GE Side by Side: Fridge Freezing but I See No Mechanism at Hole to Freezer Side.

Hi, I have a GE side-by-side fridge: Model GSS22JETGWW. But the fridge is always too cold. It's been below freezing 19 out of the last 20 times I checked the temp.

The freezer control (1-9) does kick on the compressor when I turn it to cooler, and turns off when I turn it all the way to warmest, so that part seems to be working.

When I put the freezer at #1 (warmest) and the fridge at #1, it's still a little below freezing in the fridge.

With the searches I've done, it seems that a moving flap going from the freezer to the fridge could be the problem. Well, I removed the housing on the fridge side and to my surprise, there's NO mechanism at the rectangular hole going from the freezer to the fridge. There's just a clear piece of super thin plastic ...hanging there doing nothing.

I've looked at the parts list and I don't see anything that should be there.

So, what am I missing? Is there a piece that's not there? How does the fridge temp control actually control the temp on the fridge side if there's no mechanism to control the size of the hole from the freezer to the fridge?

Many questions. Thanks in advance!

 

On your unit the freezer temperature control is the master thermostat for the unit and there is an air door from freezer to refrigerator to control the fridge temp.

You didn't find a moving flap. Was the fridge temp connected to anything ?

Parts for GE GSS22JETGWW Refrigerator - AppliancePartsPros.com

 

I can't find ANY flap in the rectangular hole between the freezer and fridge. Is this by design or could it be broken to pieces?

This unit has the digital 1-9 numbers on the water/ice dispenser. When I put the freezer on 1 and the fridge on 1, it's below freezing in the fridge and once in a while it's above freezing.

I dont know what to do. The freezer control does seem to control the freezer temp OK.

EDIT: I bought the unit privately and it's for a tenant whos moving in in 10 days; the fridge is empty.

I had to leave it for the day, but I put a piece of metal tape over half of the air duct; I'll take temp samples all day tomorrow.

 

It may be broken or missing.
Do you have two sets of digital 1-9's for the fridge and the freezer ?

 

Yes, there's a digital 1-9 for thr freezer and another digital control for the fridge. I"ll see if I can pull up a photo.

 

Here is an image of the controller:

 

Based on the service manual....which I only have parts of.....there are two parts that can be causing your problem.

One is just a sensor and the other is a combination sensor damper. Based on your description of no door or flap, I would lean towards the sensor/damper combo. Part # WR60X10215

GE Refrigerator Model GSS22JETAWW Parts from RepairClinic.com

Watch this short repair video. See if it pertains to/and looks like your unit's interior.
Air Damper Control Replacement (part #WR09X10050) - GE Refrigerator Repair - YouTube

 

PJmax, thank you for looking into it! But I don't think that part belongs to this fridge. I say that because the video's fridge is different from mine. And more importantly, when I look at parts explosions of this fridge (on all the different websites that offer them), there is nothing like this part listed belonging to the fridge. I spent a LONG time looking at every part for my fridge and cannot find anything that resembles a door flapper.

I could be wrong, so I'll look at every part again.

I will look in my fridge and see if something's missing. When I saw the video, I noticed that the thermistor plugged into a harness, and I seem to remember a harness up there sitting empty. I'll be checking first thing in the morning.

Thank you; I'll post my findings.

 

I looked very closely at the duct from the freezer to the fridge. There simply is no mechanism there. There's no electrical connector either. Ther IS a thermistor there however, but what good is it if there's no way to adjust the fridge temp?


I again looked at the parts explosion diagrams and sure enough I cannot fina a mechanical way the fridge temp is adjusted.

Is it possible that the freezer fan can affect it somehow?

I put a piece of metal tape over half of the duct and it get the temps in the fridge from 32-38, so I think it may work. I also wonder if having food in the fridge will slow down the airflow and it'll be better. I'll let the tenants run it for a while and I'll check in with them.

Any answer to my main question above ...thank you!

 

I also Have a GE GSH22JFXABB and also only have a small hinged plastic damper with no controls but it moves with air from the freezer fan. It is very confusing that when I go to GE's website their part diagram shows a combo damper/thermocouple part but that is certainly not what is installed from them. And the only wires are the 120V for the light and the temp sensor. I guess my next step is the motherboard unless anybody has any suggestions.

 

jrj, what problem are you having?

 

The fresh food side is freezing even at the lowest setting, I have tested to temp probes and read the same resistance. it is getting cold enough that eggs are freezing on the third shelf down and the cold air enters at the top. Freezer is currently set to 3 and is right about 0deg

 

I put a piece of metal duct tape over half of the duct rectangular hole and I'm having better results. In theory, if you blockred it totally the fridge would be very warm, so I'm thinking there's a % of blockage of that rectangular duct that can be covered to find a good temperature.

I'm having temps between 32 and 38 right now hoping that the average will not amount to freezing food.

 

I also put a piece of tape over about 3/4 of the hole. I have only had it on for about an hour now and I am sitting at 34deg. My only concern is that the fridge has been running the entire time and my freezer is at -4, so I am wondering if the MB is not reading the correct fridge temp and is going to keep running until it finally achieves it. And at that point what will my freezer temp be?

 

I'm still trying to get to the bottom of the issue. Service info is vague on the fridge operation. It almost seems like the fridge thermostat should control the circulating fan yet I can't find anything that points that way.

 

Thanks PJ. I"ll be watching the thread.

Again, the only wiring going into the fridge is the light and the thermistor. The thermistor senses the temperature of the fridge, but with no mechanical flap, I don't know what the computer can do to adjust the temp in the fridge.