What wrong with my upright freezer

DEF stands for "Defrost"

Yup, these timers have a tiny clock motor that can get lint on them, causing motor failure, should be simple replacement. Refrigerators in cold garages run more to regulate their temperature below 45 degrees.

Hello there:
first make sure that the back of the unit is clear of any dirt or obstructions
also make sure that the food is not stacked up so high that the air cannot circulate also you may want to check the temperature setting if the unit does not respond to a lower setting your refrigerant level may be low or than you will have to have the temperature controle thermistor serviced or replaced

If the evaporator coils behind the back panel of the freezer are icing up because of auto defrost failure that will stop the circulation of cold air and eventually affect the freezer too.

check defrost timer, defrost heater, defrost thermostat. In most newer models the timer has been replaced by an electronic control board. If the heater and thermostat are ok it’ll be the control.

You can turn the defrost timer till it clicks and everything shuts down. The heater should now come on. If it does, replace the timer. If it doesn't, check the heater and defrost thermostat. Turn the timer again till everything starts back up to end the defrost cycle.

Make sure the fan in the freezer is running circulating the air.
How to check everything
http://www.acmehowto.com/howto/appliance/refrigerator/refrigerator.php

If the evaporator coils behind the back panel of the freezer are icing up because of auto defrost failure that will stop the circulation of cold air and eventually affect the freezer too.

check defrost timer, defrost heater, defrost thermostat. In most newer models the timer has been replaced by an electronic control board. If the heater and thermostat are ok it’ll be the control.

You can turn the defrost timer till it clicks and everything shuts down. The heater should now come on. If it does, replace the timer. If it doesn't, check the heater and defrost thermostat. Turn the timer again till everything starts back up to end the defrost cycle.

turns out the coils were not defrosting or at best working intermittently. I defrosted the coils and ordered a defrost timer the old timer continued to pop from intermittently.I replaced the defrost timer
and it quit popping and noew the freezer works fine temps range between 9 degrees F and
14 degrees f.

Hi dgh1,
The freezer should stay within 5 degrees of 0 while in operation. While in defrost the freezer may reach as high as 20 to 25 degrees. If any higher temperatures are reached your food will spoil as they are defrosted and refroze everyday. If you find that the temperature is allowing your food to defrost you may want to replace your defrost thermostat. This device is located on top of the evaperator coil inside the back of the freezer. It is made to turn the heater off when a temperature of 55 degrees is reached. One other possible problem could be your defrost timer is taking to long to restart the cooling cycle after defrosting. I hope this will help you and please send any other questions you may have, I am happy to help. and dont forget to rate me.
Mike Anderson
Anderson Appliance
(865)945-3808

hi thanks for the question its normal for a frost free freezer to run a long time to keep a good cold temp i don't think you have a problem thanks the appliance doc

You should check the drain hose inside underneath the freezer.This is done at the back down below. Mine was looped too high and water could not get out. I took the loop off that was holding the hose and now water can drain away without freezing. You can pour warm water down the drain hole to melt the ice in the tube if you remove the grate covering it inside the freezer. I have read that several Kenmore upright freezer
owners have the same problem. I was astonished that this was the problem and I had put up with it for too long, defrosting the freezer every 2-3 months!.Give it a try!