Defrost Timer

You should know that the freezer leaked for months before it warmed up. It's not connected to water (no ice maker in it) so I figured it was ice build-up that was melting and causing the leak.

When it warmed up I called a repairman who said the start relay was bad and estimated $500 to replace it. I disputed this because the compressor was running. I asked him if perhaps the freon was low, he said if it was, we should dispose of the freezer.

I even asked him to take $300 to replace that relay, but he refused so I paid him his service fee and sent him on his way. Turns out even $300 would've been a ripoff.

I watched several videos on diagnosing warm freezers. I tried contacting many online parts stores but PartsSelect.com was the only one that answered and had kind and patient techs willing to explain things to me.

I tested the evaporator fan motor, which turned out to be bad. The tech recommended other parts that might also be bad so I put them all into the shopping cart, including the overload (by accident, not sure how I got that one as I did not need the overload for this repair). I did buy the relay in case the unethical repair guy was right about the relay being bad.

The parts arrived quickly and the diagrams/video supplied by this site were very helpful. I used my cell phone to take photos of everything before I started so I could put all wires back in their proper places, etc.

EVAPORATOR FAN MOTOR:

Very easy to replace. I removed the cover panel as instructed, and removed the screws holding the motor with my nutdriver. The blades slid off the motor nice and easy--I did not have to fiddle with the clip at all, just slid them off and on.

There is a third hole in the white bracket that worried me because I didn't see a corresponding third hole in the photo online of that part. But when it arrived, it did have the hole so I was able to plug it in just fine.

I removed the middle wire from the old part's white bracket NOT by pulling on it. I removed it by gently pushing an allen wrench into the hole and then the wire came out easily so it could be plugged into the new part.

Very easy overall to replace the Evaporator Fan Motor.

BI-METAL DEFROST THERMOSTAT:

Another very easy to replace part! Find the old part, unplug it and plug in the new part! Once the panel is removed to access the fan, you can hold up the new part and use it to find the old one. In this model it was easy to find.

DEFROST TIMER:

This was on the back of my freezer, in the cavity that holds the compressor. Once I located it, it was a simple thing to replace it. I used the nut driver to unscrew the screws and unplugged it, plugged in the new one, put the screws back... super simple.

START RELAY:

This was the scariest for me but turned out to be simple. I had to lie on the ground to get close enough and position a bright light so I could see everything clearly. (I'm a 60-year-old gal with poor eyesight and creaky bones!) The cell phone came in handy here to take up close photos of the assembly.

Another difficult step: grabbing the relay to pull it out. It was difficult to gain purchase on it but I finally figured it out.

A third difficulty (only for me) was pulling off the terminals without damaging the wire. I followed the video closely here, grabbed the terminals and not the wire and worked at them to pull them off. They were on very tight, difficult but I did get them off.

Installing the new relay was easy. Attach the terminals (cell phone photo of original part helped me ensure I got the right wires to the right place) and plug it in (cell phone helped again so I could line up the pins before pushing).

The old part rattled just barely -- so perhaps it WAS on its way out, but certainly not worth a $500 repair the repairman wanted! And as you will see, it was not the only thing not working in our this freezer.

The freezer started right up -- compressor humming nicely -- but after 24 hours it was only 60 degrees. At that point I called PartsSelect.com and they spent a long time with me on the phone. We decided it might be leaking freon but they don't have parts or info on adding freon.

I researched "how to add freon to your freezer" and found a great video by Vegas Romaniac on youtube.



Turns out you need to make sure your gauge has a DVA-1 adapter; the link in the youtube video sends you to an old-style gauge, so if you buy that one you'll need to go to Walmart for a DVA-1 adapter ($3).

Another issue: the green gasket in that gauge prevented it from seating properly, it took me a very long time before it finally seated and pierced the can...

After viewing a video by Parts Select, I pulled freezer from the wall to gain access to the back where the timer is located. I unplugged the freezer from the wall outlet. I then located the timer and used a screwdriver to turn the plastic screw on timer until it clicked once. I then waited a few minutes to see if heating elements would start working. When I heard water sizzling of the elements, I concluded the timer was bad. I then purchased a new timer from Parts Select and replaced it by removing the 2 screws holding it in place. I unplugged old timer and plugged in the new timer, reinstalling it onto the freezer. My 17 year old freezer is working like new again. Thank you Parts Select for everything.