GE Profile Refrigerator Compressor Replacement

Refrigerator & Freezer Repair
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1

Hi,

Our GE Profile refrigerator stopped working earlier this week - 8 months after warranty expiration. An independent appliance repair technician diagnosed the problem as a compressor failure. (2) options were proposed:

  • replace the compressor and associated parts; or
  • replace the refrigerator

The tech was unwilling to replace the compressor, and did not sound confident that the other residual damage may not have also resulted. He was concerned that residual damage would not be evident at the time the compressor was swapped, leading to subsequent issues.

If we pursue repair, our goals are to maximize the probability of a “first-time” successful repair while bounding the repair costs. Two questions/concerns to to help with this:
(a) are there any recommendations or advice for tests to run before compressor replacement and/or equipment to replace in parallel to the compressor repair?
(b) does anyone have a “typical” (average or expected) labor effort, when performed by a capable tech?

Thanks, in advance, for any guidance.

2

GE has very good refrigeration systems and compressors, but sometimes a evaporator seal leak will cause the compressor to fail.
The system would have to be checked with fluorescent die to determine source of the leak. With GE, almost 95 % of the time a compressor failure is due to a leak, that’s been my experience.
Assuming a bad compressor and evaporator, the cost of repair could easily exceed $800. Must of the time customers opt to replace the unit.