GE fridge not cooling but freezer is fine

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GE Refrigerator

Repair guides, troubleshooting information, and service help for refrigerators manufactured by General Electric (GE).

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J.Y.Watkins @jywatkins

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Veröffentlicht: 2. Jun 2020

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GE fridge not cooling but freezer is fine

Hello everyone! We bought a used/few years old fridge last year and on Friday I noticed that in the fridge near where the light bulb is located there was some ice build up that was all of a sudden melting. I actually had to place a bowl in the fridge so the water wouldn’t get our food wet. Then I noticed that the fridge wasn’t getting cold but the freezer was working, in fact some of our stuff is getting frost bite. I checked the fan on the back of the fridge and it’s working perfectly fine. Any ideas what it could be? We want to try and fix it ourselves instead of calling a repair man because we’re trying to budget our finances.

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@jayeff Hello, I’m not sure about the model, would it be in the back of the fridge?. To answer your question about the fan, it’s the “condenser fan on the outside” of the fridge. I”m attaching some pictures of the inside of the freezer and the part of the fridge. This picture [image|2127761]is the inside of the fridge. This part is the part that I said was dripping with water from melted ice. [image|2127758] This is the freezer after I took one of the parts off. That fan there is working fine.[image|2127760] This is just a picture of build up ice that was there, not sure if that’s normal or not? I unplugged it and let the ice build up melt and now I plugged it back in (it was unplugged for 6 hours). Now I”m waiting to see if that helped or not.

3. Jun 2020 von J.Y.Watkins

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jayeff @jayeff

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Veröffentlicht: 2. Jun 2020

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Hi @jywatkins ,

What is the model number of the refrigerator?

When you say “I checked the fan on the back of the fridge and it’s working perfectly fine”, do you mean the condenser fan on the outside of the refrigerator or the evaporator fan inside the freezer compartment hidden behind a panel?

It is the evaporator fan blowing cold air from the freezer compartment into the refrigerator compartment that cools it down to the set temperature

If you didn’t check the evaporator fan then disconnect the power to the refrigerator and remove the panel inside the back of the freezer compartment and check if it is iced over or if there is an ice build up on the evaporator unit at all.

If the evap unit is iced up, then you have a defrost problem, which could mean the refrigerator compartment does not get cool. This could be caused by a faulty defrost heater, faulty defrost thermostat, blocked drain tube or a faulty control board.

If the evap unit is not iced over, reconnect the power and manually operate the door switch which is located in the door jamb and check if the fan operates. The fan will not operate if a door (any door, freezer or fridge) is open so operating the switch fools the control board into thinking that the door is closed. The fan should be running if the compressor is running. If there is no door switch visible then it’s a hidden magnetic reed switch, so close the door and listen for the fan operating when the doors are shut and stopping when a door is opened or mark a fan blade with a marker pen and check if it has moved after the door has been closed for a few seconds.

If the evap fan doesn’t operate then it is either a faulty fan or a fan power problem from the control board.

If the evap fan works OK but no cold air is being blown into the refrigerator compartment then there may be a problem with the air damper unit between the two compartments. The air damper has a flap that closes off the duct when the set temp has been reached in the refrigerator compartment to prevent it getting too cold

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6 Kommentare:

Sorry, I'm new here and I replied to your answer but I did it as a comment and I was trying to upload pictures but it didn't upload. So I'm trying to figure that out...*scratches head*

3. Jun 2020 von J.Y.Watkins

@jayeff Hello again! I finally upload them they're posted as a comment again. SOrry about that. BUt the first picture is the part of the fridge I said was dripping with water because the ice around it was melting. The third picture the the same thing but at a different angle. I took that picture from the freezer. The second and last pictures are the ice build up from the freezer. And the fourth picture is the fan on the back of the freezer after I took the part off. Hope this helps. If you need more pictures let me know. And THank you for taking your time to answer my question!

3. Jun 2020 von J.Y.Watkins

@jywatkins

Yes you cannot post images in comments only in answers or questions.

Here's where to find the model number.

If the fan is working but there is an ice buildup then the ice may be blocking the duct to the refrigerator section.

Usually fridges go into the defrost cycle once every 8-12 hours. During this time the compressor is stopped, the evap fan is stopped and the temp in the freezer is allowed to rise to ~32F (0 C) to allow the ice to melt and drain away. The process is sped up by turning on the defrost heater which is under the evap unit. The whole process takes about 15-25 minutes. When the temp reaches 32F the defrost thermostat operates and tells the control board to turn on the compressor and the evap fan to cool the freezer/fridge back down again. So the cycle has ended and will start again hours later.

If the ice buids up then the problem may be the heater as not enough ice has melted before the cycle ends and it keeps building every time or the drain is blocked so the meltwater can't run away or worst case is that the control board doesn't start the defrost cycle.

Disconnect the power and disconnect the defrost heater and use an Ohmmeter to measure it. It should measure 20-50 Ohms also check the drain by pouring a measured amount of water down and see that it gets to the evap pan below the fridge near the compressor. Some drain tubes have a J curve at the bottom above the pan which can get blocked so the meltwater can't escape and refreezes near the evap unit and blocks the drain. The drain hole is below the evap unit and heater.

Also do not use a hair dryer to speed up the melting of the ice as this can damage the evaporator unit and also the walls of the compartent if they get too hot. At best use the coolest setting for only a short time

3. Jun 2020 von jayeff

@jayeff Thank you so much for taking the time to answer me! We ended up fixing the problem. "is an ice buildup then the ice may be blocking the duct to the refrigerator section." this is exactly what was going on, a buildup of ice. I just disconnected it and let the ice melt for 6 hours and plugged it back in. Again, we appreciate you taking the time to inform us!

4. Jun 2020 von J.Y.Watkins

@jywatkins

OK, but there is always a reason why the ice built up that much in the first place as it is not supposed to. That's why there is an auto defrost cycle to keep the ice level down by melting it away every 8-12 hours.

If it builds up as much again you'll have to find out why.

Cheers.

4. Jun 2020 von jayeff

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@jayeff Hello, I’m not sure about the model, would it be in the back of the fridge?. To answer your question about the fan, it’s the “condenser fan on the outside” of the fridge. I”m attaching some pictures of the inside of the freezer and the part of the fridge. This picture [image|2127761]is the inside of the fridge. This part is the part that I said was dripping with water from melted ice. [image|2127758] This is the freezer after I took one of the parts off. That fan there is working fine.[image|2127760] This is just a picture of build up ice that was there, not sure if that’s normal or not? I unplugged it and let the ice build up melt and now I plugged it back in (it was unplugged for 6 hours). Now I”m waiting to see if that helped or not. — J.Y.Watkins
Sorry, I'm new here and I replied to your answer but I did it as a comment and I was trying to upload pictures but it didn't upload. So I'm trying to figure that out...*scratches head* — J.Y.Watkins
@jayeff Hello again! I finally upload them they're posted as a comment again. SOrry about that. BUt the first picture is the part of the fridge I said was dripping with water because the ice around it was melting. The third picture the the same thing but at a different angle. I took that picture from the freezer. The second and last pictures are the ice build up from the freezer. And the fourth picture is the fan on the back of the freezer after I took the part off. Hope this helps. If you need more pictures let me know. And THank you for taking your time to answer my question! — J.Y.Watkins
@jywatkins

Yes you cannot post images in comments only in answers or questions.

Here's where to find the model number.

If the fan is working but there is an ice buildup then the ice may be blocking the duct to the refrigerator section.

Usually fridges go into the defrost cycle once every 8-12 hours. During this time the compressor is stopped, the evap fan is stopped and the temp in the freezer is allowed to rise to ~32F (0 C) to allow the ice to melt and drain away. The process is sped up by turning on the defrost heater which is under the evap unit. The whole process takes about 15-25 minutes. When the temp reaches 32F the defrost thermostat operates and tells the control board to turn on the compressor and the evap fan to cool the freezer/fridge back down again. So the cycle has ended and will start again hours later.

If the ice buids up then the problem may be the heater as not enough ice has melted before the cycle ends and it keeps building every time or the drain is blocked so the meltwater can't run away or worst case is that the control board doesn't start the defrost cycle.

Disconnect the power and disconnect the defrost heater and use an Ohmmeter to measure it. It should measure 20-50 Ohms also check the drain by pouring a measured amount of water down and see that it gets to the evap pan below the fridge near the compressor. Some drain tubes have a J curve at the bottom above the pan which can get blocked so the meltwater can't escape and refreezes near the evap unit and blocks the drain. The drain hole is below the evap unit and heater.

Also do not use a hair dryer to speed up the melting of the ice as this can damage the evaporator unit and also the walls of the compartent if they get too hot. At best use the coolest setting for only a short time — jayeff
@jayeff Thank you so much for taking the time to answer me! We ended up fixing the problem. "is an ice buildup then the ice may be blocking the duct to the refrigerator section." this is exactly what was going on, a buildup of ice. I just disconnected it and let the ice melt for 6 hours and plugged it back in. Again, we appreciate you taking the time to inform us! — J.Y.Watkins
@jywatkins

OK, but there is always a reason why the ice built up that much in the first place as it is not supposed to. That's why there is an auto defrost cycle to keep the ice level down by melting it away every 8-12 hours.

If it builds up as much again you'll have to find out why.

Cheers. — jayeff

GE Refrigerator

GE fridge not cooling but freezer is fine

Update (06/03/2020)

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