Frigidaire standalone freezer not cooling - What should I test?

Hi Everyone.

I have a 2-3 year old Frigidaire standalone freezer (model FFU20FC4CW0) that just recently stopped cooling. I’ve been checking a few things recommended by this site: http://www.acmehowto.com/howto/appliance/freezer/diagfreezer.php
but I haven’t found any obviously bad parts.

Would you guys be able to give any advice on what to check? I’ve got a decent amount of repair experience, just not with freezers/refrigerators. I have a good DMM and know how to use it properly.

Thanks in advance for any help!

–James

Here are your parts
http://www.appliancepartspros.com/partsearch/modelsearch.aspx?model=FFU20FC4CW0

Here is the tech sheet
http://manuals.frigidaire.com/prodinfo_pdf/StCloud/216857700.pdf

First check if the compressor is running and is it cycling on/off.
You can usually hear it but you should also be able to feel it vibrating and it should be warm.

Would be helpful to know what you have checked and what you found.

If compressor is not running could be a thermostat, start relay or compressor problem.

Is the freezer/evaporator fan running?
It is required to pull air through the coils to cool itn properly.

If running constantly could be a sealed system problem.
Remove the cover in the freezer so you can see the evaporator coils.

If there is no frost it is a sealed system problem.
Check your warranty as the sealed system has a longer warranty.

If there is only frost in one area then you are low on freon.
This is a sealed system problem.

If they are heavily iced/frosted over you have a defrost problem. It could be the timer, the heater or the defrost thermostat.

The compressor is running continuously and it is warm/slightly hot to the touch.

The evaporator fan is running continuously as well. The coils have no frost whatsoever.

I’ll have to check on the warranty. Is there anything more I can do with it? As long as it’s not too expensive, I’m confident that I could carry out any repair this needs.

:EDIT: I just got off the phone with Frigidaire, and it looks like the compressor is the only thing that’s still under warranty. So if I can diagnose that the compressor is bad, then I could have a new one shipped to me.

As far as I know the only way to tell if it is out of freon or the compressor is shot is to hook up a set of gauges and read the freon levels.

You are sort of stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Even if you can show that it is the compressor it is going to cost you several hundred dollars to have it installed.

You are probably best off replacing the freezer.

Is there anything else I can check before looking for a new freezer? I would think any professional repair wouldn’t be worth it, but I’ll fix it myself if I can.

Within the last week my ice maker started leaking water creating a bunch of icicles and trails of ice down the sides of my freezer. It continued to make ice until today when it stopped. The ejector is pointing straight down into the cube tray. The cube tray is dry - no water or cubes. There also appears to be a paper-like lining in the cube tray. It sounds like paper when I touch it. I suspect it is calcium.

I turned the ice maker off for now. If I turn it on there’s no LED on the right side.

Thank you for your help.