Older GE Profile - 1997

Refrigerator & Freezer Repair
1

Refrigerator crisper area and even shelves above are freezing liquid and fruits/vegetables.

I have replaced the defrost timer in the refrigerator.
I have replaced the defrost thermostat in the freezer.
I checked the defrost heater in the freezer, and it works.
I most recently replaced the temperature control unit in the refrigerator.

I do not know what else to check. The freezer is working appropriately. The refrigerator is keeping food cold, but too cold with respect to the comments above. I don’t think this model used thermistors, so I cannot understand any additional options for diagnosis. Any help with this issue is greatly appreciated. This is obviously a dinosaur of a side-by-side, but it has worked pretty well, and I would like to repair it if possible.
Thanks!

2

Here are your parts
Parts for GE TFX25PAYAWW Refrigerator - AppliancePartsPros.com

Why did you replace the defrost parts?
The symptom you give does not point to a defrost problem.

Check the temperature in the freezer.
It should be between 0 and 5 degrees F.
Could be it is just too cold.

Check the temperature on the middle shelf in the fresh food side it should be about 38 degrees F.

Check that the vents between the freezer and fresh food sections are clear on both sides.

Check that the meat pan control is not letting to much cold air in.

3

[quote=denman;869382]Here are your parts
Parts for GE TFX25PAYAWW Refrigerator - AppliancePartsPros.com

----> Why did you replace the defrost parts?

The Defrost Timer and the Defrost Thermostat were parts that other sites suggested as culprits for my trouble. As it turns out, the defrost timer that I took out has stripped and “burned” gears when opened and inspected. I thought that was surely the problem until it did not fix the problem. Then I replaced the Defrost Thermostat. Still not fixed.

----> The symptom you give does not point to a defrost problem.

Well, that is interesting to read. I hope the parts that I put in were of good quality. :wink: I think the old Timer needed to be replaced.

----> Check the temperature in the freezer. It should be between 0 and 5 degrees F. Could be it is just too cold.

I will have to find a thermometer, but will check that asap.

----> Check the temperature on the middle shelf in the fresh food side it should be about 38 degrees F.

I will have to find a thermometer, but will check that asap.

----> Check that the vents between the freezer and fresh food sections are clear on both sides.

If you are referring to the damper passage at the top of the refrigerator, then that area is clear and the damper works.

----> Check that the meat pan control is not letting to much cold air in.

Is this the dial on the center wall that is built in to the hardware for the bottom crisper drawer? If so then it is clear.

[/quote]

A bit of history if it helps -

  • The diffuser cracked and had to be removed some time ago. The evaporator fan had been broken a few times and has now been replaced twice. GE does not (as you know, I’m sure) make the diffuser panel any longer for replacement. I am not quite sure what impact this has on the airflow from Freezer to Refrigerator, but I sense that it is different than if the diffuser panel was there.
  • I had to leave the evaporator fan without a blade for a few days. I ordered a part online and had to wait for arrival. That meant that the evaporator was turning the spindle, but there was no air moving. This may very well have been when things went south.
  • This may be unrelated, but there is a strange vacuum event that happens every time the freezer door is closed. There is a loud gurgling sound from the drain tube. It appears that the tube pulls water from the pan underneath and sprays it back onto the back of the bottom drawer in the freezer. This seemed to be happening with the same timeframe as the above failures.

Thanks again for reading.

4

[quote=KDOTSUMMERS;869385]A bit of history if it helps -

  • The diffuser cracked and had to be removed some time ago. The evaporator fan had been broken a few times and has now been replaced twice. GE does not (as you know, I’m sure) make the diffuser panel any longer for replacement. I am not quite sure what impact this has on the airflow from Freezer to Refrigerator, but I sense that it is different than if the diffuser panel was there.
  • I had to leave the evaporator fan without a blade for a few days. I ordered a part online and had to wait for arrival. That meant that the evaporator was turning the spindle, but there was no air moving. This may very well have been when things went south.
  • This may be unrelated, but there is a strange vacuum event that happens every time the freezer door is closed. There is a loud gurgling sound from the drain tube. It appears that the tube pulls water from the pan underneath and sprays it back onto the back of the bottom drawer in the freezer. This seemed to be happening with the same timeframe as the above failures.

Thanks again for reading.[/quote]

So the Temperature inside the freezer section is roughly 18 degrees F, and the temperature on the center shelf in the refrigerator is about 42 degrees F. It would seem that both units are warmer than they should be. Maybe this can narrow for us where to go from here.

5

The freezer temperature is too warm.

Are you sure that the evaporator fan is pulling the air through the evaporator coils and not pushing it through?

The suction you see when closing the door has me puzzled.

With the diffuser not working your air flow and temperatures will be and are all screwed up.
You may be able to get it working properly but it will take a lot of fiddling with.

First you have to get it to regulate the freezer temperature correctly.

A lot depends on where the end of the temperature control thermostat’s capillary end is mounted. This is where it is sensing the temperature to control the freezer temperature.
So if it is in a wide open diffuser vent then it sees too cold a temperature hear and therefore the freezer ends up too warm.
Per5haps try closing the damper in the diffuser half way. If this is still possible with a broken assembly.

May be time to bite the bullet and get a new unit.

6

[quote=denman;869443]The freezer temperature is too warm.

Are you sure that the evaporator fan is pulling the air through the evaporator coils and not pushing it through?

The suction you see when closing the door has me puzzled.

With the diffuser not working your air flow and temperatures will be and are all screwed up.
You may be able to get it working properly but it will take a lot of fiddling with.

First you have to get it to regulate the freezer temperature correctly.

A lot depends on where the end of the temperature control thermostat’s capillary end is mounted. This is where it is sensing the temperature to control the freezer temperature.
So if it is in a wide open diffuser vent then it sees too cold a temperature hear and therefore the freezer ends up too warm.
Per5haps try closing the damper in the diffuser half way. If this is still possible with a broken assembly.

May be time to bite the bullet and get a new unit.[/quote]

So it would seem that the lack of a diffuser panel in front of the evaporator fan is having a big impact on the temperature control. I actually hand-crafted a panel to set in that area in front of the fan.
I do not know for sure what direction the airflow is moving within the freezer itself, but I can see that the fan is pulling cold air from the icemaker and drawing it into the back of the freezer and I assume down over the defrost coils.

Given that GE does not provide replacement diffuser panels, is there any secondary market option for a replacement?

Thanks again!

7

[COLOR=“Blue”]Given that GE does not provide replacement diffuser panels, is there any secondary market option for a replacement?[/COLOR]

Sorry but I do not know any place.

8

[quote=denman;869468][COLOR=Blue]Given that GE does not provide replacement diffuser panels, is there any secondary market option for a replacement?[/COLOR]

Sorry but I do not know any place.[/quote]

Ok then,

I was able to re-install my homemade fan cover. It seems to be having a positive effect on the temperatures in both the freezer and refrigerator. With mid-temp selections on the control knobs in the refrigerator, the freezer is reading at just above 0 degrees, and the refrigerator (on the shelf just above the top crisper drawer) is reading at below 40 degrees.
This all seems great, except that my crisper drawers are still freezing items inside.

9

I am not sure why the crispers freeze up.
I am assuming that they are on the very bottom pof the fresh food compartment.

If the parts diagram I have is correct there is an open vent between the sections. This you need for proper air flow between the sections. Air flows down from the damper and then back into the freezer through this vent.

It also shows a meat pan vent lower down between the sections.
I would close that and see what happens.
It should not cause any problems as far as air flow.

Note if food is frozen in the crispers it will take a long time to thaw as there is no air flow in the cripser so they will act like a little cooler.

10

[quote=denman;869496]I am not sure why the crispers freeze up.
I am assuming that they are on the very bottom pof the fresh food compartment.

If the parts diagram I have is correct there is an open vent between the sections. This you need for proper air flow between the sections. Air flows down from the damper and then back into the freezer through this vent.

It also shows a meat pan vent lower down between the sections.
I would close that and see what happens.
It should not cause any problems as far as air flow.[/quote]

The crispers are indeed on the bottom of the unit (3 drawers). There is a vent at the bottom that allows air passage. There is also a dial vent on the front wall of the bottom crisper drawer (I think the meat pan you are referring to) that I can dial to allow for cold air to pass into the crisper. Obviously, I have been keeping this one closed.