[rjhjr]

We have a freezer-on-top Frigidaire that is not keeping food as cold as it did previously, regardless of the "coldness" setting. The fridge portion of the appliance seems to be working fine. Five days ago I unplugged the whole thing and defrosted the freezer. There was frost buildup on the back panel. I removed that panel and completed defrosted the coils, which were extremely frost-covered. After that, it seemed to run fine...for a couple of days. Now we can see frost buildup on the back interior panel again, and it is not keeping things as cold as it used to. A tray of ice cubes has not frozen completely after being in it overnight. Likewise, I put a couple of freezer pops in it the other day after defrosting it (to "test" its coldness). After the defrost, they froze completely, but now they are back to a slushy consistency - definitely not frozen.

Any ideas? Time to replace the appliance? It's only 8 years old.

[PS Staff - Sheila]

There is a problem with the defrost cycle.

This can be caused by one of three things:

The defrost timer located in the fridge section.

The defrost bi metal or defrost heater in the freezer section.

Try the defrost timer.

Locate the defrost timer button in the fridge section and use a screwdriver to turn it until the compressor shuts off.

The defrost cycle takes about 20 Minuit to complete.

Check the coils in the freezer if they are defrosted you have found your problem.

You will have to turn the button again until the compressor starts again.

You will need your mode number to order your parts.

If this did not work then it is the heater or the bi-metal.

You can test the heater with a meter.

The bi-metal can only be tested when it is cold.