GE Side by Side fresszer frosts up and it doesn't cool properly

you could have a defrost problem,a bad damper,bad computer board.first thing,open the freezer door,do you hear the fan blowing in there?you should,if not the evap fan motor is bad,if it's blowing touch the back inside wall of the freezer to see if any frost or like snow is on it,from the bottom up in the freezer remove the second bin of food and touch the back inside wall with your hand,if it has frost or snow you have a defrost problem,bad defrost thermostat,heater,sensor or board,if there isn't anything on the wall then you have a bad damper,all that happens is the evaporator coil in the freezer gets cold,then the evaporator fan in the freezer blows the cold air over into the fridge section,you have a damper in your machine that opens and closes when it's cold enough or when it needs to get colder,the door on the damper isn't opening to let the cold air in when it calls for cold air.if you can write back and let me know what you find and hopefully we can get it fixed.

usually that means your fridge thermostat is being blocked by items in your fridge, telling the cooling system to shut down. If your fridge and freezer are packed, the fridge might protect itself by shutting down the cooling system. Happened to us last Thanksgiving.

Hi,

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heatman101

The problem you describe is that your defrost circuit has failed. The fridge should stop the compressor periodically and turn on the defrost heater to melt the frost buildup. Since the frost in building up on your coils, the fan can't blow the cold air into the fridge compartment. It defrost is controlled by a module that turns on the heater. Most of these failures have to do with the defrost heating element burning out. It can be replaced by someone who has some mechanical ability.

The coil and heater is located in the back of the freezer compartment behind the panel in the back. You can obtain parts from appliance repair outlet or online like appliancepartspros.com or repairclinic.com.

Hi,

Check out these tips...they can help you figure out whats going wrong with yourrefrigerator and why it is not cooling

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heatman101
fdite

It sounds like your defrost control timer is working, but your defrost heater is most likely burnt out. It is a part number WR51X443
and is located behind the back wall inside the freezer. Turning the refrig off for 24 hours helped melt some of the accumulated frost, but not all. You will have to take that back cover off inside the freezer and melt all the frost with a hair blower, replace the defrost heater and reassemble.

Something has gone bad in the defrost circuit.(Heating element was notorious for this) but could be a timer or thermostat. Frost buildup will cause inefficient cooling as will dirty condenser coils.
Eric

Generaly the control board controls everything sometimes you have a bad thermister GE has a help line I beleive it costs 20.00 bucks but you will need a meter and know how to use it and they willl talk you thru the repair .

Most common problem on GE's is the defrost heater(s) has gone bad. They are a glass tube and when they go bad the tube will have a burnt or black color to it. A good heater will be clear. I bet that is your problem. Seems to be the problem about 90% of the time on GE not defrosting.

check freezer for frost build up and if fan blowing, check condenser make sure clean, and fan blowing, check vents in refrig. make sure no blockage, controls should be in the middle setting,