--- title: "Kenmore refrigerator showing F3 | RefrigeratorRepair.center" description: "What F3 means on Kenmore refrigerators, what to check before booking, and when it is not a failure at all." url: "https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/kenmore-f3-111/" --- # Kenmore refrigerator showing F3 F3 on the Trio's list says the freezer defrost heater has failed. ## What F3 actually means. F3 on the Trio's list says the freezer defrost heater has failed. Sears has its wiring checked for damage first and the heater replaced if the wires are sound. Until it is repaired, frost can keep building on the freezer coil. Kenmore refrigerator display What to do when F3 shows on the refrigerator ### Kind of code Defrost The defrost cycle did not finish in the time the board allows. A heater, its thermostat or the sensor that ends the cycle. ### Usually leads to Defrost system repair The failure behind most slow, gradual losses of cooling — and behind most visible frost. ### Shows up as Frost Building Up in the Refrigerator Ice on the back wall, around the door, or over the whole freezer — and each location means something different. ### Make Kenmore A retail badge on appliances built by several different manufacturers. ### Source Sears PartsDirect: Kenmore 111 bottom-freezer error codes (Wayback copy, Nov 2019) Kenmore bottom-freezer Trio models whose number starts 111; F3 is the freezer defrost heater code in the diagnostic mode. ## Before you book, in this order. Each step comes from Kenmore's own guidance for F3 on its refrigerators. Follow it to the end: the last card says whether this is a visit. 01 Confirm the number on the model label begins 111 on a bottom-freezer. 02 Look for thick frost on the freezer's rear panel, or a freezer that is slowly losing its chill. 03 Book a visit and quote F3, which sends the check straight to the freezer heater circuit. ### Still there? It usually turns into [defrost system repair](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/services/defrost-system-repair/). Book with the code and the model number. ### What not to do F3 on this chart does not name a sensor. It names the heater that melts frost off the freezer coil. ## What you may notice with it. The refrigerator problems F3 tends to arrive with. Answer these at the refrigerator before anyone is booked. [All problems](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/problems/) Before you call ### [Frost Building Up in the Refrigerator](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/problems/frost-buildup/) [All 4 causes, cheapest first](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/problems/frost-buildup/) It also comes with - [**Freezer Not Freezing**](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/problems/freezer-not-freezing/) Problem ### Frost Building Up in the Refrigerator 4 causes, cheapest first Where F3 usually leads ## Defrost system repair. **Defrost heater, thermostat or sensor · low.** Book a visit [What the job involves](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/services/defrost-system-repair/) ## Read these before the visit. Short guides that make the call quicker and the diagnosis cheaper. [All guides](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/guides/) How not to need us ### Keeping the defrost drain clear before it floods Why it is doing that ### Why refrigerators stop cooling, in order of likelihood Error codes ### All 247 codes, by make ## Kenmore refrigerators. A retail badge on appliances built by several different manufacturers. [Kenmore refrigerator repair](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/brands/kenmore/) More Kenmore codes [COOLING OFF](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/kenmore-cooling-off/) [Er FF](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/kenmore-er-ff/) [F dH](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/kenmore-dh/) [Door Ajar](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/kenmore-frigidaire-door-ajar/) [Sb](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/kenmore-frigidaire-sb-sb/) [Er FS](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/kenmore-er-fs/) [Er rS](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/kenmore-er-rs/) [F dS](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/kenmore-f-ds/) [r dS](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/kenmore-r-ds/) [Er HS](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/kenmore-er-hs/) [Er IS](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/kenmore-er-is/) [Er SS](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/kenmore-er-ss/) [All 51 Kenmore codes](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/#codes-kenmore) Defrost on other makes [LG dH](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/lg-dh/) [GE dE](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/ge-de/) [Sub-Zero 20 2 00](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/sub-zero-20-2-00/) [Café dE](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/cafe-de/) [Monogram dE](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/monogram-de/) [GE Profile dE](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/ge-profile-de/) Kenmore 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. Kenmore 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 Kenmore's own words > F3 Freezer defrost heater failure [Sears PartsDirect: Kenmore 111 bottom-freezer error codes (Wayback copy, Nov 2019)](https://web.archive.org/web/20191119031439/https://www.searspartsdirect.com/diy/error-codes/refrigerator-repair/1234589/kenmore-111-model-bottom-freezer-refrigerator/0582) Every code on this site is taken from the manufacturer's documentation, never from a forum or a parts listing. Kenmore bottom-freezer Trio models whose number starts 111; F3 is the freezer defrost heater code in the diagnostic mode. ## Kenmore F3 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. 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Confirm the number on the model label begins 111 on a bottom-freezer. If it comes back, it needs a visit. ### What happens if I ignore F3 on my Kenmore Trio? Frost can keep building on the freezer coil because the heater that melts it has failed. Over time the freezer slowly loses its chill. ### Does F3 on a Kenmore 111 mean a new heater every time? Sears checks the heater wiring for damage first. The heater is replaced when the wires turn out to be sound. --- **[Read on the site: Kenmore refrigerator showing F3 | RefrigeratorRepair.center](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/error-codes/kenmore-f3-111/)** **[Book a visit with RefrigeratorRepair.center](https://refrigeratorrepair.center/schedule/)**