edited on Thu Feb 19th, 2009 11:26 pm by alexeinspruch

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Posted: Fri Feb 20th, 2009 02:59 am

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RegUS_PatOff
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Good news, it's not a bad Sealed System problem ...

FRS20ZSHB3 Wiring Diagram

check Defrost Thermostat first...

click on picture

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Posted: Fri Feb 20th, 2009 03:06 am

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alexeinspruch
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OK. How do I do that?

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Posted: Fri Feb 20th, 2009 03:28 am

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RegUS_PatOff
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Un-plug Fridge power.

Check across Defrost Thermostat (switch) with OHM meter.

Should be closed switch ... 0 OHMS when cold.

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Posted: Fri Feb 20th, 2009 03:51 am

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alexeinspruch
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OK. Will do. Still at work. What else should I check and replace?

Last edited on Fri Feb 20th, 2009 03:53 am by alexeinspruch

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Posted: Fri Feb 20th, 2009 04:57 am

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shane
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9 times out of 10 on this model the defrost thermostat is needed that was mentioned, another way to tell is if the top plastic part of defrost thermostat is bulged out/deformed its a dead give away. The other two items would be the defrost timer or the defrost heater the heater you can ohm out. Defrost timer may not be advancing but start with testing/checking the other two items first.

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Posted: Fri Feb 20th, 2009 05:03 am

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shane
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Just noticed you mentioned 500 dollars in the post with your photo was that from a local company for fixing the defrost problem? :spaz:

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Posted: Fri Feb 20th, 2009 05:21 am

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alexeinspruch
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Yes. The service tech mentioned a control board, possibly this one and a few other parts:

http://www.repairclinic.com/SSPartDetail.aspx?s=b2a4c221i948965&PartID=948965

I'm not sure which defrost timer / thermostat to get, as several are listed here:

http://www.repairclinic.com/Frigidaire-Refrigerator-Parts?s=b2a4c221z=100\

I guess I can check the part numbers on the actual parts themselves.

Last edited on Fri Feb 20th, 2009 05:53 am by alexeinspruch

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Posted: Fri Feb 20th, 2009 07:06 am

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RegUS_PatOff
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alexeinspruch wrote: Yes. The service tech mentioned a control board, possibly this one and a few other parts:
:headscratch:

Your model doesn't use a Control Board ...

Enter your model number into the RepairClinic Parts Search box

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Posted: Sat Feb 21st, 2009 12:55 am

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17^th Post

alexeinspruch
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Hey Reg, I am going to try and ohm the thermostat now.....I checked Ohms and (with my overly complex IDEAL multimeter) Continuity and I get NADA, zip, zero. I tried the connections both ways: red to red thermostat connection and black to white thermostat connection, and vice versa. Same results both times. So I take it this is the problem. Now, I have to remove the timer to test it. Should I do that too?

Last edited on Sat Feb 21st, 2009 02:11 am by alexeinspruch

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Posted: Sat Feb 21st, 2009 03:21 am

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RegUS_PatOff
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alexeinspruch wrote: ...I checked Ohms and (with my overly complex IDEAL multimeter) Continuity and I get NADA, zip, zero....

Is that 0 OHMS ? (closed switch)

or NO continuity ? (open switch)

also, the switch needs to be cold when tested, 35F or colder.

If it's open (bad), there's probably no need to test the Defrost Timer.

Last edited on Sat Feb 21st, 2009 07:34 am by RegUS_PatOff

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Posted: Sat Feb 21st, 2009 05:17 am

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19^th Post

alexeinspruch
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Yes zero ohms indicated on my multimeter when I tried the resistance test on wires from the thermostat (both ways), unless I did it wrong somehow. It was PLENTY cold. I then tried a continuity test and got no tone from the multimeter, which was also tried both ways. I am now confused. The multimeter I have is kinda overkill and way short on instructions, but I think I am using it properly.

Last edited on Sat Feb 21st, 2009 05:02 pm by alexeinspruch

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Posted: Tue Feb 24th, 2009 04:36 pm

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DoctorGoz

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I wish that i could charge soooooooo much. The board list for
$77. and we appliance guys get a discount.My service call in Arkansas is $55 local for first hour and $60 an hour after that. How long is this guy going to be at your house??? I could douyble my service and part and i would never be close to $500. :grunt:

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