My Frigidaire freezer Model LFFH20F3QWA had stopped freezing and luckily I noticed it before everything defrosted. I was able to get it working again without to much trouble.
The issue with my Fridigdaire LFFH20F3QWA:
This happened a couple months ago, but I saw these pictures on my phone when I was looking for something else, so thought I would make a quick post in case someone else has this issue. This is a standup freezer model # LFFH20F3QWA which I purchased at Lowes. The freezer did have power and the lights came on. The first thing I did was transfer everything out of the bad freezer and into my other working freezer. Luckily I had enough room. Then I checked the internet and figured it was the thermostat or the defrost timer. The thermostat was going to take a week to get to me, and cost more, and the defrost timer was cheaper and would be delivered faster. But I took the shotgun approach and went ahead and ordered both as I figured if I started with the defrost timer it would end up being the thermostat. (Spoiler alert – It was the defrost timer.)
Disclaimer: I am not responsible if you try to fix your freezer yourself. If you are unsure how to do it you should call a professional. You may injure yourself or damage your freezer if you do not know what you are doing. This is not an instructional post on how to do it safely. This post is for entertainment only.
That being said, I was able to just go to youtube and find a video that showed me how to do it. Even how to test the thermostat which I should have done before ordering it.
The symptoms were it was no longer cooling. When I took apart the back freezer panel inside (After unplugging it of course.) I found the coils were frozen. Here is a pic when it was still partly frozen.
Here it had defrosted as I was waiting for the parts to show up.
Here is the defrost timer I ordered off Amazon : Frigidaire 297318010 Defrost Timer
, The defrost timer is located in the back of the freezer on the bottom as seen below.
I found lots of places to buy the parts online, but Amazon was one of the cheapest for the Defrost timer plus it had free fast shipping. I ordered the thermostat kit on Ebay as Amazon did not have it in stock at the time or was to expensive. I paid $25 dollars for the thermistor kit on ebay. It was the whole kit pictured below. Here is the Thermostat kit I ordered for reference. Electrolux 5304496284 Heater,Defrost,w/Thermostat. It was still in the unopened bag sitting in my closet.
SUMMARY:
In hindsight I should have taken the time to test the thermostat first. Its easy to do, just take it off the freezer and use a multi-meter to test it when it is warm and you should have an open. Then put the end in ice water (not the leads :-))and you should have continuity once it gets cold. The temperature allows the circuit to open or close. By not testing this first it cost me $35 to fix the freezer rather then $10. But I am sure that is below what I would have paid to have someone come out and fix it for me. I also now have a thermistor and heater in case it goes bad in the future. As for my freezer model # LFFH20F3QWA I am not sure if the last few digits represent the state it was purchased in? I did purchase it in WA .
