GE Fridge - freezer not working

Hi,

We have a GE Profile Perormance side by side refridgerator/freezer that is about 11 years old.

Recently the freezer sopped working properly. It still makes ice with no problems, but everything else on the freezer side is not cold enough. Ice pops are partially meleted and frozen foods are not completely frozen. I tried setting it to the coldest temperature but that did not fix the problem.

I had recently been cleaning the refriderator side so I thought maybe I had hit the thermostat but I don't think that was the problem since setting it to the coldest setting has not fixed the problem now. I also recently cleaned the little drip pan under the water dispenser. I don't see how that could be related but who knows.

I am going to try cleaning underneath with a brush that I have. Other than that I would appreciate any feedback on what might be the problem.

Is it worth calling the repair man for an 11 year old refridgerator?

We were thinking about getting stainless steel appliances so this could be the time to do it if this fridge is on the way out.

Thanks for any feedback,

Steve

Reply to
szeik
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Most refrigerator/freezer units have a fan to circulate cold air into the freezer compartment. Is yours working?? If not, your fix could be very simple since you imply the refrigerator is working properly.

Reply to
Ken

Actually, the cooling happens in back of the freezer. When the fan dies, the fridge side warms up.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

Would be nice to know if this was the old style with the defrost timer, or the newer one with the circuit board. Anyhow, figuring it's the older style. Vacuuming the coils should help. Might be a defrost problem, or possibly low freon. Hard to tell, from here.

I'd want to try to fix it. Quality has suffered in recent years.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

The deep freeze has a defrost cycle, the drip pan holds water brought down the tube, while it evaporates from the defrosting, I bet there is an ice blockage behind the panels, maybe something got clogged in the drain tube, the water backed up and froze. I think you have to remove everything and let it defrost and melt for a day or 2 or more, removing the inside back panels should show if there is ice blockage, but im guessing. I dont think its garbage, doesnt stainless get alot of fingerprints, or maybe they fixed that headache with a finish on it.

Reply to
ransley

I also have a GE Profile side by side refrigerator/freezer albeit a newer model with a thru the door ice maker. After seeing a build up of frost on the freezer side I found a flapper to the rear of the ice dispenser (in the door) which was getting hung up on some of the cubes. I now check it after each use, to make certain it's fully closed.

As to the economics of replacing the fridge, The efficiency rating on a new machine vs your old unit might generate enough savings over time to justify replacement. Do the math.

Joe G

Reply to
GROVER

i have the same model and also had the same problem. it took the repair guy

2 hours to fix the flap that regulates the air. fan was fine, flap was not. the bad news is that you damn near need to take the whole thing apart to get to the flap. good luck.
Reply to
skeeter

thats exactly right. the pain is when the flap breaks... getting to it.

Reply to
skeeter

The fan is working.

I just noticed that the refridgerator is not working ver well either.

So it seems that the only thing working is the ice maker. The ice is staying nice and solid for some reason but everything else on the freezer side is slushy. I stuck a thermometer in there and it said 45 degrees. The fridge side is registering 59 degrees. I have them both set as cold as possible with the thermostat.

So it's in rough shape at the moment :(

I guess we can use the freezer side temporarily to keep things cold.

I have a repair guy scheduled for Friday.

Steve

Reply to
szeik

We had the problem you describe with our much older GE side-by-side. About two years ago, doing fine since.

Reply to
norminn

Since it is basically unusable now you might as well try norminn's unplug for a few days and then try again. You have time before the repairman comes.

Reply to
LouB

Slow freon leak, restricted airflow across the condensor or broken defrost timer.

Reply to
Jeff The Drunk

We had a similar problem and it turned out to be one of the defrost heaters that went bad. There are two of them in ours. I ordered the parts and replaced the bad heater and its been good since.... about 2 years ago or so..

good luck with yours! Steve

Reply to
Steve

e cold air into

e quoted text -

Unplug for 12 hours, that is long enough to let everything defrost if you keep the doors open.

Reply to
hrhofmann

It might be the relay for the defrost heater is stuck "on." Usually, it's the opposite, with a thermostat or coil failure, but YMMV. It's worth checking.

Reply to
Nonny

is there frost on the rear of the freezer ?

On my top freezer - I had the same thing happening, and there was frost on the inside of the freezer.

The defrost cycle was not working correctly, and I pulled the inside rear panel. The coils were covered in frost - so, basically not working... I defrosted all with a hair dryer and did this almost every other week. Looked around the Internet and found some articles on what could be wrong. Seemed like either the defrost heater tube (like in a toaster), or the turnoff sensor on the coils...

Called service - came out - and yup - it was one of 3 thermostats located on the coils...

Now everything is fine - The defrost cycle runs every 10hrs or so - heats coils to about 50 degrees, and then shuts off ....

Reply to
ps56k

BTW - you might mention your exact GE frig model number and also do a search/google for that model + freezer

that's how I found our potential problem. Either : A - heater tube broke (coils freezing over) B - thermostat on coil broke (coils freezing over) C - cooling coils broke (no cooling) C - etc

Reply to
ps56k

Maybe you need a new thermostat. IIRC they are 30 or 40 dollars and easy to install.

Reply to
mm

check the FLAP that regulates the air from freezer to fridge.

Reply to
skeeter

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