Howling noise

I found this website about 2 weeks ago. I and read the postings about replacing the control panel. I own the GSS22SGRF SS. This thing was driving me and my wife absolutely insane. We live in a smaller house and the howling noise was so bad we could hear it over the TV at normal volumes. I would have to crank the surround sound to not hear it. They are not kidding when they say it just gets louder. Anyway a year after it has been doing it or about 10 days ago when I ordered the control board the refrigerator stopped dispensing water and ice along with making a clicking sound. When I opened the door the digital temperature setting displays would turn off and on in succession with the clicking noise. I was like great, I just dropped $100 dollars on this control panel and 2 other things are now going wrong with my fridge.
Anyway I get the part on Wednesday and waited for my dad to come over and help me out just in case. We pull out the fridge and I am not kidding but it only took about 10-15 minutes to swap out the panels. All of the wires on this model come with connectors so we didn't have to cut 1 wire, all you had to do was plug them in and set the ground. I could have done it myself, too easy. We plug the thing back in, put it into position and BAM!!! everything is fixed. The water and ice machine are back to normal, not one howling or clicking sound for over 24 hours now. Best $100 I have spent in a while. Would have costed me a $100 just to have someone come out and look at it. I will never buy a GE refrigerator again based on the customer service I got when I called in but if it wasn't for this post I guess I would be out of pocket another $1900 because I was about a day away from throwing this thing in the trash!!!! GE NEEDS TO REALIZE THAT IF THIS PROBLEM IS HAPPENING THIS OFTEN TO STEP UP AND AT LEAST SUPPLY THE REPLACEMENT PART. I GUESS THEY HAVEN'T FIGURED OUT THAT THIS MIGHT NOT COST THEM RIGHT NOW BUT IT WILL COST THEM AT LEAST ONE PURCHASE IN THE FUTURE.

This is well explained on another forum, here's the link
http://www.applianceblog.com/mainforums/showthread.php?t=7068
it's a very common problem with the GE side by sides.

In a nutshell the common consensus is that the control board is setting the evap motor to a speed causing the howling. My thoughts is it is likely setting a speed that creates a natural frequency for the setup, and the result in the very irritating noise. Bottom line is a BAD DESIGN by GE. Not that they mind, they're making money coming out to 'fix' the problem for all the people out of the warranty.

Changing the control board should fix the problem at a do it yourself cost of around 90 bucks. For me, I'm going to keep on complaining to GE since I'm upset ....

After reading other posts I reached the same conclusion as Guest and went ahead and ordered the control board from GE (GE's part description: BOARD ASM MAIN CONTROL). The cost of the part is $124.75, and I was able to get a 40% discount after I explained that many other owners of GE refrigerators were having the same problem and that GE should bear some of the responsibility. I’m going to attempt to install it myself, so hopefully it won’t be too much trouble. If you decide to go this route, I recommend that you be nice when you call GE so that you can get a 40% discount, or maybe even more. Good luck.

COULD BE EVAPARTOR FAN MOTOR

I just called GE at 1-800-626-2000 to get help. If you don't press an option and listen through the options you will be directed to a service person. They advised that GE freezers are designed to run 2/3 full. They told me to fill my freezer 2/3 full and the sound should stop. Has anyone tried this??

I have a similar GE refrigerator that had the exact same problem. Howling drove us crazy. Read here that the solution was the ASM control circuit board, ordered one online for around $100 and replaced it myself. (Very easy if you have even moderate mechanical skills). Its worked perfectly ever since - for over a year now. If your unit is still under warranty, make them replace that board.

I called GE and they are standing behind this one. If your fridge is 3 years or newer they will send a rep to fix the part. Beyond 3 years only the part is covered. They wanted $100 for labor to replace the board. I asked to have the board sent to me and i'll do it and they said "OK, but you don't get the 5 year warranty on that part if you do it yourself". I'll take my chances on fixing it myself. My model is PSS26SGRB-SS

I had GE come out. I talked to the technician and he said that the
control module controls the amount of air. If the module fails, it does not regulate the speed correctly thus causing the howling noise. He replaced mine and the unit is back to normal.
The tech would not offer any more info, so I assume it is a design
or premature part failure. GE should in good faith, offer free service for this issue at least for the first 5 years. ( My last refrigerator worked for 20 years other than higher utility cost)

I have a GE side by side model GSS22 purchased in June of 2005. I've had that horrible howling noise for awhile now. It sounds like a kid blowing over the top of a half-filled coke bottle! Drives ya crazy! I just had a repairman here. He didn't hear the sound for the 15 minutes that he was here. GE told him over the phone that they had "no known similar issues" !!!!! (You know GE's lying! CYA!!! I see "hundreds of complaints on blogs like this.) I got the repairman's cell phone # and told him I'd call him when it started up again and he could rush over and hear it himself. He was back in 15 minutes. "Mysteriously" (lol) this time GE was able to guide him to the problem..."replace the main circuit board"! Gee, how did they know that? Was it under warranty? Of course not...gee...it's not GE's fault. I had an extended warranty...they had to fix it at their expense anyway...course it cost me the $105 for the warranty but it just paid for itself and more...and something tells me it will become a good investment in the near future. That noise is real...it's irritating...it's GE's fault (bad circuit boards)...they know it and are trying to cover it up so they don't have to bare the expense of ALL of your complaints. I think that's criminal.