Refrigerator help


 

ChrisGariepy

TVWBB Fan
Refrigerator help is needed here, didn’t know where to ask

My fridge a GE French door w freezer on the bottom has issues AGAIN. 4 years old…

Everything is frozen, temp set to 42 degrees. Ice maker quit again (put 2 new ice makers in after I bought it). Repair guy told me mother board/control board was shot so I bought one had it installed and it seemed to work ok for a couple months. Ice maker quit again ( might be froze up) and now everything in the fridge is frozen and it seems to be running constantly. Repair guy was here 2x and now can’t get him back. We are very rural and no real option to go to another place for repairs. I have a spare control board….they sent 2 on accident!
Anyway, GE has not been good for me, multiple appliance failures in last 2 years and all about 5 years old.

Should I cut my losses and headaches and just go buy a new one? Or mess with it?

I swore I’d fix my 4 year old GE washer a year ago and I tried for a few weeks but ended up buying a new set after I almost lost my mind….
Indo think most are junk now a days but cripes they don’t last.

Any advice?

Chris in the Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan
 
Michigan was famous for whirlpoool. Whirlpool is famous for appliances
GE is now Haier.
You can try but online sources may tell you it is futile. Surprised you got parts. Some older ones are nla.

Not sure on your model. Forums will know.
Wonder if the sensors are failing too.
Best wishes
 
Refrigerator help is needed here, didn’t know where to ask

My fridge a GE French door w freezer on the bottom has issues AGAIN. 4 years old…

Everything is frozen, temp set to 42 degrees. Ice maker quit again (put 2 new ice makers in after I bought it). Repair guy told me mother board/control board was shot so I bought one had it installed and it seemed to work ok for a couple months. Ice maker quit again ( might be froze up) and now everything in the fridge is frozen and it seems to be running constantly. Repair guy was here 2x and now can’t get him back. We are very rural and no real option to go to another place for repairs. I have a spare control board….they sent 2 on accident!
Anyway, GE has not been good for me, multiple appliance failures in last 2 years and all about 5 years old.

Should I cut my losses and headaches and just go buy a new one? Or mess with it?

I swore I’d fix my 4 year old GE washer a year ago and I tried for a few weeks but ended up buying a new set after I almost lost my mind….
Indo think most are junk now a days but cripes they don’t last.

Any advice?

Chris in the Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan

I do almost all my own repairs on everything in our house and garage (engineering background), so I'll try to help. I'm over on Lake Huron.

Most (but not all) refrigerators actually chill the fridge section by diverting some of the air from the freezer section. i.e. Cold air originates in the freezer section, and a diverter (damper) opens/closes to allow that air to enter the fridge, it is controlled by either a thermostat and/or the control board. Sometimes a diverter gets stuck (open or closed) and you end up with either too much cold air entering the fridge (food freezes) or not enough (lukewarm beer).

So you likely have a problem with a diverter/damper module, or there is a deeper problem with the logic control board, wiring, or sensors.

It would really help to know the model number and serial # so as to find the correct service manual online and search for any repair bulletins, etc. There should be a sticker somewhere on the edge of the door, or inside the fridge/freezer with the model, year, serial #, cubic feet, etc.
 
Sounds like maybe the circulating fan or the heating element for the defrost mode are bad. The fan may make a "puppy like" sound occasionally. One other possibility is the defrost timer module is bad. Good luck.
 
I do almost all my own repairs on everything in our house and garage (engineering background), so I'll try to help. I'm over on Lake Huron.

Most (but not all) refrigerators actually chill the fridge section by diverting some of the air from the freezer section. i.e. Cold air originates in the freezer section, and a diverter (damper) opens/closes to allow that air to enter the fridge, it is controlled by either a thermostat and/or the control board. Sometimes a diverter gets stuck (open or closed) and you end up with either too much cold air entering the fridge (food freezes) or not enough (lukewarm beer).

So you likely have a problem with a diverter/damper module, or there is a deeper problem with the logic control board, wiring, or sensors.

It would really help to know the model number and serial # so as to find the correct service manual online and search for any repair bulletins, etc. There should be a sticker somewhere on the edge of the door, or inside the fridge/freezer with the model, year, serial #, cubic feet, etc.
 

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We bought all the matching appliances from the same store, spent a ton there over the years but service sucks.

I'll see if I can locate the factory service manual for the model number you provided.

Before ordering any parts, take a look at this video from 'Repair Clinic' for possible causes of food freezing in the fridge section:


Repair Clinic has a lot of videos. Note your other symptoms (e.g. ice maker freezing) and look at their videos related to each issue, and see if you can correlate a common source causing all the problems you are experiencing. It could be a bad thermistor (sensor) part #WR55X10025, but you really should do some sleuthing and not just throw parts at it.

Often enough, it is a simple fix such as an improperly routed tube, flaky sensor, etc.
 
Here's a link which list the symptoms and typical parts involved. Again, correlating the symptoms you describe points to the thermistor, but take a look and see if any other parts/symptoms provide some clues.

 
Painful reading this thread, sorry you or anyone has to go through this. They're made more energy efficient and with more whistles and bells but wind up at the scrapyard in 5 years. We have to remodel our kitchen, no more putting it off (been for 20 years), so I'm in the market for a new fridge. Been watching reviews, seems every single brand available today has issues. I'm thinking of buying a small freezer for the basement and possibly another small fridge and be ready to move things around to whichever one is working for that day (play musical fridges!). Sad!
 

 

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