[FONT=&quot]My 6 year old GE side-by-side refrigerator freezer recently had the defrost heater fail which caused the evaporator coils to ice up and the evap fan to run constantly, resulting in a warm refrigerator side. I defrosted the coils completely and replaced the heater with an OEM replacement about two months ago and the unit appears to be cycling correctly ever since. The evap fan turns on and off at regular intervals, and the temp readout on the door states that the inside fridge/freezer temps match the set temperatures of 0 and 37. Since this unit has a temperature read out on the door for both sides, I have never thought to question the actual temp inside the refrigerator, but since I had to purchase a couple thermometers to monitor temps during and after my repair, I figured I would leave them in the fridge as a double check. The upper section of the fridge where the cold air from the freezer enters is also where the temp sensor is on my particular model, this section of the fridge is always to temp at 37 degrees. The problem is the lower shelf, it’s temp fluctuates between 40 and 45 degrees... mostly near 45. The only control for temp in the fridge is near the lower vegetable drawer, which is a simple slide gate that covers or uncovers a quarter size hole to the freezer (I have this wide open). Seals on the doors work great, I feel no cold air escaping. There is no ice buildup anywhere in the freezer (heater is working well), and nothing is blocking the two freezer air supply vents. All dust and debris has been removed from the condensing unit and coils, and I have plenty of space around the carcass of the unit for it to breath. I’ve tried three different thermometers on the lower shelf to verify the actual temp, and even used a meat thermometer to check a glass of liquid I left on that shelf overnight... all confirm lower section temp is approximately 8 degrees warmer then the upper section of the refrigerator. Is this just a case of a poorly insulated refrigerator, or am I missing a potential problem that I could fix? Please let me know if you have any ideas. Thanks.[/FONT]

I have the same problem. My freeze is less than 2-years old. It has stopped working, both the fridge and freezer units. It is a 2nd F/F which is kept in cool conditions in our garage. I powered it down about 16-hours ago and powered up again. It has now started working again. I am obviously concerned that the fault will return for obvious reason. Our freeze has had very little use being used more as a storage larder from which we stock our main F/F in the kitchen. I find less than 2-years use before breaking down to be totally unacceptable. I believe that there is a new law recently passed which allows consumers to expect 'fair usage' from large domestic appliances (tv's, white goods, etc). I do not think that I am being unreasonable to expect appliances to have a life cycle of at least 5-years. Our Maytag F/F is now nearly 10-years old and still works perfectly.