Brand:GE
**Model Number:**GWE19JYLEFFS Main Symptom:Freezer not getting cold, not making ice, fridge is fine, warning beep What happens & when:Fridge is 4-5 years old, but just installed 2+ years ago (COVID). We had never previously used the cold water dispenser in the fridge, (though we have it plumbed to a RO filter and the internal filter bypass plug installed) until about a week ago. Right around this time our son was coming over getting ice and water for about 4-5 days in a week, and we suggested he use the cold water in the door as well. Right after this time, the ice maker stopped producing as much ice (and the cubes were just a bit smaller and clearer!). Thinking back, it was perhaps a few weeks before that I noticed the sound of the water filling the ice tray after the previous batch would dump into the bin had changed. It previously used to just make one continuous filling sound for a few seconds then shut off, but then it started using two or three shorter bursts to fill the ice tray, but the ice was still plentiful and normal in color. Eventually, it started to emit a single beep about every two minutes or so and I noticed that the diminishing little ice it was producing was “wet” and the frozen veggies were no longer frozen, so I bought a freezer thermometer and found the freezer would not go below 30°F. One other odd thing I noticed was that the compressor seemed to be running more frequently and when I would open the freezer drawer, after a second or two the light would sometimes shut off, the compressor would stop, then everything would come back on after a second or two and continue to run. I do not see any condensation/frost/ice that I can inspect without disassembling anything, but it has been unusually humid this summer and with the extra drawer opening events thought this might be the case, but the shutting off/resetting is concerning. Thanks in advance for any suggestions of where to focus my troubleshooting efforts. I’m fairly handy and am grateful for any help.
Error Code (if any):No codes shown, but a single beep every few minutes.
Parts or tests already tried:Shut off breaker for 10 minutes to reset, no change.
Photos / video link:
So, in looking at my Enphase home energy usage, it appears that the compressor is continually cycling trying to get the freezer down to the proper temp. I used to be able to see when the compressor would kick on on the power usage graph. Previous to a few days ago, the power curve would oscillate up and down every two hours or so. Now the curve is flat and the single beep seems to be happening after every “reset” of the compressor. It’s like: it powers up, senses that the temp is too high and beeps, then tries to bring the temperature back down, struggles for a few minutes, then repeats the reset. I don’t see how this could be connected to the change in the ice maker water valve flow, unless the problem is higher up, like the motherboard. Gaah.
If you access where the compressor is, is the condenser coil clean of excess dust? Also, if you access the main control located just above the compressor section, are there any visible indications of damage to the control? Finally, if you unplug the power cord for a few minutes and then plug it back in, does the system cycle off and on the same as it has been or does it start operating like normal again?
One of the first things I did was shut off the breaker for 10 minutes or so. That didn’t help.
But now I can only guess that there must have been some build-up of condensation behind the cover that I couldn’t see blocking something, because now it has cooled back down to below zero F and the ice maker is cranking out ice again as normal. I never saw any signs of excess condensation anywhere in the freezer compartment, but we took all the food out and left it closed for a few days, so that’s my only guess. Faulty hardware isn’t known for healing itself, but (according to Tom Campbell) we do live in a Virtual Reality and intent can impact future probability, so maybe all the good intention did the trick.
Thanks for the helpful reply!
