GE Refrigerator won't cool or freeze top half

Refrigerator & Freezer Repair
1

Hello.. HELP PLEASE! GE Side by Side, 25 cu ft model refrigerator won’t cool top half of fridge, won’t freeze in freezer nor produce ice. Water line is frozen on bottom of fridge, so no water through the dispenser. HELP

2

Did you hear the evaporator fan (inside the freezer) running?

If not, the evaporator fan motor and the main control board have to be replaced.

If there is nothing wrong with the fan possible the system is low on Freon.
In such case it should be serviced by a certified technician.

Good luck and Happy New year.

Gene.

3

Gene:

How easy is it to replace? Is that something that I can do on my own, I have some capabilities of electrical repair. I wired my home and have down some easy computer repairs and replacing hard drives and such. How difficult is the entire job to replace the motor and motherboard? THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR INPUT AND FAST RESPONSE!!! You are a true asset to consumers!

4

I do not think it’s going to be hard for you.

You can find the complete instructions how to get to the evaporator fan motor in the attached file.

The control board is located on the back of the fridge behind the metal cover. Just move the wires one at a time from the old one to the new one.

Happy New year!

Gene.
GSS evaporator fan.pdf (27.0 KB)

5

Hello, thanks to Gene, or anyone else…:slight_smile:

I also have a GE 25 Cu ft Side by Side Refrigerator, barely keeping cool, takes a long time to barely freeze anything.

Until a couple months ago, it ran fine, but took a rapid decline in performance this month.

The Evap fan runs constantly. I did clean the bottom coils using a vac & coil brush. (Got most of the dust bunnies…but feel like it could be cleaned more thoroughly if I could gain more access.)

If it’s low on freon, is there a simple way to recharge it ?

Any other ‘obvious’ things for a layman to check ?

The specific model # is: TFX25QRCB AA - GE 25 cu fit side by side.

Thanks a million ! David A in TX

[QUOTE=Gene;9921]Did you hear the evaporator fan (inside the freezer) running?

If not, the evaporator fan motor and the main control board have to be replaced.

If there is nothing wrong with the fan possible the system is low on Freon.
In such case it should be serviced by a certified technician.

Good luck and Happy New year.

Gene.[/QUOTE]

6

Hi David,

Does the fan next to the compressor work properly? It should run as long as the compressor does.

Remove the rear panel inside the freezer and check how the evaporator coils are covered with frost. Post the results.

Here are the breakdown diagrams and Replacement parts for General Electric TFX25QRCBAA Refrigerator | AppliancePartsPros.com

Gene.

7

Hello Gene:

Thanks for your help !

The fan was running continuously, yet freezer & fridge were barely cold.

I cleaned the bottom coils, little or no improvement.

I did pull the freezer internal back cover to expose coils, there was a lot of ice built up on the lower 1/3 of the coils.

I carefully used a hairdryer to help melt the ice dam. Once defrosted, back on.

I was going on the troubleshooting method Simon spoke of here (model # different than mine, was the method correct ?):

http://forum.appliancepartspros.com/refrigerator-freezer-repair/481957-fridge-frrezer-not-cooling.html

Anyhow, now a few hours later, the wife points out now it’s not cooling (much) or freezing !

The only switch moved at any point was in the Refrigerator side, I turned down the slider that goes from 0-1-3-5-7-9, down to 0 which turned off the evaporator fan & compressor.

Now it’s back to the ‘middle setting’ of 5, nothing has happened, no compressor & no evaporator fan.

(Odd considering how before defrosting the fan wouldn’t stop…)

Sure appreciate any help you can provide !

David in Texas :slight_smile:

8

Also, thanks for the model specific digrams & parts list.

When I saw the ice dam behind the freezer panel, and turned the control in the fridge side to off, and the ‘Defrost heater’ didn’t turn on, I thought we had found the problem.

I hope the food won’t spoil by the morning !

UPDATE: Now the evap fan is running…

9

Yes, you can use the instructions posted by Simon. The defrost heater kit for your refrigerator is different - AP2071465

Pull the refrigerator out of the wall. Check how the fan next to the compressor is working and how hot on touch is the compressor.

Gene.

10

Ok thank you so much for the guidance…:slight_smile:

By the way, my model is # TFX25QRCB AA.

I did try turning the defrost timer control port thing CW until the compressor stopped.

Now, the defrost heater works fine (red glow from lower back panel of freezer).

Timer must have been stuck, cause now it cycles fine & runs defrost cycle.

So I’m confused, because the temperature is still not cold enough. :confused:

Could any of these concerns be the cause of the “not cold enough” issue:

1- Temperature Control is broken ? (under Refrig control panel, next to timer)

2- Freon is low ? How to recharge ?

3- Bottom Coils still too blocked by dust, etc. (I used coil brush, but access was limited.)

Thanks for any help you can provide, Gene !

David in E. Texas

11

Hi David,

I need you to remove the rear panel inside the freezer again and inspect how the evaporator coils are covered with frost. If you can make a picture and post it here, it will make it even better.

Gene.

12

[QUOTE=Gene;745952]Yes, you can use the instructions posted by Simon. The defrost heater kit for your refrigerator is different - AP2071465

Pull the refrigerator out of the wall. Check the how the fan next to the compressor is working and how hot on touch is the compressor.

Gene.[/QUOTE]

Gene: Bottom Coils were very very dirty.

I bet it is running quite hot!

Could only clean part of edges due to limited ground clearance. It occurred to me I could put 2x4 blocks under it & blow out w/ compressed air.

As this hasn’t been done, could that be the main cause of the lack of cold ?

Or can that condition only be caused by low coolant / freon ?

Could temperature control be faulty?

We’re out looking at a new fridge right now, but I’m resisting the ‘buy new’ impulse, especially with ur input !

Many thanks !

13

OK, will do, just saw your idea about checking the frost build up or pattern on the evap coils in the freezer.

Will report back asap…

14

[quote=WifeSaysFixItPlease!;748345]…Could only clean part of edges due to limited ground clearance…

…As this hasn’t been done, could that be the main cause of the lack of cold?..
[/quote]

Pull the fridge out of the wall and remove the rear cover. You’ll have much better access.

Yes, it is very important to keep it clean.

Gene.

15

[quote=Gene;748323]Hi David,

I need you to remove the rear panel inside the freezer again and inspect how the evaporator coils are covered with frost. If you can make a picture and post it here, it will make it even better.

Gene.[/quote]

Ok Gene:

Just pulled the rear freezer panel. It’s full iced over at the bottom third of the coils, again.

Which is weird cause I know I saw the red glow of the defrost heater.

So I manually turned the rheostat control on the timer to begin the “compressor off / defrost cycle”, and as it turned off, the defrost heater began to glow red.

But it only did it for a minute or so, then turned off way prematurely.

The defrost heater appears to work, but intermittently & not for a full length defrost cycle.

What could cause this ?

(Defrost timer is fairly new & does work as we hear compressor kick off every 6 hours or so…)

Thanks for your input.

Sincerely, David :slight_smile:

PS:

Wife is begging to go to Lowes & just lay down the $$$ for a new one. I can’t blame her. But I don’t want to go down in defeat, either.

16

How new is it?

It is a good idea to replace the defrost heaters, especially because the defrost thermostat included in the kit.

Gene.