Freezer stopped working lost all food. The compressor wil not cut on. Controller on door showing backwards L. Can not reset. Power is on to the inside of freezer ( light comes on when door is open) Unplugged lead on selonoid at compressor no power was coming to this point. My thought the controller is bad. Had a storm come through last Thurs. Found freezer off Sat. No burn marks on board of controller after unplugging still not able to reset.

SOURCE: Kenmore Upright Freezer 253.21741104 Loss of Power

Yes, it does have a control board. It is located under the rear of the freezer near the compressor. There was a service bulletin out a few years ago about the exact problem you are having. I will not be able to find out if your freezer falls under this design change until tomorrow when I get on my computer at the shop.
What is happening is the board has a fault in it that won't allow it to come back on sometimes if the power blinks off and back on. I am not sure if the repair credit is still active but we have changed the control boards on many of these units free of charge as recently as a year ago.
I will reply back when I find out for sure.

SOURCE: freezer door left open

if the alarm is sounding its probably trelling you the freezer is at too high a temperature. plug it in and leave it plugged in, it can take several hours to re freeze

SOURCE: freezer door left open

Hello Captain rose,
Did you turn off the freezer and then pull the plug?
Try this again. Turn off the freezer then pull the plug for 4 minutes, plug it back in and turn it on.
Do you hear the compressor turn on?
It should only take 24 hours max. to get back to full temperature!
If this does not help and you hear no compressor, especially if it is an old freezer .
They may have burned out the old compressor by causing it to work 2 hours straight .
Rather than cycling off and on every half hour or so!
If it was an old freezer, so it means it was on its last legs and would have happened some time soon any way!

Here is an article I read abut the age of refrigerators and freezers.

Repair or replace?

When to pull the plug on your old refrigerator

It nearly always makes sense to undertake simple do-it-yourself repairs,
such as replacing a gasket on a refrigerator or a freezer.

Typically, you'll also find a troubleshooting section for more-serious problems
in the owner's manual.

Should you pay for a repair or buy a new model?
The answer depends mostly on the age of your refrigerator,
how much you bought it for,and the cost of the repair.

Follow these guidelines:

When a repair makes sense.

If your refrigerator is under warranty or less than four years old (three years for top-freezers),
paying for a repair makes sense.
Note that refrigerators under warranty might require service from a factory-authorized technician;
readers have found them on a par with independent repairers.

When a repair might be a wise choice.

If your refrigerator is out of warranty and is four to seven years old,
it might make sense to pay for a repair. Customers generally pay $100 to $200 for a repair.
But you might want to buy a new model even at this stage,
given that today's models are quieter and have added features.
Higher energy efficiency is another plus: Energy Star-qualified models made after April 28, 2008,
are 43 percent more efficient than conventional models built before 2001 and 56 percent
more efficient than those built before 1993.

When it pays to replace.

The repair costs more than half the price of a comparable new refrigerator.
Data also shows that it doesn't pay to fix a less-expensive top-freezer refrigerator
six or more years old or a bottom-freezer or side-by-side eight or more years old.

Thanks to better recycling programs, less than 10 percent
of a refrigerator you replace is likely to end up in a landfill.


Thanks for giving me the opportunity to help!
Please do not for get to give a rating before you sign off!
Thank You, HUUUM

SOURCE: Kenmore Upright Freezer Alarm

1. You can hear the compressor running.

2. The temp setting you turn the thermostadt to starts and stops the compressor.

3. Look in your manual for a reset button and the location.

4. If you are familiar with a meter, grab the manual and check it it. But I doubt it is the resistance.

5. Sounds like a bad motor or low freon. If you have a lot of food in it, and the above didn't work, bite the bullet and call a repairman, although it sounds like much of the food is past saving if it is really defrosted.

SOURCE: kenmore upright freezer no digtal light no motor running

This could be a bad controller since you had a power outage, or even a bad motor. Look in your operator's manual and see if there is a reset button somewhere near the motor.

Unless you are well versed in electronics and have the proper equipment, you'll be unable to diagnose the control board anyway.

As a last ditch effort, which sometimes works, unplug it for about 5 minutes and then plug it back in. Make sure your thermostat is turned to the correct setting.