[SIZE=3]Unplug the refrigerator before going further![/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]Disassemble procedure:[/SIZE]
Remove the four ¼” ice maker bracket screws located at the four corners of the bracket.
Remove the two ¼” ice dispenser drive mounting bracket screws and remove the brackets.
Remove the two ¼” upper evaporator fan ductwork screws.
Unlock the tabs and remove the lower evaporator fan ductwork.
Remove the four ¼” evaporator cover screws and remove the cover.
Remove the two ¼” upper evaporator fan duct work screws located at the lower portion of the ductwork.
Using a small flat screwdriver, unlock the tabs for the ice maker and dispenser cables.
Slide the upper fan ductwork out.
Disconnect the evaporator fan wiring harness.
[SIZE=3]To test the evaporator fan motor skip to the test procedure, otherwise proceed further.[/SIZE]
Remove the ¼” screw for the evaporator fan ground wire.
Remove the two ¼” evaporator fan bracket mounting screws located at either side of the bracket.
Remove the evaporator fan assembly.
NOTE: The evaporator thermistor must be replaced when replacing the fan.
[SIZE=3]The evaporator fan motor test procedure:[/SIZE]
Unplug the refrigerator to reset the main control board.
Warm up the freezer thermistor to 70°F and set the temperature controls to middle settings.
Reconnect the power.
Check for 13 VDC from the red to the white wire and between 8 to 13 VDC from the white to the yellow wire at the evaporator fan connector.
If there is correct voltage for both, then the evaporator fan motor has to be replaced.
If the voltage is incorrect, then the main control board has to be replaced.
If the voltage is incorrect, check the resistance between the white to the red wire and the white to the yellow wire. If it’s less than 1K ohm, the evaporator fan motor is shorted and has to be replaced.
As an additional note, if the evaporator motor voltages are bad, it’s a good idea to replace both the mother board and the motor. If the evaporator motor bearings are bad, add a round slinger/umbrella to the new motor shaft to prevent moisture damage to the new motor bearings. You can make one out of semi-soft plastic that is round and symmetrical.
As an additional note, if the evaporator motor voltages are bad, it’s a good idea to replace both the mother board and the motor;mother board evaporator voltages fail from failing evaporator motors. If the evaporator motor bearings are bad, add a round slinger/umbrella to the new motor shaft to prevent moisture damage to the new motor bearings. You can make one out of semi-soft plastic that is round and symmetrical. The SM999 motor kits have one in the box.
Per. the South Jersey Appliance data sheet, you can go to the motherboard in the back and measure both resistance and voltage and frequency at the J2 connector. This schematic is generic so refer to the fridg’s schematic to confirm wiring and double check with wire colors at the evaporator motor.
J2 pin 3 to J2 pin 4 about 12.3 vdc @ high speed,8 vdc at medium speed,4vdc at low speed. J2 pin 3 to J2 pin 1, 220 hz high speed, 160 hz medium speed, 100hz low speed. I would assume opening the fridg door would give a high speed signal. Resistance should be about 2K. I believe the signal is a square wave with a dc component. A analog meter will not give the same readings. A digital meter reads RMS value, analog an average.
For units with the annoying fan noises, changing frequencies/voltages will confirm a bad motherboard.
This evaporator motor is more complex than any other and it is recommended to replace whenever the motherboard voltages fail. Simple resistance checks of the motor are probably not useful. Usually a zero volts output cause is a blown resistor near the J2 connector.
Burned apart one of these evaporator motors today. This particular motor had bad bearings from water damage. It is a simple 6 pole, symetrical induction motor with a slight shading to force it to start in the right direction. This shading comes from one set of wires, the other must be a variable duty cycle square wave as this motor is not a permanent magnet dc motor.The variable duty cycle square wave provides different controlled power pulses that effectively vary the speed just like a domestic fan motor speed control device. The starting torque is probably low and frictional looses from the bad bearings probably stalled the motor and the excess current draw blew the motherboard. It is a good idea to place a slinger on the motor shaft below the fan blade to prevent this type of failure.
For the South Jersey schematic crunch in Google" junk GE GSS20IEMbww new motherboard" Make sure to enter it exactly as shown with the same capital letters.
Also, you can remove the three pin connector for the compressor/defrost power and jumper the ( these pins are identified on the motherboard)power input pin J11 to either the compressor J9 or the defrost circuit J8 to activate independent of the motherboard. Generally, if the heater draws current as measured at the jumper, the heater and defrost thermostat are ok,and the motherboard is bad.
With this schematic, you can measure all the thermistor resistances and input/ output voltages.
Also, I just realized this board contains the auger motor and auger solenoid drivers and the water dispenser solenoid. So, if these fail, it’s the motherboard. The triac drivers for the condenser motor and the evaporator motor are rather small and rated less than 1/2 amp so they blow real easy whenever these motors go bad.
Also, I found out the dispenser water solenoid and auger drivers are small relays on this board, but the encoder signal inputs are never defined anywhere!
UPDATE 7-18-09 South Jersey schematic no longer available, Refer to fridg schematic, sorry, out of my control.
[QUOTE=richappy;11455]As an additional note, if the evaporator motor voltages are bad, it’s a good idea to replace both the mother board and the motor. If the evaporator motor bearings are bad, add a round slinger/umbrella to the new motor shaft to prevent moisture damage to the new motor bearings. You can make one out of semi-soft plastic that is round and symmetrical.[/QUOTE]
We purchased a GE side by side with water and ice in the door from a friend. It is less the 5 yrs old. We have water leaking from the bottom frezzer door and a 1/4 ice build up in bottom of frezzer. If we take some of the ice out daily we don’t see it leaking. The water and ice work fine and the frezzer is working great. Any ideas.
I use a turkey baster and hot water to defrost these. Also, you can install a 12 gauge copper wire around the defrost heater and down the drain to prevent frost, but the cause is usually a partially clogged condenser or freezer temperature settings making it too cold.
My GE refrig (GSH model) starting making a “whine” noise yesterday. It seems to be working fine. The noise actually seems to be coming from the freezer section behind the ice maker. We shut the ice maker off and the sound continued. We unplugged the fridge and plugged it back in and the noise was gone. But the noise is back today. We unplugged again, and the noise stopped again.
Any suggestions?
I have a TPS24BPDABS with a freezer that is cold at the bottom and not so cold at the top. Frig side also not cold enough. Also, ice maker stopped working and ice melted.
Upon removel of evaporator panel, frost was found at the top coils, but frost free at the bottom coils. Defroster element happened to come on and appeared to be working fine.
However, evaporator fan never appears to run. So, I suspect this is the problem. Does this sound right to you? And does this motor test procedure also apply to my model? Also, the test procedure in step shows diconnecting the motor before proceeding to the evap motor test procedures. Is that correct?
Thanks in advance for whatever help you might be able to provide.
[QUOTE=Gene;11066][SIZE=3]Unplug the refrigerator before going further![/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]Disassemble procedure:[/SIZE]
Remove the four ¼” ice maker bracket screws located at the four corners of the bracket.
Remove the two ¼” ice dispenser drive mounting bracket screws and remove the brackets.
Remove the two ¼” upper evaporator fan ductwork screws.
Unlock the tabs and remove the lower evaporator fan ductwork.
Remove the four ¼” evaporator cover screws and remove the cover.
Remove the two ¼” upper evaporator fan duct work screws located at the lower portion of the ductwork.
Using a small flat screwdriver, unlock the tabs for the ice maker and dispenser cables.
Slide the upper fan ductwork out.
Disconnect the evaporator fan wiring harness.
[SIZE=3]To test the evaporator fan motor skip to the test procedure, otherwise proceed further.[/SIZE]
Remove the ¼” screw for the evaporator fan ground wire.
Remove the two ¼” evaporator fan bracket mounting screws located at either side of the bracket.
Remove the evaporator fan assembly.
NOTE: The evaporator thermistor must be replaced when replacing the fan.
[SIZE=3]The evaporator fan motor test procedure:[/SIZE]
Unplug the refrigerator to reset the main control board.
Warm up the freezer thermistor to 70°F and set the temperature controls to middle settings.
Reconnect the power.
Check for 13 VDC from the red to the white wire and between 8 to 13 VDC from the white to the yellow wire at the evaporator fan connector.
If there is correct voltage for both, then the evaporator fan motor has to be replaced.
If the voltage is incorrect, then the main control board has to be replaced.
If the voltage is incorrect, check the resistance between the white to the red wire and the white to the yellow wire. If it’s less than 1K ohm, the evaporator fan motor is shorted and has to be replaced.
Best regards.
Gene.[/QUOTE]
Gene,
Hi, I think I need a new freezer (evap.?) fan motor, i have tested it and there is no resistance. The volts as measured by the refridge. service test 12.9 (test doesn’t turn fan on). I have read above that i will need to replace the fan and evaporator thermistor. How do you replace the evaporator thermistor? Do you cut the old one out and solder the new one in place?
I have a Kenmore Elite, model # 596.76502500. I posted on one of your other threads but i think this thread answers my problem better.
hello~
I am trying to see if i can repair my refrig on my own. I had to replace the motor evap fan 2yrs ago..i’m thinking it might be the same thing thats causing it not to work now. Th e temp is not correct in the refrig..and the ice maker will not work?
[QUOTE=agnazzo;79590]hello~
I am trying to see if i can repair my refrig on my own. I had to replace the motor evap fan 2yrs ago..i’m thinking it might be the same thing thats causing it not to work now. Th e temp is not correct in the refrig..and the ice maker will not work?[/QUOTE]
Can you be more specific on the problem?
What is the complete model number of the refrigerator?
Hi Gene~
the problem is 2 things…me fridge will not keep the correct temp it is not cold enough…have it up to 7 and its not correct temp. also i noticed that the ice maker is not working. i do not hear the fridge clicking off and on?
it seems to be the same thing when 2 yrs ago i had to replace the motor evap fan?
model #GTS18KBMDRWW
THANKS
What exactly are temperatures in the freezer and in the refrigerator?
Do you see a frost on the rear panel in the freezer?
Remove the cover on the back of the fridge and make sure the fan motor next to the compressor is running. Clean the condenser coil from the back and from the front.
I have an Eterna model # ESS25XGMB CC, serial # HA 266281. The freezer is not cold enough (currently about 12 degrees F) and the vegetables in the bottom bin of the refrigerator compartment are frozen. The refrigerator (compressor?) is running constantly.
From other problem reports I’ve read, I suspect that the evaporator fan is not working. Is this likely? Can I use the procedure at the top of this thread on my model?