Top 20 Frigidaire FRT21H8 Top Freezer Refrigerator Questions & Answers

sounds like a weak compressor or low on gas be ready to buy another one,your one is dying

Hello It is caused by a clogged defrost drain in the freezer compartment of your refrigerator To fix this you will need to empty your refrigerator and unplug it. Remove the back panel of the freezer and look under the cooling coil, you will see a frozen drain pour hot water on the drain hole until water flows freely through the drain to the bottom pan.. That's it

Here's the manual you need with the parts lists. http://www.hammerwall.com/Download_Manual/37232/ On the first page, it has "parts" numbers for the other manuals you may need that I'm sure you could also find online with a Google search. Here is the website that carries the part: http://www.needapplianceparts.com/218673008.aspx You might be able to find the parts elsewhere online.

Good Afternoon frnk, thank you for allowing me to assist you! Your new high-efficiency refrigerator may make unfamiliar sounds. These are all normal sounds and soon will become common to you. This also indicates your refrigerator is operating as designed. Hard surfaces, such as vinyl or wood floors, walls, and kitchen cabinets may make sounds more noticeable. If the noise, however, become louder or more pronounced, then you may want to connect with a local appliance technician to determine if anything else may be the cause.

Im not familure with this item but on the older style fridge ice would build up in the freezer blocking the air ways to the bottom half of the fridge in this case you would need to remove the food from the freezer and fridge and unplug it open the doors and let it thaw out for a day or so I wish you luck and I hope this was helpful

Hello Georgia Peterson - Do you hear anything running in the machine compartment and what type of airflow is the condenser fan providing (try removing the toe grille, located above the drain pain on the bottom right-hand side)? If you do not hear the compressor and unit is providing room temperature, it usually means that the unit has a faulty compressor or a sealed system leak. Also there is a vent towards the back of the freezer that circulates air from the freezer section to the fresh food section. If this vent is blocked by too many items in the freezer it will cause the unit to work harder making it colder in the freezer and keeps the air from flowing down to the refrigerated section. If you would, make sure that the vent is not blocked so that air can travel from the vent down to the refrigerated part. This will decrease the temperature in the freezer, allowing for ice cream to be pliable and the fresh food section to become colder. Should you find these suggestions unsuccessful I would recommend contacting a professional to move forward accurately.

Hello - To remove the toe grille you will need to have the doors of the refrigerator open, the grille simply snaps into place. Remove the right side first and then the left, as the water line is on that side. When replacing follow the steps in reverse.

I want someone to unplug the refrigerator from its power source and have someone check continuity of both fresh food compartment and freezer light switches=> 240505801 Light SwitchIf that proves not to be the answer then we move on to the light bulb housing itself. I will be here to assist you all you need to do is ask or let me know if you have any questions rate this post, Thank You, Sea Breeze

there is a foam that is made to seal the water coming from the evaporator area that warps and creates a gap to the refrigerator section. if you are 100 percent sure that its not the drain then this is your problem. the foam is located at your timer and thermostat assy. housing there is four screw to removed seal that gap with permagum

I had the exact same problem with my Frigidare. The fan motor went out and cold air could not be forced into the refrigerator compartment. The fan is located in the back of the freezer compartment. Not too tough of a fix.

Hi,
Here is a tip that I wrote about the reasons why the sides and/or seals couldbe getting hot on your refrigerator.

RefrigeratorTrouble The Outside of Refrigerator Hot
heatman101';
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Yrur model number is missing the last three digits.... I will use FRT21H8CB1 as the example model number.
You need to do a total manual defrost with a catch basin and comprtment drain cleaning.
- Unplug the unit
- Remove fgreezer contents
- Direct an exteranl fan into the freezer compartment for just over 2 hours to ensure the compartment drain tube has defrosted.
- During the defrost period... open the fiberboard panel on the lower back of the refrigerator and clean out everything, Condensor coils, catch / drip pan (Called pan-defrost for parts), and the END of the compartment drain tube.
Model reference:
http://www.appliancepartspros.com/partsearch/model.aspx?model_id=5158190&diagram_id=1311449#d1311449

Defrost pan Item 26 of above link needs to be cleaned.
Coils Item 1 need to be cleaned
Fan blade Item 61 needs to be cleaned.

The evaporator trough, drain item 17 also should be clear. Here is what you can do without tearing everything in the back of the freezer apart. Once your sure the comprtment drain tube (no item number / bulk hose) is clean on the end. Use the exhaust of a Vacuum cleaner and the hose to force air UP through the drain hose and float out any debris from the trough drain. Have a 2nd person listen for air flow into the freezer compartment if possible. The biggest problems with freezer compartment drains is the END of the hose at the defrost pan underneath the unit clogs up and then the compartment drain hose just loads up with scum. Then the freezer stops draining and you have the symtom your describing.

After the manual defrost and cleaning return the unit to normal service.

Having said all of that... if the refrigerator then freezer starts warming up in 3 - 4 days... you may have an automatic defrost problem causing the icing. I.e it is not defrosting so the evaporator eventually ices over and forms an ice block in the back and bottom of the freezer compartment. Usually if there is an ice block that forms you wil hear the evaporator fan striking the ice build up.
If this is happening... for sure there is an automatic defrosting problem and your stuck doing a manual defrost ever 3 - 4 days until repairs are complete.

One more note.. if there is NOT any compartment drain tubing visible... your unit may port evaporator tray water down the back of the fresh food compartment to the defrost pan under the unit... just clean everything that serves as a drain function best you can during the manual defrost and cleaning process.

Thanks for choosing FixYa,
Kelly

Defrost water drain is plugged. find drain under evaporator in freezer **** out and pour hot water down it

The fan may have stopped working due to the build up of ice on the evaporator coil in the freezer. The most likely cause would either be a burnt out defrost heater or a bad defrost timer. Normally the defrost timer turns the heater on for about 30 minutes every 8 hours to melt the ice on the coil. If the timer fails it will either stay in cooling mode or defrost mode. The timer is usually located in the temperature control box in the refrigerator. It looks something like this:


On the side of the timer is a small cam that you can turn with a flat screwdriver. With the refrigerator plugged in, turn the cam until it clicks. When it clicks, it should be in defrost mode and the heater should start to get warm and melt the ice. You should be able to hear the ice crackling and hissing if the heater is working. If it does nothing then the problem is probally due to a burn out heater.

To get to the heater, you will need to remove the back panel from the freezer and the heater will be attached to the coil. You will need a hair dryer to melt the ice from the coil, to get to the heater. Parts can be found at your local appliance supply house or online at repairclinic.com. Hope this helps you.

Hi, There can be many reasons why your refrigerator is freezingyour food. To see what could be happening and to figure out how to possibly fixyour problem. Take a look at this tip which contains many of the causes andsolutions to fix the problems.

Refrigeratoris Too Cold and Freezing Food
heatman101

Hi,

Check out these tips...they can help you figure out what is going wrong withyour refrigerator and why it is not cooling

Refrigeratornot Cooling or Fridge not Cooling

How to Defrost Refrigerator DefrostTimer Problem

WaterRunning in refrigerator from Freezer

Refrigeratoror Freezer not Cooling or Getting Cold
heatman101

The evaporator coils frost up in normal use and every eight hours or so the entire unit shuts down and the defrost heater comes on to melt the frost. This cycle last about 20 minutes. The melted frost drips into a drain pan and through a drain tube to the drain tray under the freezer/refrigerator where it's evaporated by the condenser fan.


Your drain tube may be stopped up with ice at the upper end because it drains too slow because it's stopped up at the lower end in the evaporator pan under the unit at the floor. It can get dust and mold in it. Once you get the ice out at the top a little pressure with a turkey baster will usually clear it out. Flushing it out with hot water and clorox may help.
Make sure it drains quick enough to prevent refreezing. . The drain should be located below the evaporator coils on the inside of the freezer at the bottom of the rear cover.

I AM ALSO HAVING THIS PROBLEM. i HAVE LOOKED IN THE BACK FOR SOMETHING TO REMOVE AND CLEAN BUT EVERYTHING SEEMS VERY TIGHTLY ATTACHED.

If the ambient temp is below 52 degrees the unit will not work properly throught the cycles you will need to get what is call a garage kit to install in the unit.