Freezer not cold to freeze

Hi @mattsimoni

Looking at the image you posted there's ice forming on the pipes leading to the evaporator unit.

This coupled with the high temperatures indicates a possible lack of refrigerant or a faulty compressor.

The only way to prove this is to access the sealed system and check the high and suction pressures in the system

Depending on your location you may need a licensed repairer to do this due to the environmental regulations regarding the handling of refrigerant gases. Also they have the appropriate equipment to do the job.

To do this you will have to cut into the system, without losing any refrigerant and connect the measuring equipment to view the pressures. Knowing this will determine whether the problem is the compressor or in the system somewhere.

For example:

If it was lack of refrigerant due to a leak, then the remaining refrigerant (if any) would need to be pumped out and stored and then a dye pumped in to see if the leak can be found. If it is determined that it is inside the cabinet walls somewhere then it can't be fixed and the fridge is a write off. If the leak can be fixed, then after this the dye will need to be pumped out and the system flushed and then a vacuum created in the system before the refrigerant can be pumped back in and the pressures checked to make sure that there's the correct amount of refrigerant i.e. not too much or too little, before resealing the system.

If it was a faulty compressor (is it hot to the touch?) then the same as above except for the dye insertion/removal part of the process and a new compressor installed.

Note: Check the user manual or the warranty information for your model. Depending on your location and the age of your refrigerator, if it is a faulty compressor or any other problem in the sealed system there may be a 5 year warranty on the sealed system e.g. evaporator unit, filter dryer, piping etc and a possible 10 year warranty on the compressor. Worth checking if nothing else.

Hi @mattsimoni

Refrigerator seems OK if a little cold at 35°F (usually 37°F) as is the freezer at -8°F (normally 0°F) so it appears that the refrigerant is OK as is the compressor at this stage.

If the compressor itself or the sealed system had a problem usually it doesn't get better.

It could be electrical i.e. not starting or continuing to operate when it has started or even being told to turn off when it shouldn't.

Looking at the service manual linked in my comment above, the unit has two evaporator units, one in each compartment, connected in series flow if the refrigerator compartment stays between 35°F - 39°F then the compressor is OK as is the sealed system. If it is only the freezer compartment that isn't the correct temp it could be the evap fan there.

If both compartments don't maintain the correct temps then you may have to check the compressor initially to see if it is running, is warm if it is not running indicating that it has been running or if it is stone cold indicating that it hasn't run for a long time.

Bit vague I know but you have to try and narrow down what is/is not happening when the temps aren't correct and then try to work out if something isn't happening when it should, why not e.g. compressor on or off, what temps indicated on display versus actual etc etc

@mattsimoni

You never said whether the bread was frozen or not after going to/coming back from work. Hopefully you allowed more than the 3 hours between your comments for it to fully freeze as it may take a bit longer than that.

Here's an image of the wiring diagram that may help.

The refrigerator has a lot of temp sensors and there seems to be 2 sensors in the diagram that have at least 1 yellow wire on them but this is from the drawing and not the actual. It may be that they do have two yellow wires on the actual sensor but where they connect into a through connector to a wiring harness to get back to the control board (which is what colours are shown in the wiring diagram) the colours may change between the sensor and the board.

See control board CN30 connector pin 9 for the pantry sensor (which may be the one above the freezer door) and CN30/3 for the humidity sensor.

(click on image)