The Handyguys discuss modern refrigerator troubleshooting. Many of these tips apply regardless of who makes your refrigerator.
Paul’s GE side by side refrigerator is not cooling correctly (model gss25tsre.ss). In this audio podcast The Handyguys discuss how to track down the issues.
Some common problems with modern refrigerators include:
- Ice maker does not work
- Water line for ice dispenser freezes up
- Water line or water tank leaks
- Water valve unit on back of refrigerator can go bad
- The main control board can go bad or just do dumb things.
Paul’s Ge refrigerator stopped cooling correctly. His freezer temperature rose a little above freezing and his refrigerator was not keeping the milk cool. Paul looked to the back inside wall of his freezer for a solution. A panel can be removed to expose the evaporator coil. When his refrigerator was not working well he noticed that these coils were frozen which prevents the fan properly cooling the freezer (and therefore the refrigerator as well).
The initial fix was to melt the ice on the evaporator coil to allow the unit to operate. This fix lasted about a month before it froze up again. The reason the defrost unit fails is usually the result of a bad defrost heater, defrost thermostat or thermistor. Some older models also have a defrost timer but this feature is handled by the main control board on his model (at least he thinks it is…he’s just a handyguy!).
Paul tested the heater for continuity and it appeared to be working fine. He also tested and replaced his thermistor. He has a new thermostat if needed but could not wait for this problem to occur again so he just went ahead and replaced the entire control board. Time will tell if this fix worked (it has been about 3 weeks).
Paul highly recommends the forums at http://www.applianceblog.com/mainforums/ for advice and feedback on your appliance repairs.
Listen to the podcast for all the gory details.
Please keep in mind, The Handyguys are NOT appliance repairmen, we don’t have schematics for your appliance, and we can’t come out and repair your fridge. We just share what we know with out listeners. Good luck on your repair.
Redline Garage Gear
Duluth Trading Co
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
Excellent podcast. Many homeowners assume it is time for a new refrigerator when something stops working. Often times they do not realize there is a simple fix to their dilemma. Thanks handy guys!
nice blog and nice refrigerator
MY freezer is icing up at the back and then doesnt cool properly until I defrost it and then its good again .Whats causing this iceup I think the seal is good. Email back with the solution please.
Hello, I’m having a big problem with my GE Refrigerator. It is leaking from the inside freezer side. It is not a build up, I have cleaned that out and it continues to leak. It’s leaking from the back panel of the freezer, but there is no access from the back of the refrigerator. I have had to turn off the water to the fridge.
It sounds like it is coming from the defrost coils. They are accessed from inside the freezer. You have to remove the panel on the back side (but inside the freezer) to access. HOwever, since I don’t know everything about this refrigerator, I would encourage you to check out the forums at http://www.applianceblog.com/mainforums/ (no connection to our site). These guys know their stuff and I found some good information there when I was troubleshooting my issues.
Hello, We are having a major issue with our GE refrigerator. It is not cooling properly although the freezer works perfectly fine. Having guests over tomorrow and everything is slowly warming to room temperature! We have tried moving the temperature setting to the coldest (9) from where we normally keep it (4). This has been happening since earlier this morning with no change. No fridge repair places have appointments by tomorrow. Any thoughts are much appreciated!! Many thanks!
Your fridge likely has one compressor that cools the freezer with a fan to blow the cold air into the refrigerator compartment. The fan could have failed or the thermostat or a circuit that controls the fan. It could also be something simple. Look for the passageways between the refrigerator and the freezer and make sure they are not blocked. This can happen when things are over filled. Good luck.
my side to side freezer and fridge is not cooling. No ice build up but the fan work.
Could be many things. Sorry I dont have anything specific for you. Its probably time to call a repair person.
My GE GSL22JFPH BS side-by-side keeps intermittently getting warm in the top of the freezer and freezing the produce drawers in the bottom of the frig. simultaneously. Any thoughts?
Did you listen to the podcast for this post? Just curious because I think I explained in this podcast of a similar issue with my fridge. My fix was to replace the control board.
have a G E side by side and having trouble with the freezer not freezing and the refrigerator is not keeping cool everything ia always at room temperature needs some helpasap
side bye side has been stored two years . working fine when stored now nothing any suggestions. [ not working] Fan runs and compresoir are running. still not cooling
My GE Profile has eratic temperatures. It gets really cold (-4 freezer and 35 in the fridge) Then the temperature goes hig ( 16 degrees in freezer and 45 in fridge ). I changed the motherboard twice within a year. At times the fan makes a lot of noise. Any ideas
Very nicely done! This helped me tremendously – the same issue happened on my GE side-by-side model GSS23WSTA just this weekend. It turned out to be the defrost heater coil, a $40 part. Much better news than the $800 my girlfriend thought it was going to be!
I had a repairman do the swap this time, as I had limited time to tackle it myself, but now I’ve had a primer on dismantling the refrigerator and plan to do future repairs myself.
Thanks a million for the blog!
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