NA - Freezer Struggling

NealRomeoGolf

NealRomeoGolf

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I have a 3 year old side by side fridge/freezer. LG if it matters. The fridge side is doing great. Holds temperature where it should be. The freezer is set for 0 and is hovering in the low 20s lately. I cleaned the coils. The fan is running. The compressor runs. There are no leaks from the door. Only thing left I can think of is a busted thermostat. Am I correct that it can't be the compressor because the fridge side is fine? Any ideas of what else I can troubleshoot?

Edit: we have also taken most of the stuff out of the freezer so it isn't overloaded.
 
NealRomeoGolf said:
we have also taken most of the stuff out of the freezer so it isn't overloaded.
Click to expand...

Once the stuff in the freezer is frozen, it doesn't have to work harder to keep it cold; on the contrary, more stuff in the freezer makes it work more efficiently, not cycling on and off as often.

It could be a thermostat. It could be the compressor, too, if it's designed like many where the compressor cools the freezer, and the refrigerator side simply steals cool air from the freezer (the freezer can't get to zero but it's still cold enough to cool the fridge side). The evaporator could be iced up, too, if the defrost timer isn't working (that happened to us once).
 
Dana said:
Once the stuff in the freezer is frozen, it doesn't have to work harder to keep it cold; on the contrary, more stuff in the freezer makes it work more efficiently, not cycling on and off as often.

It could be a thermostat. It could be the compressor, too, if it's designed like many where the compressor cools the freezer, and the refrigerator side simply steals cool air from the freezer (the freezer can't get to zero but it's still cold enough to cool the fridge side). The evaporator could be iced up, too, if the defrost timer isn't working (that happened to us once).
Click to expand...
One of my ideas is to completely empty it and unplug it and then turn it back on in 48 in case something needs to thaw.
 
When our LG recently slowly pooped out the repairman diagnosed a failing compressor and shared the information that a manufacturer of compressors is used industry wide and has led to many failures. Recommended Kitchen Aid as a manufacturer not using these compressors- and as an independent part time tech he has no self interest.
 
NealRomeoGolf said:
The fridge side is doing great. Holds temperature where it should be. The freezer is set for 0 and is hovering in the low 20s lately.
Click to expand...
Is it a single circuit? Or is it dual circuit?
Dana said:
The evaporator could be iced up
Click to expand...
If it is single circuit, this would be my guess. It happens when something (e.g. corner of a plastic bag) gets caught in the door seal and allows air to come in.
 
Just had to replace the compressor on my LG, but it was doing far worse than yours at the end.

FWIW, there was also a fair amount of frost over the vent that the sensor lives behind. Your idea to empty it, thaw it out and try again isn't a bad one, but might not fix it anyway. (I was impatient and used a hair dryer.)

I learned a lot about my fridge from YouTube. However, it turned out to be worth calling around to have someone else do it - I found a repair place that knew of the LG compressor issues and knew that there was extended warranty coverage in place on my model due to the number of compressors that have failed on them, so I didn't have to buy the parts. That was nice at least.
 
@flyingcheesehead - how old is your LG? We bought one in 2020, working great, but need to know if we are in the fail zone.
 
SCCutler said:
@flyingcheesehead - how old is your LG? We bought one in 2020, working great, but need to know if we are in the fail zone.
Click to expand...
Ours is a 2020. We've had the water tank freeze (that feeds the water dispenser) due to how the inlet for the fridge air from the freeze blows right on the tank. After replacing that myself I wrapped it in styrofoam to prevent it from getting direct air onto the tank. I have had to defrost this thing (manually) once before as well. Can't remember what made me do that. Guess I'll do it again.
 
So I just looked at my energy monitoring through the app. My energy usage is way up the past few months. So then I ran the "smart diagnosis" and it came back that the door could possibly not be sealing. I checked the seals today to make sure they were clean and should be seating well. Maybe I need to look harder for air leaks.
 
So I would guess a failing compressor would just run and run and not keep things cold? This is a pretty big jump...

upload_2023-5-30_22-31-15.png
 
NealRomeoGolf said:
One of my ideas is to completely empty it and unplug it and then turn it back on in 48 in case something needs to thaw.
Click to expand...
If that fixes it, and the problem returns in a week or so, it's almost certainly the defrost system (timer or heater or valve).
 
I have learned some good stuff on how to fix appliances on U tube also.

We have a middle of the road cost wise Frigidaire fridge that is now 15 years old. I remember we wanted black and no stainless and the black one was cheaper. It has been making noises(not the ice maker) since almost the beginning and I didn't think it was gonna last long. But here we are 15 years later and it is still working.
I bought a $189. 5 cf chest freezer for the hangar a few years ago. I was surprised they were so cheap. Nice having ice during the hot summer. I also unplug it and use it as a hot box in the winter to keep stuff from freezing.
Good luck with your Life's Good refrigerator.
 
Gary Ward said:
I bought a $189. 5 cf chest freezer for the hangar a few years ago. I was surprised they were so cheap. Nice having ice during the hot summer. I also unplug it and use it as a hot box in the winter to keep stuff from freezing.
Click to expand...
My son made a couple of doghouses from old freezers. They work real good in the winter. Warm for the animals. In the summer he props the lids open a few inches so they don't overheat.
 
Gary Ward said:
I have learned some good stuff on how to fix appliances on U tube also.

We have a middle of the road cost wise Frigidaire fridge that is now 15 years old. I remember we wanted black and no stainless and the black one was cheaper. It has been making noises(not the ice maker) since almost the beginning and I didn't think it was gonna last long. But here we are 15 years later and it is still working.
I bought a $189. 5 cf chest freezer for the hangar a few years ago. I was surprised they were so cheap. Nice having ice during the hot summer. I also unplug it and use it as a hot box in the winter to keep stuff from freezing.
Good luck with your Life's Good refrigerator.
Click to expand...

I also have a black Frigidaire Gallery Premier (black w/stainless handles) that's about 12 years old. Works great, aside from the door ice/water dispensing mechanism that stopped working in the first 4 years or so. I can trick it into working by manipulating the dispenser flapper, but we normally just open the freezer and get the ice by hand.
 
Ours is a gold model with ice maker in the door. It is nothing special and it had to fit into a wooden box that is part of our kitchen and is why we got that model. We wanted black though. I was worried about enough air flow but so far good.
Our ice maker quit working recently and I found a open box oem from a dealer in Canada on eBay for 100 bucks. It fixed it and my wife is happy again.
Like I said the ice maker is in the door, not the freezer. Couldn't find much about it on Utube. I found replacement's by goggle the part number. Oem is about $300 and new knock off about 125. I like to stay with oem if possible.
Sorry for the hi jack.
 
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SCCutler said:
@flyingcheesehead - how old is your LG? We bought one in 2020, working great, but need to know if we are in the fail zone.
Click to expand...

It's a late 2014 model, so nearly nine years old now. @Ted has (or had?) one that was very similar if not identical to mine, and I believe of similar vintage.

NealRomeoGolf said:
So I would guess a failing compressor would just run and run and not keep things cold? This is a pretty big jump...
Click to expand...

Well, a new and significant air leak could do that too... But that is a big jump.

@NealRomeoGolf What are you using to track its energy consumption?

Gary Ward said:
Ours is a gold model with ice maker in the door. It is nothing special and it had to fit into a wooden box that is part of our kitchen and is why we got that model. We wanted black though.I was worried about enough air flow but so far good.
Click to expand...

Exactly why we got ours. It does not even come close to the amount of space the manual recommends for air flow, but it does fine except for the common and likely unrelated compressor failure.

One of the things the repairman said to me is that the firmware on the main control board on these called for the compressor to run far too often. Part of the repair was to update the firmware on the board to fix that issue, so hopefully this compressor will last longer.

There is a YouTube video with a guy doing a(n obviously) destructive teardown of the compressor, and the part that's failing is one little rubber diaphragm that probably costs 10 cents. The compressors run something like $700 for the part, but I was able to get that replaced under warranty.

Our ice maker quit working recently and I found a open box oem from a dealer in Canada on eBay for less than 100 bucks. It fixed it and my wife is happy again.
Click to expand...

Our ice maker has not done well since the compressor repair. It seemed to have trouble ejecting the ice from the tray right off the bat, and then it seemed to have trouble detecting that there was ice still in the tray, so it would try to refill the tray and make the whole thing into a giant block of ice. Now, when it goes to empty the tray it sounds like there's a gear skipping for about 45 seconds or until you bang on the tray to help it empty. Unfortunately, it appears that the frame that helps the tray twist to empty is broken - The ice maker spit out a piece of plastic, and I discovered it was from one end of the frame.

I kinda want to replace the entire left-hand door. The control panel is not in great shape, the ice maker is broken, and the flap doesn't stay back when you open it, so you have to manually push the flap back when closing the door(s). That has been redesigned such that the flap spring is now internal to the door, so that's the only way to fix it.

Of course, what I really want to do is to get one of the new ones that you can look into without opening the door. :D
 
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NealRomeoGolf said:
It is a smart refrigerator so I get some features on their app. One is electrical consumption. It also has a "smart diagnosis" procedure that says the door seems to be open. That would lean towards air leak, but where???
Click to expand...

or it thinks the door is open because the temperature is too high.
 
Bob Noel said:
or it thinks the door is open because the temperature is too high.
Click to expand...
Which is why I'm still convinced it's the compressor. But I have to convince LG next because the compressor is still under warranty.
 
I was going mention the problem could be it is not harvest gold in color!
I got my family's hand me down harvest gold refridge when I moved out when I was 20 years old. Used it for plenty of more years and eventually drilled a hole into the side of it for the beer tap. Thing was probably 40 years old when I got rid of it still working.

Check that air is not getting inside through the ice through the door flapper?
 
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Gary Ward said:
Check that air is not getting inside through the ice through the door flapper?
Click to expand...
That is one thing I hadn't thought to check. Went and looked. It is closed and I don't feel any air escaping there.
 
I found a guy on eBay who rebuilds and sells only refrigerator control boards.

He had the exact board I needed to fix my 20+ year old Frigidaire. Until I replaced the main board, I had to pull the freezer apart and defrost the coils with hot water and a hair dryer every 20 days or so...

The little flapper door between the freezer and fridge sections that controls the temp was also not working. It's all good now; working like brand new!
 
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