GE GSS201EMD CC

Your Defrost electrical element (heater) is blown, you will need to buy a new defrost heater. Your evaporator coils in your freezer section is froze up (no air flow)...soild ice, thus you're not cooling down properly. You will need to defrost and then underneath the coils you'll find the glass tube with defrost heating element...you will need to replace this part (entire glass heating element)...it's DIY fairly easy to get at.

It could be many things. My first guess would be the defrost. The coil that gets cold in your freezer builds ice on it and the only way to get the ice off is to run a heater near the coil long enough for the ice to melt. All freezers have something built in to defrost and domestic are typically just an electric heater on a timer. When your freezer stops working again, you may want to pull open the panel of your freezer and see if your coil (a heat exchanger that probably looks a lot like your car radiator) is covered in ice. If it is, it could be the timer or the actual heater that is bad.

This problem is related to defrost.The defrost cycle is not running as it should be. The other possibility can be ice blockage in the ventilations.The defrost is not working,.The evaporator coil in the inner section of freezer is got blocked by ice .
Try manual defrost reset procedure: ----
First unplug the unit from main power outlet. Then empty whole unit completely. Then keep both the doors open. Wait for 24 hours. All the ice collected on the coils and in the freezer section will get melted. Clean the water from the sections. Then Connect the power cord of the unit to main power outlet after 24 hours/.Then set the temperature to normal in both fridge and freezer section. It will take near to 4 hours to get run in its proper cooling cycle. Then check, if the problem returns again. If the same problem occurs then it's defrost problem. The defrost board and the defrost thermostat/heater is not functioning properly and it has to be checked and replaced.
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Check the damper if there is too much water collected in the damper then press the damper and remove the water collected in it. The procedure of this unit is as follows: --- The compressor starts then it cools the freezer section. When the freezer reaches its cooling level the defrost cycle starts functioning. In this cycle the fan in the freezer section starts running and the cool air in the freezer section is passed to the refrigerator section and the refrigerator section gets cold. The air from freezer to refrigerator passes from the section, in that section the damper is located. Now this problem which you mentioned. In this problem the freezer works but no cooling in fridge, this happens if the thermostat is not functioning or the heater is not heating. Then the ice starts getting collected on the evaporator coil. The evaporator coil is at the internal section of freezer. If too much ice gets
collected then this ice blocks the fan in the freezer section from functioning and this blocks the damper section with ice getting collected there. This all procedure is controlled by the main defrost board of the unit. Now if the damper is not got blocked with too much water or if the ice is not got collected on the damper area then check the evaporator coils. If there is too much ice got collected on the coils, then takes a hair dryer and melt the collected ice. Then see if the problem returns again. But if there is little bit ice collected on the coils and fan is running properly then it's not a problem. In that case main defrost board is faulty and it has to be replaced. The main defrost board is working but its not controlling the functions as required so the freezer works but fridge section not getting cold..
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You can get required parts from sears part direct online site or from repairclinic.com site.
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This will help. Thanks. Helpmech.

it may not be your cold colntrol. it is more likely the defrost terminator or the heating element (both located in the freezer section) or the defrost timer (located in the refrigerator section). you most likely have an ice buil-up on the evaporator coil that is preventing proper circulation of air accross the coil and into the refrigerator section.

Since your refrig is cooling , I would replace the # 4 AND # 5 thermistors . The # 4 thermistor , tells the main control board , the temp of the coils , if they need defrosted , when they are thru defrosting . This thermistor is the 1 " long , torpedo looking piece , clipped on the top left of the coils , with 2 white wires going to it . Part number WR55X10025 . It would be advisable to also replace the # 5 thermistor , located at the bottom of the freezer , slightly in front of the drain , also with 2 white wires going to it , slid into a housing . This thermistor , is the freezer thermistor , which tells the control board , the freezer temp , when to cycle off , associated with the fan speed also .

I have this same problem. Now, the freezer will not get cold enough, but still water runs down into the ice bin and just turns into a big solid block of ice. The water is dripping from the top of the freezer compartment. I have disconnected the water coming to the refrig to not allow it to make ice, but still happening. Please post if you have found a solution? Defroster issues?

my refrigerator goes into auto defrost every 60hrs for 45 minutes or till the bi metal(defrost thermostat) says it had enough....recently i had ice built up on the coil because my defrost thermostat was stuck open...


ice builds up because the moisture that comes from opening the door or food condenses on the cold coil...tempurature of the coil is below 32 degrees which will ice up the condensed moisture...

defrost is timed to remove this build up

if the freezer is getting cold the problem is due to the cold air from the freezer not getting into the refrigerator. There are several things that can cause this problem. The coils in the freezer icing up and not defrosting properly is one of the things that can cause the refrigerator not to get cold enough. Another problem is the fan that blows the cold air from the freezer compartment into the refrigerator, not working. When the compressor is running open the refrigerator's door and push the switch that makes the light go out. You should hear the fan blowing the cold air from the freezer into the refrigerator, when this switch is pushed in. If the fan is working then you will need to find what is blocking the air flow. Iced up coils are a common problem. The icing problem can be due to a defective defrost timer or something defective in the defrost circuit. Click here for more information. Check for these problems and let me know what you have found.
REFRIGERATOR TROUBLESHOOTING
#1 Refrigerator side getting warm Freezer still cold
Evaporator fan motor not running.
Defective defrost timer. See Defrost Diagnosis Procedure
Defrost heater defective. See Defrost Diagnosis Procedure
Defrost thermostat defective. See Defrost Diagnosis Procedure
Airflow blocked from freezer compartment.
Freezer control turned to "coldest" setting blocking air flow to refrigerator side. On most refrigerator/freezers, the freezer control closes a baffle when turned to coldest setting, and this blocks off the air flow to the fresh food compartment.
Fan blade broken.
Defective door switch on older models.
Light staying on with door closed.
2 Refrigerator & freezer compartments both are getting warm
Make sure refrigerator is plugged in and has power.
Condenser fan motor on bottom under refrigerator not running.
Condenser coil clogged.
Defective defrost timer. See Defrost Diagnosis Procedure
Defective defrost heater. See Defrost Diagnosis Procedure
Defective defrost thermostat. See Defrost Diagnosis Procedure
Evaporator fan motor not running.
Cold control defective.
Compressor overload defective.
Compressor relay defective.
Light staying on with door closed.
Compressor defective.
Low on refrigerant. #3 Freezer compartment getting hot.
Defrost timer stuck in defrost cycle.(replace)
Defrost thermostat stuck.(replace)
Ice maker stuck in harvest cycle
Light staying on with door closed. 4 Ice maker not making ice
Defective inlet water valve.
Freezer temperature not cold enough. (see problem # 2 & 3 above)
Defective thermostat in ice maker.
Defective drive motor.
Water inlet tube clogged with ice.
Defective module in newer style icemaker. 5 Refrigerator sweating around door edges
Door gaskets leaking air.
Defective case heaters.
Energy saver switch not set to reduce exterior moisture
also if require more help click the link http://www.applianceaid.com/refrigerator.html please do rate the solution .thanks in advance.thank you for using fixya.

I just worked on a FF801W which is supposed to be very similar. The defrost heater in mine was of the glass tube type and located under the evaporator. There was a bimetal thermostat clipped to the top of the evaporator and a thermal fuse (sealed in a clear plastic tube) nearby. The connections were behind a little plastic cover (2 screws) in the back wall just above the evaporator.

Mine was iced up like yours and I had to defrost it with a hair dryer. All the defrosting parts in the freezer compartment turned out to work so I now suspect the defrost timer (down by the compressor). I've marked it and I'm waiting to see if it's turning.

It sounds like cold air from the freezer isn't making it to the fridge compartment. This can be cause by a several things. The damper that lets air into the fresh food side is stuck in "closed" position, the temp sensor (t-stat) isn't working properly, the evaporator fan (in the freezer comp above the coils) isn't working to blow air up to the fresh food section. In some situations, the defrost cycle for the freezer section isn't working and the coils have frozen into a block of ice and air can't flow over them properly so you get not cold air to the fresh food section but the freezer still stays cold due to the block of ice.