Kitchenaid freezer will not stay frozen 5 years old

Its not a major problem... It could be any of the following. The evaperator fan is not working in witch case the temps will rise soon and quickly you can check this by opening the freezer door and push the light switch if there is one and listen for the fan.

Next look at the back wall of the freezer and look fof FROST if you have frost then you have a defrost problem in withch case it could be a heater, limiter, timer, or control board.

or your thermostat is bad and is letting the compressor run longer than normal.

This should cover the most common problems.

main reason for lots and lots of frost is door seals not tight all round.look along the length of them to make sure and adjust by pulling/pushing into shape,also are the doors level???? would also cause doors not to be airtight.(adjusters/feet are under both outside corners).

Defrost the freezer it may be iced up and not letting the cold air in to the fridge side.

23 years old ? That thing was costing you more than a new unit would cost for the past 5 years!
Assuming your airflows are good, Its time for a new refrigerator.

Try to remove rear wall of freezer to check frost pattern. An even but light patter of frost on full coil is normal. Coils full of frost with aluminum almost fully hidden generally means defrost problem. Heavier frost on the bottom coils and gradually tapering off as you go up until the top coils have no frost usually means a leak of freon or a bad compressor.

Right hand side wall in the freezer - take a look- any frozen water or moisture? Need check a drain line, usually defrost heater inside the freezer wall getting bad and draining water just freezing inside of it.

I had a similar problem. The frost in the back is an indication that your coils are frozen. This could be from food packages falling out of the freezer drawers in the back and blocking the air circulation vents or maybe the freezer door was not closed completely and letting moist/humid air in and freezing the coils.
For me it was the first problem listed.I had to completely empty the freezer and Frig. and take the back panel off in the freezer. There you will see the coils and lots of ice!
1. Remove all items from the frig. and freezer and unplug frig.
2. Pull all the freezer drawers out.
3. On my GE side by side I took the light cover off and removed the bulb. There you will see two panel screws. Remove the screws.
4. Now pull out the mouldings on each side and you should be able to remove the panel.
5. Take a hair drier and completely defrost all the ice from the coils.
Be sure to keep plenty of towels handy for all the water mess. Remember to keep an eye on the drain tray in the back of the frig. and use a sponge to collect the water that will build up.
Hope this helps!.....
Woody

Sounds like you need to defrost.

if you can move everything out unplug it ,turn it off w/ doors open,you can put pans of hot water in the freezer to speed up the process 12 to 24 hrs this will free up any clogged tubes.After its completely defrosted Only turn it up to 4 or 5. Good luck.

Len West

compressor is hot but is it running. one likely thing i would check is the start relay on the compressor.

SORRY, YOU NEED A TECHI. THERE. EITHER YOUR TH/STAT IS STICKING OR THERE IS AN ISSUE WITH YOUR AUTO DEFROST UNIT. ALL THINGS TOLD CHECK THAT THE FREEZER OR EVAPORATOR FAN IS RUNNING. IF NOT IT COULD ALSO CAUSE PROBLEMS.