Kenmore refrigerator
showing F3
F3 on the Trio's list says the freezer defrost heater has failed.
Mon–Sat, 8am–8pm
- Defrost
- Defrost system repair
- Source: Kenmore
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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 refrigeratorKind of codeDefrost
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 toDefrost system repair
The failure behind most slow, gradual losses of cooling — and behind most visible frost.
Shows up asFrost Building Up in the Refrigerator
Ice on the back wall, around the door, or over the whole freezer — and each location means something different.
MakeKenmore
A retail badge on appliances built by several different manufacturers.
SourceSears 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.
Confirm the number on the model label begins 111 on a bottom-freezer.
Look for thick frost on the freezer's rear panel, or a freezer that is slowly losing its chill.
Book a visit and quote F3, which sends the check straight to the freezer heater circuit.
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 problemsBefore you call
Frost Building Up in the Refrigerator
All 4 causes, cheapest firstIt also comes with
Frost Building Up in the Refrigerator
4 causes, cheapest first
Where F3 usually leads
Defrost system repair.
Read these
before the visit.
Short guides that make the call quicker and the diagnosis cheaper.
All guidesKenmore
refrigerators.
A retail badge on appliances built by several different manufacturers.
Kenmore refrigerator repair
In Kenmore's own words
F3 Freezer defrost heater failure
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.
All service areasTampa BayFL · 31 areas
Miami / South FloridaFL · 47 areas
New York MetroNY · 75 areas
HoustonTX · 36 areas
ChicagoIL · 50 areas
Los AngelesCA · 95 areas
San DiegoCA · 31 areas
Questions
about F3.
Can I clear F3 myself?
What happens if I ignore F3 on my Kenmore Trio?
Does F3 on a Kenmore 111 mean a new heater every time?
Back to your everyday
Still showing F3?
Book with the exact characters, the full model number, and whether it is still cooling — on a code, that is the whole starting point.