Refrigerator not cold but freezer is

thehvacguy

Im trying to figure out why the freezer is cold but the fridge is not. the indoor coil freezes up over time. Could it be the defrost timer or the can motor? it is a GE fridge. Does anyone know how to test the defrost timer to see if it is good?I will tear apart the inside to see if the evaporator fan motor is running.

beenthere

If the freezer gets cold, but not the fridge, its generally not the defrost timer.
Either fan, or your low on charge.

AllanJ

If the coils are freezing up it is possible the defrost timer has malfunctioned -- in the on position. Sometimes a screwdriver adjustment for the defrost timer is on the back so you have to pull the 'fridge away from the wall to inspect the timer. A malfunction can generally be determined when the screwdriver adjustment is not seen to rotate by itself over a period of several hours.

The purpose of the screwdriver adjustment is to get the 'fridge cooling more quickly after a power failure if the timer happened to be in the off position which normally lasts about an hour.

Many refrigerators have separate main and freezer compartment adjustments. Most of the time these are louver adjustments that need trial and error to get positioned properly.

__________________
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hvaclover

EEEEHHHHHHHHNIT .....wrong

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Just slow, not stupid.

hvaclover

Worked on frost free friges since '77.

It is either a timer, defrost terminator, or a heater (rare but happens) that is not working.

We would test the heater with an ampmeter. Reading shows it's ok.
Timer could stick or the terminator switch would shut off heater too soon allowing intermittent frost up of evaporator.

__________________
Just slow, not stupid.

beenthere

Bet its not the defrost timer.

We'll see when he tells us what he found.

hvaclover

Bet it's the terminator AND timer cause that has been an idiosyncrasy of GE defrost systems for years.

__________________
Just slow, not stupid.

bmesc

This happened to me. I have a Kitchenaid side by side. It was the air transfer gate between the freezer and refrigerator side. The frig side is cooled from air from the freezer. There is a computer controlled gate that opens and closes to regulate the frig temperature. Mine was at the top, back of the freezer/frig wall. It broke. I replaced it easy enough.

d scott

Need a model no, but I"m bettin on the heater. GE's weak point forever