27 replies to this topic

[dcmetro]

Hi Guys,

The above refrigerator is not cooling enough. Its one of those side by side models where left is freezer. Food is getting spoiled. Icecreams on left do not get frozen and on right, water is not cooling enough and I had to throw a lot of vegetables as they got spoiled.
I could not find the model # on GE website. Therefore could not even find the manual. It came with the house (2001). Please help. I really need to fix it. Thanks.

Edit: Noticed one thing. The entire inside back wall on Freezer side was frozen. Could that be an issue as well?

[Pegi]

Behind that frozen back wall will be a solid wall of ice, causing the whole box to warm up, blocking all air flow to the food side and cooling to the freezer.  You have a defrost problem and will need to see if you need a defrost timer, defrost termination thermostat or defrost heater.  Or a combination of the three.  You really need to get this ice out of there. Umplug the box, remove the rear panel and take your blow dryer to the ice.  You will be getting a lot of water on the floor so have some towels ready.   After ALL of the ice is removed, plug the box back in, set both control to the mid-way mark and it will cool down but will start warming up within 2-5 days as the ice builds up again, so you will have to get that defrost system fixed or defrost it yourself every day.  Not much fun, ya know.

[dcmetro]

Thanks for your reply!

Your are right! Called around this morning and u guys are right. I am being told the most prob, its the heater or timer thats gone bad the estimate I am getting is around $150-$200, parts and labor.


Don't have the manual for GE with me since previous owner did not find it. New to this but you guys think I can change it myself? What is the best way to find out what is the right heater and other parts for my refrigerator? GE website does not pull up the manuals.

You think that its something I can do it myself? Just as easy to pull out rear panels and unscrew and screw or is it as elaborate as to solder and stuff? And yes finally, where should I buy the parts? Sooner is better to repair since food goes bad pretty fast.

Thanks.

[Ron]

Sounds like you have a defrost problem.  First make sure your evap fan is running in the freezer sid. On the refrigerator side there is a defrost control behind the light shield,  top shelf.  Remove the shield by removing the control knobs and lifting up on the shield.  You will see the defrost timer on the right.  With a flat head screw driver turn the control clockwise slowly until you hear a click..It should now be in defrost.   Seel if the heater kicks on on the freezer side.  The heater is mounted to the the evaporator.   If the heater does not come on,  you could either have a bad defrost timer,  bit-metal or heater itself.  If you have meter you can perform some tests to help determine which one is the culprit.  On your model I would suspect the heater itself but do the tests to make sure.   You can get a temporary fix by defrosting all the ice on the evaporator.  This will put you back in business until it freezes over again....Ron

[dcmetro]

Thanks guys. I shall do all that this evening when I get home. Quick Qs:

- Where can I get the parts locally (am in Sterling, VA) for a good price?

- Once I get them, how easy or hard is it to replace heater (or timer)? Never opened a referigerator before. Need special tools?

- You guys know where I can get some manual or something that might have a picture of the back so that I can better visualize and then know what to go for immediately? GE website did not turn up the manual for me


Thanks!

 

 

[Pegi]

The G.E. web site shows the complete break down on the whole ref.  Just look at the images in there and print them out.  Most likely the defrost heater, but could be any of the 3.  You can order the parts you need right here.  Defrost heater assy.  WR51X10053, bi-metal, WR50X122, defrost timer WR9X489. The back panel will just come out removing the screws, after removing some shelves.   On the GE site type in your model number without the BB on the end.  Four models will come up and then select yours from the list.

[Ron]

The job is not that difficult,  no soldering.  You must determine which part you need first.  I think you can get all your parts from the Samurai.   For the heater assy.  I show a part number of wr51x10031. The defrost thermostat is wr50x0122.   The defrost timer itself iswr09x0489.   Im sure the Samurai will have some pics for you to look at while you take on this task...Ron

[dcmetro]

Thanks. Found the heater and timer on the repairclinic website. Any other website? Are these parts not available locally? Just curious.

[dcmetro]

Guys:

Kinda dumb Q. How do I get to the defrost heater. From front or back. If back, how do I remove the huge back cover. The bottom part had screws that I unscrewed but an confused on top part.

[Santiagojimbee]

The freezer panes should come off from the INSIDE not the back. I have a Maytag and there are only two screws that hold two panels on. Once the screws are out the panes slip off and com out of the bottom of the freezer box. If you have a hair dryer you can now manually defrost the block of ice you have on your coils. You should be able to get a few days of cold with ths repair while you get parts shipped. Most can be had in a day or two.

http://www.repaircli....asp?R=154&P=46

Use this lik for a diagram of your machine.

 

Good luck,

 

Jim

[dcmetro]

- Am stuck here now. the panel in front of timer is not coming off from the left side...kinda stuck...

-also, behind timer...this white box..how do I take that out? screws are very different. see the image below

Attached Files

•  test.JPG   54.09KB   44 downloads

[dcmetro]

ok GWIZ, I got to it now. I am defrosting the coil right now. Its totally covered with ice right now.  Man...feeling much better...am on the right trail now. Now where can I find the timer and the heater?
 
I am goint to post the picture and u could guide me. ok, I just posted the picture below website)..of the freezer section...just finished cleaning the coils...now u can better see the inside and guide me...I think its the 3rd picture...now how can I be sure that its the heater..before I order the part? I do not see the timer... 

http://photos.yahoo.com/saurab/

thanks again for all ur help.

[Pegi]

The timer is in the food section in the control panel.  However you would have turned that to defrost BEFORE defrosting the coils.  The freezer has to be below freezing for the heater to come on to see if that is the problem..now that it is warm the bi-metal is open and will not give power to the defrost heaters.  However the heaters are glass and are likely broken, look at them and see, they are glass.  The part number for the heater is WR51X10032 WHICH CHANGES TO WR51X10053.  

The WR51X10031is for the heater harness.  On the bi-metal and defrost timer the o's are dropped as there ar not any numbers before the 0.  If you cannot tell if the heater is broken you are going to have to put the ref. back together and turn it back on to get the temperatures back down below freezing, then turn the timer into defrost, starting the test over. This will take 2-3 hours probably to reset the bi-metal.  I would look at the glass heater first tho, as we have seen lots of them broken.  Keep us posted.

[dcmetro]

well..right now I have put everything together. Tried rotating the timer but the heater did not seem to come on. there was no heat on it. so put everything together...i hope the timer is now on non-defrost position (as there is any to make sure?) as I started everything and now I want to see if it starts working..even though for couple of days while the part comes in...

[dcmetro]

The frig did start working (after defrosting the coils) and was freezing the left and cooling the right. Would not say 100% but 75%, which I can live with right now...is this expected?
 
If I am guessing it right, the timer is on the right side of the frig, on the refreigerator side. When I use a quarter to turn it, the frig does not switch off. nor does the heater come on. does the frig has to totally shut down? I tried that last nite. Now I am not sure whether its the timer or the heater, thats at fault. I shall also open it again and check on the wires thing. good call. timer seems to be harder to replace than the heater. has lot more steps to go thru and stuff to remove before I can get to it. Should I post the picture of it when I get home tonite? was planning to order the heater right now but seems I should hold on, right?

[Pegi]

When the ref is in defrost the box is dead except for the light.  When the box is cooling down the fans will be running, one in the freezer and one down by the compressor, and the compressor will be running.  When the thermostat in the food side is satisfied the box will cycle off and be dead also at that point.  After the box has cooled down, you will need to advance the defrost timer very slowly and listen for a louder click and the box will go dead except for the light.  The defrost portion is only 3 clicks so you can go thru it without knowing you have done this.  If the heater comes on you will see a red glow thru the slots on the bottom of the freezer panel.  If it does not come on would suspect the heater is broken or the defrost termination thermostat is bad, which is located at the top of the evaperator, a round disk about the size of a quarter.  The heater is below the evaperator , in the aluminum bracket, and you should be able to take this loose, after un-plugging the frig, to see if it is broken. If the heater does come on this tells you the heater and bi-metal are ok and the defrost timer likely is not advancing into the defrost cycle. 

[dcmetro]

Pegi:

When I was rotating the timer with the quarter, there were two major clicks...none shut the refrig off. maybe the temp was not reached at that point. Maybe I can decrease the temp to all the way down and then rotate the timer. Maybe the frig shuts down then. Should I be looking for one of the smaller clicks or one of the two big clicks? thanks. you've been very helpful pegi. I shall try this tonite again. seems to me that timer is much more difficult to change that the heater. Too many things before timer. Just like the pictures before (of heater), I shall try and put pictures of the timer...

[dcmetro]

Update:

Is this the timer? 4th picture on same website: http://photos.yahoo.com/saurab This is on the right side of frig, on top. This time when I was turning the timer, the frig did stop! Will take out the left side stuff and post again if the bulb comes on then. If it does stop and the heater does not come on, does that mean that heater is at fault?

 

[Pegi]

If you heard 2 big clicks that probably means you went thru the defrost cycle, one click going in and the other back out into cooling mode. Have to turn very slowly.  And that looks like the back of the timer where you turn it manually.  If you get it into defrost see if the heater comes on in the freezer. If it does not you could have a bad defrost heater or defrost termination thermostat.  If it does come on you know those are ok and the timer is not advancing into defrost.  :)

[dcmetro]

ok, now checked it. when I rotate the timer, frig switches off but the heater does not come on. took the heater out..was black on cornors...ordered both heater and thermostat. Will replace heater first and see what happen...any other test for me?