GE Fridge- freezer freezes; fridge warm??


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Old 10-09-05, 11:43 AM
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GE Fridge- freezer freezes; fridge warm??

I'd appreciate any input on common problems associated with the following symptoms:

I have a 6 year old GE side by side refridg./freezer. A couple of months ago the freezer and fridge stopped cooling properly and lowered to a temprerature of aprox. 40 degrees. Both sides (freezer and fridge) maintained this temp for about 6 hours and then it corrected and all was well for about 3 weeks. After the 3 weeks, it did the same thing again and re-corrected itself eventually.

Now, it's doing something totally differant. Today, the freezer is working perfectly (frozen at about 0 degrees), but the fridge side has stopped cooling and is well above 60 degrees. It's been like this now for about 12 hours and I'm not sure if it's going to re-correct or not.

Push has come to shove around here with that thing and I'm beginning to loose food, so, I'll probably call a technician soon. Before I did though, I wanted to let some techs at this forum read this just in case something might could be done on a laymans end.

Thanks ahead of time,

JW
 
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Old 10-09-05, 01:25 PM
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I think you may have a defrost problem or the fan is not working in the freezer section. If it is a defrost prob it could be stopping the fan from turning and therefore not forcing cold air into the ref. Some defrost timers are set to defrost every 6 hrs. It mat be defrosting intermittently. It is not likely your freezer would be zero though.

It could also be that the baffle[gateway from the freezer to the ref] is not opened. You should be feeling a cool breeze from the freezer to the ref.Is there one?


Make sure there is a cold breeze coming from the fan in the freezer, Then make sure the baffle in open. If you turn the dial on the cold control to its highest setting[I am sure it is there already] there should be a breeze somewhere on the wall between the freezer and the fresh food compartment when the compressor is running[I think it should be running constantly---Is it?
 
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Old 10-09-05, 02:00 PM
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Just checked the baffle. It was clear and open. It's doing something new now though. The fresh food side is finally starting to cool again. It was at 60 degrees, now it's down to 49 degrees. Problem though is, that now that it is correcting there, it is defecting in the freezer. Now the freezer is thawing.

Cold air is coming from the fan. It may be as you said, defrost related. I assume that system (the defrost system) is made up of multiple parts that could be causing this and not just one isolated part that i could replace to solve this problem?
 
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Old 10-09-05, 03:09 PM
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I think it would be beneficial to have a look at the coils in the freezer. Even when it is defrosting the food should not thaw. What is going on with the compressor while you are noticing the freezer is thawing? Is it runninf or not?

Kind of confuse when you say the baffle is open and the ref is warm with the fan running in the freezer and it is zero inthe freezer..


If you take the panel off and manually put it in defrost mode[advance timer] and the heaters come on =get a new defrost timer[look he and find the word "wheel]

http://www.applianceaid.com/frig_notcold.html


What is the model #. You may not have a defrost timer. If not you will need to put it in defrost mode a different way. Either that or rule out the thermostat and heater. That would leave the control board. Need model #
 
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Old 10-09-05, 03:41 PM
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That was a god link. Thanks for that.

I'll try to clarify any confusion. I know it's difficult just reading what a carpenter is telling you about an electrical appliance for which he knows not of.

I believe at my last post the situation was changing on the appliance again and it felt like cool air was coming out. Actually though, I just went in there and both sides again are on their way to being very warm again, the fan is blowing, and the air is NOT cool. Id have to pull it out again to see if the compressor is crunching while the fan is running....but I'd bet it is'nt. Wonder how probable it is that it is a compressor or low freon prob??

The model # is a GE GSS25jfmc ww
 
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Old 10-09-05, 06:14 PM
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The compressor should be running constantly considering the temps you have.

Try this simple test. Witht he compressor running unplg the ref and then plug it back in. If it starts it is not good. It could be low on freon or inefficient,meaning it is not compressing and therefore not cooling. The good news is it is under warranty.

Does the compressor start? If not that would also mean it is not cooling It could be a relay or a capacitor.

Need to know if the compressor starts or not. The fan in the freezer runs when the compressor runs. If there is no frost or notmuch need to know.

Probably a good idea to look at the evaporator coils with the compressor running.


Here is a link to your ref. You can see the parts locations on the diagrams and the name of the parts too.


your ref is controlled by a control board. It is on the back. This device relies on thermistors to sense temperatures in order to operate correctly.It will not turn on the compressor to cool the ref if thethermistors are not sensing.One of them is connected to the evaporator coil in the freezer. Part # 229 is the clip and 241 is the sensor on this pic.

http://www3.sears.com/imaging/ImageP...titleID=00007&
 

Last edited by joneq; 10-09-05 at 06:43 PM.
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Old 10-10-05, 05:58 PM
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Jon,
appreciate your diligence here. After my last post (last night), I went straight to bed because I have to rise at 5:30 to get to a job in Savannah by 7:00. Between last night, and when I got home this afternoon the unit is working properly again At any rate, that's the latest update.
Thank the Lord it's at least cooling again and I don't have it to worry over at the moment because today was'nt the greatest day for me and now I have a few more fish to fry. I found out today one of my pedigree Boxers has bone cancer and I'll have to put her down (she's only 5 and one of the best bloodlines I've ever owned!) The wife is in Long Island due to return tommorrow and I have to pick her up after work. She does'nt even know about her Boxer yet . So, I won't be able to do the test or check what you suggested until probably Wed. or Thurs. Bear with me though......I do need your advice........but I've got to get the cow out of the ditch first.

Regards,
JW
 
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Old 10-10-05, 07:44 PM
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Sorry to hear that. There is definitely a doggy heaven though. Saw it on Montel so it has to be true.Maybe get this for the wife--or yourself

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...21734?v=glance
 
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Old 10-12-05, 05:29 AM
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>Home today just to get something done about this fridge. I figured I'd check some of the things you spoke of and towards the latter part of the day schedule a tech. for repair if need be.
Since my last email- fridge lost it's cool again (after about 8 hours of being right), but it only lasted about 2 hours this time; then it started cooling again.
I was going to go in there and pull it out and begin to inspect the parts you spoke of.
I'm not sure if these "simple" test were to be performed while the unit was malfunctioning or not, but I'm about to check them while all is OK. I'll keep everything out and broken down though, so I can do them again when it goes down just in case that is the best time to check them. I'll let you know.

John W
 
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Old 10-12-05, 06:20 AM
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Unfortunately when I went in to inspect the unit was already headed down. So, the compressor was'nt running to try the "simple test". I'll have to wait. I did get a pic of the evaporator though (see link below). From the bottom up, about 2/3 of the evaporator is icy. The sensor you spoke of is located at the top out of the ice. The pic is a good illustration I guess of what my evaporator looks like when the compressor either fails, or gets the signal to stop??

JW

http://s1.simpload.com/1012434d0de4cf004.jpg
 
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Old 10-12-05, 09:02 AM
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That link to the pic don't work[for me anyway].Redo it and try it before you post back. Maybe try to put the thing into defrost mode and see if the heaters come on if not unplug the ref leave the doors open and let it completely defrost.

IS anybody else having problems viewing this thread like having to use the scroll bar a lot
 
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Old 10-12-05, 11:02 AM
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Scroll bar problem is part of the web site having problems. I'm experiencing them too.

1:45 pm-

Guess the unit thawed enough to start cooling again, because the temp is slowly lowering. Also, the compressor is now running and I unpluged it and plugged it back in again to see if the compressor came on.....and it did'nt. It's been about 5-10 minutes now and the compressor still has'nt began pumping yet.
Also, evidently as soon as the compressor does start pumping up the ice begins building up again on the evaporator.
Also, I went ahead and made contact with a service tech. They put me on standby for the day incase thay had a cancellation. Don't know if I'll get a response or not today or whenever.

I'll try a few more links to the pic again (but it's basically an iced up evaporator) on a diff site because I think the site I posted the pic on is down:

http://www.PhotoServer.us/is.php?i=8...g=PICTUR~1.JPG
 
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Old 10-12-05, 11:33 AM
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That's not ice it is frost and it means the compressor is working. If the fan is working the ref should get cold if the temp in the freezer is low enough.

Are you saying the compressor has been on for 1o minutes and there is no frost on the coils,and if there is are all the coils frosted???
 
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Old 10-12-05, 12:33 PM
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Right, compressor did'nt come back on for at least an hour.
Actually though, it came on immediately though after I got down there a little while ago at the board and started doing a wiggle test. The compressor just came right on!

You said it's frost not ice........so I take that it is normal looking.

Yes, the frost is beginning to build back up again.........and I'm beginning to get suspicious of the whole board now too since all I did was wiggle it and flex it some (the board) and the compressor came on. Flexing it now though does'nt turn the compressor off Could all be a coincidence I guess.
 
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Old 10-12-05, 01:05 PM
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As long as all the coils have frost it looks ok. There is a site that shows you good and bad frost, but if it is like snow it is ok as long as all of them have it. probably the board is bad,or it is not connected too good. make sure it is in good and still doesn't work before you go and buy one.Probably cost you 1/2 to doityourself.com. Don't touch the actual board when and if you replace it.

I think you should start a new thread with a different name and see if the scrolling disappears. What a drag. I forgot what the heck the symptoms were and don't want to look
 
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Old 10-12-05, 02:10 PM
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I hear ya.....something is wrong with the scrolling. I'll check into the board cost and continue to monitor the unit. If it stays cool for a good stretch and then goes out again, then I'm just going to get a new board and maybe trial and error this thing from there. Thanks for you diligence! God bless.

JW
 
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Old 10-12-05, 02:58 PM
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Here is a link to the board. Not too cheap.

http://www3.sears.com/shop/cart.shtml

Check the warranty too.


I hope I didn't miss any symptoms with this scrolling I usually look at the whole thread to make sure, but the scrolling It is only in this forum and only on some threads.
 
 

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