Search the Community

I appreciate this forum and especially the opportunity to engage with all the experts that gather here to advise, help and give guidance where possible. I apologize in advance for the lengthy post - my goal is to provide as much valuable information as possible up front. To start with, I am a commercial HVAC service veteran with 28 years of experience. I currently work for Johnson Controls as a regional service manager for VRF products which is a variable refrigerant flow, inverter modulated air conditioning technology. With that said, I am not a refrigeration expert, although many of my learned skills should be applicable or at least adaptable to refrigeration troubleshooting and diagnostics. Here is my problem: We have a GE Profile Model: PSB42LSRBBV Serial: HL070009 built in side-by-side refrigerator. About 6 to 9 months ago, I stared noticing that the freezer (FZ) side was having diffulty achieving and maintaining the setpoint of 0 degrees. The unit continued to deteriorate in performance until about a month ago when the freezer would only maintain a temperature of between 18 and 34 degrees. It was not longer capable of keep ice frozen solid. The refrigerator side has performed flawlessly, maintaining a steady 37 degrees(F) at setpoint. Understanding that this is a complex machine with a variable speed (Samsung) compressor and dual variable speed evaporator fan motors, I opted to call in an appliance service technician on referral from a local high end appliance distributor here in Dallas. (Not GE service in this case.) The "technicians" initial diagnosis was to replace the main control board and the freezer evaporator fan motor to correct what he called a pulsing and surging sound from the fan motor, which he suspected was the root cuase of the freezer high temperature problem. Following these repairs which cost me $1000.00, there was no improvement to the freezer performance and incidentily the pulsing behavior of the fan is exactly as it was before the fan and board replacement. The "tech" explained to me that he was not able to speak with GE support directly as he was not an authorized servicer for their product. (I know, red flag I should of paid more attention to.) However, he was able to speak with Samsung tech support (Samsung is apparently the manufacturer of this unit) who advised him to replace the 3-way valve coil. (I've learned that the 3-way valve diverts refrigerant to the capillaries serving the evaporators.) He replaced only the coil of the 3-way valve supposedly on recommendation from Samsung. Again, no improvement in the freezer performance. Freezer temperature fluctuates between 18 and 34 degrees(F) sometimes quite rapidly. The refrigerator side has continued to perform flawlessly maintaining a steady 37 degrees (F). Up to this point, the "tech" has avoided any interest in suspecting that the sealed system was at fault (i.e. low refrigerant charge, restriction, etc.) The "tech" has all but thrown his hands up and no longer even returns my calls. He is done with my problem and waving the white flag. At this point, I am ready to work on the unit myself. I have all the tools, instrumentation and R-134A to do so. I suspect that this system may have developed a leak and now is low on refrigerant (design charge is 8.11 oz). I feel as though I want to recovery the refrigerant, install a schrader valve (low side on the compressor process tube), replace the filter/drier, evacuate and recharge by weight the design refrigerant volume at 8.11 oz. I need some guidance and pointers on the steps to get there. I'm hoping that someone out there is willing to help. My questions: 1) Is what I am wanting to do in the sealed systems a viable next step? 2) I have a new 3-way valve body I can install if advisable. (Recall, the tech only replaced the head.) 3) Should I tap both the high and the low side? 4) Best location to tap the high side if it is recommended? 5) Brazing guidance - brazing material? Silver content? Flux? 6) Evacuation - Single or triple evacuation? How many microns? How long? 7) Charging - charge liquid or vapor? Hose purging tips? 8) Leak checking - most probable location of a leak? Using Dyes? Methods? Again, my apologies for the lengthy post. I am getting a bit desperate for a solution. This machine was nearly $7,000 when new and I am not ready to condem it. It every other aspect, it is flawless. Not so much as a scratch on it. Thank you all in advance for any help provided. I am happy to take any consultation off-line if that helps. And, I am willing to put more time, effort and perhaps a bit more money into this machine if there is a solid chance to get it fixed. I appreciate the collective experience and wisdom of all the contributors to the forum. Regards, Robert G. Plano, TX.