GE side by side refrigerator

[jonnho]

just a thought

you may want to check the coils on the unit. the cooling coils will freeze over. the coils will be completely covered in ice. i have seen refrid coils covered in ice and snowthis will block the area flow completely to your refrid side of the unit but allow the freezer to cool. the coils usually defrost automaticallly. the unit fails to defrost the refrid will not coils even if the damper is open.
may want to look at the coils. it could be a defrost problem

[brooksjp]

Your right Johnno, coils are frozen solid. Will look at a defrost problem, also would having the settings too cold (max) maybe cause excessive ice on coils?

[Dan O.]

Originally Posted by brooksjp

I emptied everything, defrosted thourghly and restarted. The airflow from freezer to the fridge side was working for the 1st couple of hours. After the freezer got down to below freezing the airflow between freezer & fridge stopped

coils are frozen solid.

After just a couple of hours??? It would usually take a week or more for a defrost system failure to cause problems after a thorough defrosting like you said you gave it.

JMO

Dan O.
www.Appliance411.com
The Appliance Information Site
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[brooksjp]

After messing with this thing for a while I now realize it isn't the damper at all. What is happening is the coil in the freezer is freezing over so bad that no air can pull through it to go thru the damper. Does not appear to defrost on its own. I can manually defrost with a hair dryer but after about 3 days it starts to freeze over again. What is the first thing I should look for? thanks Jim

[Dan O.]

I can manually defrost with a hair dryer but after about 3 days it starts to freeze over again.

Is the evaporator (cooling) coil completely and uniformly frosted across its *whole* surface or just on part of it?

the coil in the freezer is freezing over so bad that no air can pull through it to go through the damper. What is the first thing I should look for?

If it was frosting uniformly across the whole evaporator coil, a problem with the defrost system is a possible cause. In that case testing the defrost heater would likely be a start as described at the following link. Unfortunately, on that model the rest of the defrost system will be difficult to check being one of GE's electronically controlled designs.

LINK > How does a frost free refrigerator's defrost system work?

LINK > GE GSS22WGPACC Defrost Heater


BTW. Totally frosting up in only 3 days would be pretty quick for a fully and completely defrosted fridge even with a defrost system problem. You might want to look into the doors not closing properly or being left open allowing too much warm air into the appliance. That's the only was I can see it totally frosting up in only that length of time.

JMO

Dan O.
www.Appliance411.com
The Appliance Information Site
=D~~~~~~

[brooksjp]

Thanks Dan O
It does frost over uniformly, and it may be more than 3 days to freeze completely. Does this thing have a defrost timer or is it all mother board kind of stuff? Is there a way to tell if the heater is the fault (getting voltage, etc.) or any other test to isolate the cause?

[Dan O.]

Originally Posted by brooksjp

Does this thing have a defrost timer or is it all mother board

No timer, it is all controlled electronically via the mother board.

Is there a way to tell if the heater is the fault

Sure! As explained at the link I provided, the heater can be tested for continuity to see if it is good or not.

Dan O.
www.Appliance411.com
The Appliance Information Site
=D~~~~~~