---
title: "Frigidaire refrigerator showing SY EF"
description: "What SY EF means on Frigidaire refrigerators, what to check before booking, and when it is not a failure at all."
url: "https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/frigidaire-sy-ef/"
---

# Frigidaire refrigerator showing SY EF

The freezer evaporator fan has failed — the fan that moves cold air off the freezer coil.

## What SY EF actually means.

The freezer evaporator fan has failed — the fan that moves cold air off the freezer coil. On the display the S can look like a 5, which is why it is often searched as 5Y EF.

Frigidaire refrigerator display · also shown as 5Y EF

What to do when SY EF shows on the refrigerator

### Kind of code Fan circuit

A fan the control board expected to be turning is not — a motor that has failed, or ice holding the blade still.

### Usually leads to Fan and airflow repair

Two fans, two completely different failures — one stops the cold arriving, the other stops the heat leaving.

### Shows up as Fresh Food Section Warm, Freezer Cold

The single most diagnostic pattern on a refrigerator, and almost never the compressor.

### Make Frigidaire

Freestanding refrigeration and one of the most common standalone freezer brands.

### Source Frigidaire service data sheet A06589001 (archived copy)

The meaning is from Frigidaire's service data sheet A06589001.

## Before you book, in this order.

Each step comes from Frigidaire's own guidance for SY EF on its refrigerators. Follow it to the end: the last card says whether this is a visit.

01

Reset once: press Clear Alerts, or unplug the unit for 30 seconds.

02

Check whether the freezer is still cold, and move food that matters if it is not.

03

If SY EF returns, book a visit.

### Still there?

It usually turns into [fan and airflow repair](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/services/fan-and-airflow-repair/). Book with the code and the model number.

### What not to do

Do not keep resetting it while the freezer warms. The fan that moves the cold has stopped.

## What you may notice with it.

The refrigerator problems SY EF tends to arrive with. Answer these at the refrigerator before anyone is booked.

[All problems](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/problems/)

Before you call

### [Fresh Food Section Warm, Freezer Cold](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/problems/fresh-food-warm-freezer-cold/)

[All 5 causes, cheapest first](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/problems/fresh-food-warm-freezer-cold/)

It also comes with

- [**Refrigerator Making a Loud Noise**](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/problems/loud-noise/)

Food safety applies

### Fresh Food Section Warm, Freezer Cold

5 causes, cheapest first

Where SY EF usually leads

## Fan and airflow repair.

**Evaporator or condenser fan · low.**

Book a visit [What the job involves](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/services/fan-and-airflow-repair/)

## Read these before the visit.

Short guides that make the call quicker and the diagnosis cheaper.

[All guides](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/guides/)

Why it is doing that

### Fridge warm, freezer cold — the most diagnostic pattern there is

Why it is doing that

### Why refrigerators stop cooling, in order of likelihood

Error codes

### All 247 codes, by make

## Frigidaire refrigerators.

Freestanding refrigeration and one of the most common standalone freezer brands.

[Frigidaire refrigerator repair](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/brands/frigidaire/)

More Frigidaire codes

[SY CE](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/frigidaire-sy-ce/) [PF](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/frigidaire-pf/) [SY CF](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/frigidaire-sy-cf/) [OP](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/frigidaire-op/) [SH](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/frigidaire-sh/) [HI](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/frigidaire-hi/) [SB SB](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/frigidaire-sb-sb/) [77 77](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/frigidaire-77-77/) [Door Ajar](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/frigidaire-door-ajar/)

Fan circuit on other makes

[Samsung 21E](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/samsung-21e/) [LG ER IF](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/lg-er-if/) [Sub-Zero 35 R 33](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/sub-zero-35-r-33/) [Viking E2](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/viking-e2/) [Fisher & Paykel F15](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/fisher-and-paykel-f15/) [Kenmore Er FF](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/kenmore-er-ff/) [ASKO F1](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/asko-f1/)

[All 24 codes of this kind](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/#family-fan-circuit)

Frigidaire builds this

### French door refrigerator

Two fresh-food doors over a freezer drawer — the most common premium layout, and the one with the most to go wrong at the door line.

Frigidaire builds this

### Side-by-side refrigerator

Full-height freezer beside full-height fresh food, with the ice maker and dispenser built into the freezer door.

## In Frigidaire's own words

> SY EF Freezer Evaporator Fan Failure

[Frigidaire service data sheet A06589001 (archived copy)](https://web.archive.org/web/20201028172054/http://manuals.frigidaire.com/prodinfo_pdf/Anderson/A06589001.pdf)

Every code on this site is taken from the manufacturer's documentation, never from a forum or a parts listing. The meaning is from Frigidaire's service data sheet A06589001.

## Frigidaire SY EF refrigerator repair, where we come out.

The same visit in every metro below: the code, the model number, and a diagnosis before any part is ordered.

[All service areas](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/)

[Tampa Bay](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/tampa-bay/) FL · 31 areas

- [Hyde Park](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/tampa-bay/hyde-park/)
- [Davis Islands](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/tampa-bay/davis-islands/)
- [Palma Ceia](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/tampa-bay/palma-ceia/)
- [Westchase](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/tampa-bay/westchase/)
- [Carrollwood](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/tampa-bay/carrollwood/)
- [Belleair](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/tampa-bay/belleair/)
- [St. Pete Beach](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/tampa-bay/st-pete-beach/)
- [Palm Harbor](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/tampa-bay/palm-harbor/)

[Orlando](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/orlando/) FL · 30 areas

- [Winter Park](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/orlando/winter-park/)
- [Windermere](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/orlando/windermere/)
- [Dr. Phillips](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/orlando/dr-phillips/)
- [Bay Hill](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/orlando/bay-hill/)
- [Lake Nona](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/orlando/lake-nona/)
- [Heathrow](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/orlando/heathrow/)
- [Celebration](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/orlando/celebration/)

[Miami / South Florida](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/south-florida/) FL · 47 areas

- [Brickell](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/south-florida/brickell/)
- [Coconut Grove](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/south-florida/coconut-grove/)
- [Coral Gables](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/south-florida/coral-gables/)
- [Pinecrest](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/south-florida/pinecrest/)
- [Key Biscayne](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/south-florida/key-biscayne/)
- [Aventura](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/south-florida/aventura/)
- [Sunny Isles Beach](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/south-florida/sunny-isles-beach/)
- [Bal Harbour](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/south-florida/bal-harbour/)
- [Miami Beach](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/south-florida/miami-beach/)
- [Golden Beach](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/south-florida/golden-beach/)
- [Weston](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/south-florida/weston/)
- [Boca Raton](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/south-florida/boca-raton/)
- [Palm Beach](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/south-florida/palm-beach/)

[New York Metro](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/new-york/) NY · 75 areas

- [Upper East Side](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/new-york/upper-east-side/)
- [Upper West Side](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/new-york/upper-west-side/)
- [Tribeca](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/new-york/tribeca/)
- [SoHo](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/new-york/soho/)
- [Greenwich Village](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/new-york/greenwich-village/)
- [Battery Park City](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/new-york/battery-park-city/)
- [Brooklyn Heights](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/new-york/brooklyn-heights/)
- [Park Slope](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/new-york/park-slope/)
- [DUMBO](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/new-york/dumbo/)
- [Forest Hills](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/new-york/forest-hills/)
- [Great Neck](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/new-york/great-neck/)
- [Southampton](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/new-york/southampton/)
- [Scarsdale](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/new-york/scarsdale/)

[Houston](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/houston/) TX · 36 areas

- [River Oaks](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/houston/river-oaks/)
- [Memorial](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/houston/memorial/)
- [Tanglewood](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/houston/tanglewood/)
- [Greater Heights](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/houston/greater-heights/)
- [Kingwood](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/houston/kingwood/)
- [Bellaire](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/houston/bellaire/)
- [Bunker Hill Village](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/houston/bunker-hill-village/)
- [Piney Point Village](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/houston/piney-point-village/)
- [Hunters Creek Village](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/houston/hunters-creek-village/)
- [Sugar Land](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/houston/sugar-land/)
- [Cinco Ranch](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/houston/cinco-ranch/)
- [The Woodlands](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/houston/the-woodlands/)
- [West University](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/houston/west-university/)

[Chicago](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/chicagoland/) IL · 50 areas

- [Lincoln Park](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/chicagoland/lincoln-park/)
- [Near North Side](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/chicagoland/near-north-side/)
- [West Loop / Near West Side](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/chicagoland/west-loop-near-west-side/)
- [Wilmette](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/chicagoland/wilmette/)
- [Winnetka](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/chicagoland/winnetka/)
- [Glencoe](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/chicagoland/glencoe/)
- [River Forest](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/chicagoland/river-forest/)
- [Oak Park](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/chicagoland/oak-park/)
- [Hinsdale](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/chicagoland/hinsdale/)
- [Lake Forest](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/chicagoland/lake-forest/)
- [Highland Park](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/chicagoland/highland-park/)
- [Gold Coast](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/chicagoland/gold-coast/)
- [Lakeview](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/chicagoland/lakeview/)

[Los Angeles](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/los-angeles/) CA · 95 areas

- [Beverly Hills](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/los-angeles/beverly-hills/)
- [Bel Air](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/los-angeles/bel-air/)
- [Holmby Hills](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/los-angeles/holmby-hills/)
- [Brentwood](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/los-angeles/brentwood/)
- [Pacific Palisades](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/los-angeles/pacific-palisades/)
- [Santa Monica](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/los-angeles/santa-monica/)
- [Hancock Park](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/los-angeles/hancock-park/)
- [Studio City](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/los-angeles/studio-city/)
- [Calabasas](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/los-angeles/calabasas/)
- [Manhattan Beach](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/los-angeles/manhattan-beach/)
- [Palos Verdes Estates](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/los-angeles/palos-verdes-estates/)
- [Pasadena](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/los-angeles/pasadena/)
- [San Marino](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/los-angeles/san-marino/)
- [Malibu](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/los-angeles/malibu/)

[San Diego](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/san-diego/) CA · 31 areas

- [La Jolla](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/san-diego/la-jolla/)
- [Carmel Valley](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/san-diego/carmel-valley/)
- [Point Loma](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/san-diego/point-loma/)
- [Del Mar](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/san-diego/del-mar/)
- [Rancho Santa Fe](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/san-diego/rancho-santa-fe/)
- [Coronado](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/san-diego/coronado/)
- [Encinitas](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/san-diego/encinitas/)
- [Solana Beach](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/san-diego/solana-beach/)

[San Francisco Bay Area](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/bay-area/) CA · 74 areas

- [Pacific Heights](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/bay-area/pacific-heights/)
- [Presidio Heights](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/bay-area/presidio-heights/)
- [Russian Hill](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/bay-area/russian-hill/)
- [Noe Valley](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/bay-area/noe-valley/)
- [Sea Cliff](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/bay-area/sea-cliff/)
- [Hillsborough](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/bay-area/hillsborough/)
- [Atherton](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/bay-area/atherton/)
- [Woodside](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/bay-area/woodside/)
- [Palo Alto](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/bay-area/palo-alto/)
- [Los Altos Hills](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/bay-area/los-altos-hills/)
- [Tiburon](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/bay-area/tiburon/)
- [Piedmont](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/bay-area/piedmont/)
- [Marina](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/locations/bay-area/marina/)

For the heart of your home.

## Questions about SY EF.

### Can I clear SY EF myself?

Reset once: press Clear Alerts, or unplug the unit for 30 seconds. If it comes back, it needs a visit.

### Why do people search for 5Y EF on a Frigidaire?

On the display the S in SY can look like a 5, so SY EF gets read as 5Y EF. It is the same freezer evaporator fan code either way.

### Is my Frigidaire freezer safe while SY EF is showing?

Not for long, because the fan that moves cold off the freezer coil has stopped. Try one reset, move important food if the freezer is warming, and book a visit if SY EF comes back.

---

**[Read on the site: Frigidaire refrigerator showing SY EF](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/frigidaire-sy-ef/)**

**[Book a visit with RefrigeratorRepair.center](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/schedule/)**
