My Turn for a Freezer Problem

1990C4S · 05-26-2021, 11:44 AM

Twelve year old GE Monogram, high end built in fridge freezer. Fridge is perfect, freezer is set to -16C, compressor runs continuously and the freezer is at -8C to -10C.

Had a similar issue a year ago when the weather warmed up and it got humid, but all winter the unit is fine. The unit has never been pulled out for cleaning...

Might be a defrost cycle problem? Someone suggested to me the coils in the back of the freezer might be iced up? Open to suggestions now.

vash · vash's Garage

both chambers are tied to each other. the fridge doesn't cool independently from the freezer. it pulls "coolness" from the freezer side of the house. a fan.

I learned something from the Fridge Repair guy that just showed up at my house a couple of months ago. step one in DIY. clean the hell out of the cooling fins. shop vac. I took it to the next level and blew it out with compressed air from my garage compressor. the stuff that flew out, could choke the life out of any unit (tip, blow towards the wall

). he then said, to take a spray bottle and clean the compressor fan. I just blasted the fins of the fan and wiped. and repeat.

that alone got my fridge humming again. but for insurance he changed out the relay that is attached next to the big black round drum looking thing. it is the compressor starter relay if I remember correctly. he charged me $80, which is a lot considering he let me do most of the work. next time? oh, I got this.

stevej37 · 05-26-2021, 01:37 PM

It's not over-full (freezer) is it?
need room for air movement.
I had one that did the same.

vash · vash's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1990C4S

Might be a defrost cycle problem? Someone suggested to me the coils in the back of the freezer might be iced up? Open to suggestions now.

this is easy. empty the freezer and remove the back panel. is it frozen, or super thawed. neither is good.

ckelly78z · 05-26-2021, 04:31 PM

Make sure you have an ample air space where the cooling fins are, and that the fins are clean from pet hair, dust, and debris. It may help to shut it off, let it defrost naturally, and then restart with less items in it.

HobieMarty · 05-26-2021, 09:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vash

this is easy. empty the freezer and remove the back panel. is it frozen, or super thawed. neither is good.

Exactly. I just went through this a few weeks ago. Side by side whirlpool fridge wasn't as cold as it had been and was making some irregular noises. The first thing I did was clean the coils with a brush and vacuum. Next, I emptied the freezer and removed the back panel to find it was frozen up with lots of frost. Found the defrost thermostat was popped open meaning it was bad. Got a new one for about 15 bucks and installed it and it fixed the issue. I then noticed the freezer was only cooling down to 10 degrees, (should be at least 0 degrees), so I added just a small amount of freon and it is now cooling to -10 degrees in the freezer. This is an extra refrigerator we have in our laundry room, came with the house when we bought the place and is 20 years old. It is now working great!!!

So, yeah, first thing to do is clean the coils of any built up dust and dirt, you'd be surprised at how much crap gets under there and blocks airflow. They make brushes for cleaning the coils but I made one by taking a plastic clothes hanger, breaking the horizontal part out of it and taped a paint brush to it. I was able to reach all the way through the coils with it.

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1990C4S · 05-27-2021, 05:26 AM

I think with my freezer the coils are on the top, not behind. I had a look last night, the compressor is very hot (probably from running continuosly for a week).

There is small fan in from the the condensor(?) coils, which is moving very slowly. At first I thought this was a bad motor, but I'm thinking now it's probably just to keep the unit quiet.

Leaving the flip door open (up top) for two days has made a big difference, it is back to -17C, so it might shut off today at -18C. Maybe. And maybe it can run a defrost cycle.

It is very 'dusty' in there, as expected, but it's also really hard to reach. I need to make something to attach to my vacuum I guess.

I'm going to remove some (more) stuff from the freezer tonight, then pull some panels this weekend.

Thanks for the suggestions.