Hi,
The clicking noise was repeating at about 2 second intervals. Started on a Friday and the cooling quit overnight the following Sunday. Noticed the fan at the bottom right twitching with every click, but not spinning. Chat recommended a ptc relay, (WR07X10086 Ptc Relay (Start Device) | Genuine Ge OEM In Stock). I am wondering if that was a mistake because the clicking sound was clearly coming from the main controller board, not the area near the compressor, where the ptc relay is located. Is there a way to test the ptc relay to see if it’s the cause before replacing it? The part is on order but hasn’t shipped.
If you have a multimeter available, you can test the start PTC relay for 120 Volts AC when the clicking is occurring. If you do not see a constant 120 Volts AC, the PTC relay is unlikely to be the cause. It would only be a concern if it were clicking and there was a continuous 120 Volts AC present.
From your description, it also sounds possible that there’s a short in one of the fan circuits. As a quick check, what happens if you disconnect the condenser fan wire connection and then power the unit back on?
Unplug the J2 Molex connector on the main board completely and then plug it back in and see if the compressor comes on! This takes the condenser and evaporator fan out of the of all together.
Hi
I didn’t see any voltage - a couple times it flashed a fraction of a volt, but mostly read zero. I couldn’t unplug the fan because of the foam. I did unplug the J2 connector from the board. Something definitely started up that wasn’t running before, and the clicking stopped. I didn’t replace the relay. It’s looking like maybe the fan circuit is to blame, what do you think?
This is most likely a fan failure, with the freezer fan motor being the cause. To confirm:
- Unplug the power cord.
- Reconnect the J2 connector.
- Access the freezer fan and disconnect its wire.
- Plug the unit back in.
If the unit runs properly with the freezer fan disconnected, this verifies the freezer fan motor is the issue.
Here’s the item information page for the freezer evaporator fan:
Freezer Fan Motor WR60X10196
1 Like
Take a look at the mother board and look for a burn’t resistor like in this pic.This is a older refrigerator with some expensive parts.Burn’t evaporator fan resistors means you would have to replace board and fan motor.Might be time for a new refrigerator?
Is this the fan you are talking about? All the videos about the model number you referenced depict a fan that blows directly into the freezer and is accessed from the food compartment. This is completely isolated from the freezer food compartment and is accessed from the back panel. The foam is where the wires go into the metal chassis. There might be a plug under that foam but it’s hard to get to.
No visible burns. The clicking noise comes from one of those boxy black components, a relay I suppose.
Yep, that’s one of the fans we’re talking about. If the fan circuit has failed, it could be either the condenser fan (like in your pictures) or the freezer fan. Here’s a quick way to check if it’s one of the fans causing this issue:
- Unplug the fridge.
- Get to the main control and unplug the wire connection at J2.
- Plug the fridge back in and see if the compressor kicks on.
Confirmed that the clicking stops and the compressor starts up with the fan in the back - the evaporator fan I believe - unplugged. I also unplugged the freezer fan, that had no effect on the malfunction. I guess I order the evaporator fan, and send back the relay. Correction, condenser fan, #811 in the diagram.
Well, I got the old fan out today, it must have taken five hours. I must have been doing something wrong, but I can’t figure out what. If there was a way to take the blades off, it would have been easier to get to the screws. You have to get the fan out of the refrigerator first to remove the blades. If the whole assembly came out, like in all the videos, that would have been much better, but it’s attached to the same plastic tray as the condenser coils, and I’m not moving that. The tubing is soldered and I don’t want to break or bend anything. Let me know if you have any ideas about putting the new one in easier. The page for the fan says it takes 15 minutes for the repair–are they mocking us?
The new fan motor did not fix the problem. The compressor only turns on with it unplugged; the clicking happens with it plugged in, exactly like the old fan motor. I’m into this over $200 in seemingly unnecessary parts and haven’t had a working refrigerator in a month. What do you suggest for next steps? Can I still return the ptc relay, it might be over 30 days now? Or should I try to install it?
This would have been the fan to change as it is in a wet environment and the most logical to go bad.Maybe just buy a cheap refrigerator with the freezer on top. WR60X10196 Motor Asm Ref Fan | Genuine Ge OEM In Stock
When you’re unplugging a connector, is it the one right at the condenser fan motor, or the one at the main control? Also, have you had a chance to disconnect the freezer fan yet, rather than any of the other connectors, like we talked about in the beginning for testing?
It’s the connector coming directly out of the fan motor. Plugged in, clicking, no compressor. Unplugged, clicking stops, compressor starts. New fan, old fan, same result. Freezer fan makes no difference plugged or unplugged. J2 connector, no clicking and compressor sound when unplugged.
No shorts in the original fan. Between red and blue is 18.6K ohms, red and white is 1.74K ohms, all other combinations are open. I don’t have a 12v battery or a bench supply to test it, but I bet it would run.
The last possibility is that there is a short in the main control itself and it has not presented a visible identifier. Usually, a short within the control would not just stop causing a failure once a component is unplugged.
How would an open freezer fan affect it? I measured the resistance across the terminals and it’s infinite. It’s the right plug in the picture, can you verify that’s the freezer fan? The other side of the connector measures 34 ohms or thereabouts.
I’m concerned that if some external component damaged the control board, it will also fry the new one, invalidating the warranty, and I’ll be out the cost of the board. What is the policy about such an occurrence? It would be worth replacing the board if I were confident I could return it if it didn’t fix the problem.
The evaporator fan has a four wire connection with a red wire, a yellow wire, a light blue wire, and a white wire. To access the connection, the entire evaporator cover would need to be removed. The two-wire connection is for the defrost heater. The connector on the right should measure infinite or open until the control calls for a defrost cycle where 120 Volts AC would then go to the heater. As the evaporator fan is a dc motor, the easiest way to see if it is the cause of failure is just unplugging the wire connection at the fan and seeing if the rest of the unit kicks on. WR60X10196 Motor Asm Ref Fan | Genuine Ge OEM In Stock