20 Most Recent Frigidaire FRT21H8 Top Freezer Refrigerator - Page 7 Questions & Answers

On a top freezer t\it should be tilted skightly towards the wall.

there is a tube on some of these model that goes through the back of the fridge and onto the bottom. It is usually up high (if not under the crisper s). If its close to the freezer compartment may have Ice blocking it. If its up high and behind a ceiling cover it could have dirt and gunk stopping it up. try a soda straw and push it in the open part of the hole. see if you get anything out. You say it freezes on the shelf in the fridge compartment (Im betting on Ice blocking the hole because this is way too cold for a refrigerator with veggies. Right?)

Warm water set inside fro a few minutes to hours with the door open or a hair dryer running in it for a few minutes may defrost it and solve the problem then it may come back if there is too much air from the freezer or the thermostat is keeping it running too long.

Hope this helps and if so please rate me accordingly and good luck

clean it with baking soda hot water and hair dryer

This may be as simple as just turning the temperature dial for the freezer to a colder setting. Do that and wait a few hours and your problem may be solved.

Begin by turning the freezer temperature setting dial to a lower setting. Then wait a few hours to see if your problem is fixed. If that does not correct the problem you probably need to have the coolant system recharged. That requires special equipment so you will have to call in a repair person.

Sorry it took awhile but there is not a cold area kit for this refrig available. it needs to be used in a controlled climate so that the controls will operate properly thanks for your patience. Peyton

How much ice does it make per day?

There are several things that affect ice making capability, such as -

1) How often the doors are opened
2) Leaky door gaskets
3) Bad ice mold thermostat
4) Light in refrigerator does not go off when doors are closed (easy to test).

Top mount refrigerator installed in a garage and the food in the freezer is defrosting when
the temperature in the garage goes below 55 degrees fahrenheit.
On top mount refrigerators you cycle the compressor and fan/fans from the food
compartment temperature. When the room temperature gets colder than 55 F, you have
long off times waiting for the food compartment to warm enough to trip the cold control.
This long off time is allowing the freezer temperature to get high enough that food can start
to defrost.
There is a kit for refrigerators installed in applications where the temperature can go as low
as 34 F and still maintain good freezer temperatures. The kit part number is 5303918301
and it contains a heater that mounts in the control box and an instruction sheet advising
how to install the heater.
Kit 5303918301 contains:
Part # 5303950194 Instruction sheet
Part # 241532101 Heater

Most ice makers will take a few hours till it cycles. the t-stat has to get cold first but you can advance it but removing the cover and take out the Philips screw holding the center gear, now turn the ice rod clockwise till u see the brass gear start to turn now put it back together. it will fill with water and in about a hour or so drop some ice

For sure. Is there water in the drain pan under the unit? If not this is suspect. But first be certain the fridge is level! This is important.

Ray

I need to know the RATE at which it runs. If this is happening within minutes or less, the problem is the Compressor starting relay. This is inexpensive and the relays are availible locally. Check the wiring diagram for replacement.


Ray

Maybe Try Putting A Lite Lite Coat Of Vasoline On The Seal With A Q-tip

it is probably sitting uneven roll it back out and try to get it in the same exact spot it was before you vac it

ooling is poor For an overall understanding of how refrigerators should work, read about refrigerators in the How Things Work section of our website. A refrigerator or freezer that is cooling, but cooling poorly, may have a problem in one of several areas:

Evaporator coils
Condenser
Poor cooling is often the result of a heavy frost build-up on the evaporator coils or a condenser that is clogged with dust, lint, and dirt. 

Evaporator coils Poor cooling is often the result of a heavy frost build-up on the evaporator coils. You can't see these coils without removing a panel on the inside of your freezer. A sure sign that there is a build-up is the presence of any frost or ice build-up on the inside walls, floor, or ceiling of the freezer. Such a frost build-up usually indicates a problem in the self-defrosting system or damaged door gaskets.

The refrigerator is supposed to self-defrost approximately four times in every 24 hour period. If one of the components in the self-defrosting system fails, the refrigerator continues to try to cool. Eventually, though, so much frost builds up on the evaporator coils that the circulating fan can't draw air over the coils. There may still be a small amount of cooling because the coils are icy, but with no air flow over the coils, cooling in the refrigerator compartment is quite limited.

Here's an inexpensive, though inconvenient, way to determine if the problem is with the self-defrosting system. Remove all of the perishable food from the refrigerator and freezer, turn the thermostat in the refrigerator to Off, and leave the doors open for 24 to 48 hours. (Be sure to have several towels ready in case the melting frost and ice causes the drip pan to overflow). This allows the refrigerator to defrost "manually." When the frost and ice build-up has completely melted away, turn the thermostat back to a normal setting. If the refrigerator then cools properly, it indicates a problem with one of three components in the self-defrosting system:

• The defrost timer



• The defrost thermostat (also called the bi-metal switch)



• The defrost heater

If it still does not cool properly, there may be a problem with the refrigerant level or the compressor. You may need to consult with a qualified appliance repair technician to further diagnose the problem 

Condenser Self-defrosting refrigerators all have a set of coils and a cooling fan, usually under the refrigerator, that need to be cleaned regularly. If these coils get coated with dust, dirt or lint, the refrigerator may not cool properly. The coils may appear to be a thin, black, wide radiator-like device behind the lower kick-panel. To clean them, disconnect the refrigerator from the power source, use a refrigerator condenser brush (see the Appliance Accessories section) and your vacuum cleaner to clean the coils of any lint, pet hair, etc. You may not be able to get to all of the condenser from the front, it may be necessary to clean the remainder of the condenser from the rear of the refrigerator. 

A steamer is what I use but you may not have that tool. VERY hot water can be poured into the cavity/drain hole over and over till it freely flows out the bottom to the tray or you can just turn off the refer for a day with the door open to let it thaw. To prevent freeze plug again you can hang a small copper wire on the heat element that dangles down into the first inch of the hole so when a defrost cycle turns on it will trasnfer heat and keep the hole from freezing up. A #10 or #12 copper wire usually transfers enough heat to keep the hole from freezing up.

sounds like a compressor issue, perhaps the good news would be if its just under 5 yrs, youll have a 5 yr warr onthe compressor assy.( you should anyway) ck your manual for warr info

Hi yes you do need to keep the room the freezer is in at ahigher temperature probably not below 55 although you will need to experiment to find the minimum you can get away with. This is because modern refrigeration is designed for heated environments and some types are more susceptible than others to this situation.
Hope this will Fixya.

Please remember to rate this solution

This can have several causes. 1) If the fan in the freezer is working (it will usually turn off when you open the door), then it is usually a defroster issue. If the fan is dead, then it's the fan.
Assuming it's the defroster, and the refrig is old enough, or inexpensive enough to not have any computers or fancy displays, the it is usually the defrost timer that is bad. Depending on the model, the timer is usually underneath the front kick panel, or more often near where the knobs are that control the temperature. Try finding the defrost timer - it may be under a removable plastic panel where the knobs are or where the light bulb is, and if you do, there is usually a knob on it that you can turn with a short, wide screwdriver or coin. Turn it until the refrig turns off and this will start the defrost cycle. It may take a while to melt the ice. The ice is under the bottom or back panel in the freezer. You can remove the panel with a couple screws and melt the ice with a hair dryer also. Assuming this was the problem - that the timer is no longer working, you will have to turn the timer again to start the refrig back up, unless moving it got it running again. By defrosting it manually, you have bought yourself a couple days before it ices up again, so go and buy a new timer. Occasionally, the problem could also be that the heater coil is shot, or the wire to it has rusted off, or a small temperature sensor attached near the coil is bad, but it is usually either the fan or the timer. By the way, there's usually a wiring diagram on a folded piece of paper hidden somewhere behind the kick panel. Good luck.

I have experienced this also.

If the drain under the evaporator coils in the freezer freezes up it will cause this. Because the coils ice up. Manual defrosting with hair dryer will get working again, but if drain is stopped up it repeat.
Maybe piece of paper or food in it.

OR the defroster heater element is burnt out. Same results.

Most all top Freezer Models.

I have the same refrigerator and the SAME problem. The freezer unit didn't work at first (for about a week) and then it started freezing solid with not way to control the temp. When that happened, the refrigerated section stopped working and has not worked since (two months). Help!!