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Frigidaire model fftr1514qb2. Originally the fridge section stopped working followed a week or so by the freezer. Was left unplugged over the weekend and after plugging it back in, the condenser and evaporator fans are function and from what I can tell the compressor is turning on. It begins to cool but after a few hours stops and the freezer section will be warm and both fans will be off until it is unplugged and plugged back in (start relay makes an audible click). Also the compressor is warm to the touch, condenser coils have been cleaned, and the start capacitor replaced.
Hi @glennrog , It may be that there is a problem with the auto defrost cycle. Check if the defrost heater is working - see diagnostics in service sheet linked below. If it isn’t working then the temp won’t rise that quickly for a long time. That means that the defrost cycle won’t be ended to restart the compressor and evap fan, until the temp has reached the required end defrost cycle set temp. (~ 8-12 hours with both doors closed?) If the defrost heater tests OK it may be that the defrost sensor is not giving the correct reading so that might mean that the refrigerator stays in defrost mode until the control board has been “reset”, i.e. power off/on. If the defrost heater and the defrost sensor both test OK then given that everything starts again when the control board has been reset, I’m wondering then if the problem is with the control board. Since it is both the compressor and the evap fan that don’t restart, it must be something that affects both and not something that only affects one or the other. Normally there are only two reasons for both the compressor and the evaporator fan to stop running. First is when the temp in the compartments have reached their set minimum temp and further cooling is not necessary. When the temp rises above the maximum set temp allowable, then the compressor and evap fan should be restarted to drive the temps back down again. For your model the temp ranges are Freezer 0°F- 5°F, Refrigerator 35°F - 40°F. The other reason is when an auto defrost cycle occurs. I don’t know about your model but usually with most auto defrost refrigerators the defrost cycle occurs approx. once every 8-10 hours and lasts for about 20 minutes. During this time the compressor and fans are turned off and the defrost heater is turned on to melt the accumulated ice buildup from the evaporator unit. When the temp registered by the defrost thermostat in the freezer compartment reaches its set temp (in your model it is 47°F) the defrost cycle is stopped i.e. defrost heater turned off and the compressor and evap fan should both be started again. Here’s the service sheet for the refrigerator which may help. It shows how to get into the diagnostic mode so that the defrost heater, can be checked. It also has the specifications for the refrigerator temp sensor and the defrost sensor (thermistors) so that you can check that they indicate the correct resistance for the given temp in the refrigerator compartment and also for the end of a defrost cycle e.g. defrost sensor resistance at 47°F = 19.37KΩ. There is only the one sensor in the freezer compartment, the defrost temp sensor. It may be that the control board relies on the defrost sensor for both functions i.e. freezer set temps and defrost temp. Hopefully this is of some help.
