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Hello,
My GE bottom freezer regrigerator is only 3 years old. The freezer is working fine but the fresh food part is warm. I opened the freezer panel, turned the defrost timer and the heater coil warmed up and melted all the snow on the coil.
Now, I noticed the fan in the back that is supposed to blow the cold air to the fresh food compartment is not running. I was going to order the evaporator fan motor from this site but just want to make sure.
My questions are:
1. Should it be all the time, even during defrosting?
2. Should I also check the voltage of the wires to the fan?
3. There should always be snow on the coil, correct? Just not heavy?
Thank you,
Lana
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Rank: Advanced Member
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Joined: 6/20/2008(UTC)
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1. The evaporator fan should only be on when the compressor is running.
Not when the fridge is in defrost.
2. it would be best to check for 120 volts while the fridge is on and not in defrost.
3. There should be a light amount of frost on the cooling lines.
But if the fan isn't working then there will normally be more frost then you would usually see.
If the fan is getting 120 volts while the fridge is on then you will have to replace the Evaporator Fan Motor.
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Rank: Member
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Sorry I should have noticed this before writing. I just looked closely and saw that the fan blade is trapped in a frozen bed of ice. I think that is where the melted ice runs off but for some reason it's trapped.
1. With this new piece of info, does it look like I have a bad defrost timer?
2. It is in defrost now but once the fan blade is free, should I see it running again by turning the timer again to get out of defrost mode?
3. How do I know when the compressor is running? After I switch the timer back and out of defrost mode?
Thanks so much for your reponse. I never had to look at refrigerator behind the panels before.
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Rank: Advanced Member
Groups: Senior Expert
Joined: 6/20/2008(UTC)
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It's my pleasure to help.
With this new information.
Now it seems like the drain is plugged up and causing the fan to be stuck in ice.
This is a common GE fridge problem.
The part that fixes this is an Extension tube that goes from the back of the fridge to the inside of the bottom fridge.
I don't think it will be a defrost problem.
As for the extension tube. You normally have to start by defrosting all the ice.
Then pull the fridge out and take the small square panel off that will be covering the drain tube.
You will then have to pull it out from the back.
I don't have the part number for the longer tube on hand.. I'm out of town right now but I'll keep looking for it on this site.
When you take the back square panel off you might see a black plastic piece with a built in elbow. There is a chance that is plugged up with lint.
But I would still recommend changing the tube to the longer one because they have been known to freeze over with ice.
EDIT:
After looking at your breakdown. I cannot find the panel in the back.
This might be a newer model that doesn't have it.
If that is the case then just unthaw all the ice and run some hot water down and you should be good to go.
I would still take the panel off the back of the fridge and get to where the drain hose ends up just in case it is clogged.
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Rank: Member
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Thank you. I did exactly as you instructed and the fan and everything seems to be working and the fresh food compartment is cool again.
The drain hose was not clogged, so I am concerned that this will happen again(the ice blocking the drain hole). A thread brought me to another posting where someone suggested getting a heater by GE part number WR49X10173. Do you think I can use this heater for this model GDS18SBRLSS? It wouldn't replace the current heater, correct?
Thanks again,
Lana
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Rank: Advanced Member
Groups: Senior Expert
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That part is made for a water dispenser... So I don't think it will work for this problem.
One thing that I've noticed sometimes cause the problem is,
If you take the bottom panel off the back of the fridge.
And get to where the compressor and drain pan is.
You should be able to see the hose going from the cabinet to the drain pan.
Often times it will go into a tight place that if you pull it out might find a lot of dried up lint/dust which is partially blocking the drain.
I would normally just loosely place it into the drain pan. That way nothing wants to build up in tight corners.
Also if you could check the back of the fridge to see if there is a square panel where the drain would be going from the inside of the freezer to the back.
If that panel is there covering the drain tube. There is an extension that helps to fix this problem.
But from the breakdown it seems like it doesn't have that panel.. That is why I'm asking.
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You may want to try the below.
On most units you can see the defrost timer cam through a hole.
Mark it and the cover with a pen or note a point on the cam and just mark the cover. Leave it for a couple hours and then check to see if the cam has moved. If not you need a new timer.
Note do not move the cam manually before doing the above, sometimes a timer will hang in only one place during it's rotation. So if you move it, it may pass the above test but may still be toast. |
THIS FORUM IS DEAD!!!!!!! |
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Rank: Member
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Hi,
I took the bottom panel on the back of the fridge off and there is no square panel where the drain tube is. The drain tube itself is a metal tube about 3/4 inch in diameter that curiously curves up. You can't move it but maybe can extend it using a flexible extension.
When the ice thawed I saw water going out of this tube. The design would only cause dust and lint to collect and clog it. This is a very small fridge so maybe it's designed differently given the tight spaces. I will get the extension tube and the timer from this site and be done with it hopefully. Thanks again. Lana.
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Sometimes if the bottom freezer vents are blocked with food, it will also cause ice up conditions and block airflow to the fridge compartment by freezing over the port in the fridge light assembly. You can feel airflow in the back of the light assembly. If no airflow when the fan is running, its blocked with ice.
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