GE Refrigerator Model #: PFE28KBLTS Freezer not cooling

[idanny76]

GE bottom freezer model #: PFE28KBLTS not cooling well and no ice

My wife notice the ice cream in the freezer melting. I then bought a thermometer set in order to check the temperatures and that's when I notice the freezer is not reaching the 0 degrees or lower and its between 20-40 degrees. The same is for the refrigerator, but it is much closer to the 36 degrees reaching between 40-45. All the fans are running... The refrigerator fan, freezer main fan, freezer ice maker fan, fresh foods fan and compressor fan.... they are all working. I tested all the Thermistors by going into the Diagnostic Mode and running the series of commands and they all appeared to be reading the correct temperatures. I did check for fault codes and I received 0010, 001o, and 999d. The 0010 is for the freezer ice maker and it can be ignored, because I don't have an ice maker in the freezer.... I only have the refrigerator door ice maker. The other fault codes I could not find anywhere. The only thermistors that gave me -- -- were 25 and 31 and I think they are related to FZ ice maker, but I could be wrong. Humidity sensor test was 59 degrees and ambient temperature was 73. All the fans are properly working or at least running. I am not sure why the freezer is not cooling below 20's and the refrigerator is not reaching the 30's. The coils in the refrigerator were not frozen and neither were the freezer coils. I did notice some frost on the right corner of the freezer coil and ran the defrost mode through the diagnostic mode and I was able to make sure the heater was working. Please any help would be really appreciated. I have another freezer and I was able to move the food there. I will post pictures of the thermometer set I bought to check the temps, because the refrigerator only shows the temperature set.

Displays Unfiltered Thermistor Temperature (display of
300 or -41 indicates open/shorted or not present)

00 24 FF 1 Thermistor Test
00 25 FF 2 Thermistor Test ------> Nothing showed -- -- (Might be for the missing FZ Ice Maker)
00 26 FF Evaporator Thermistor Test
00 27 FZ Cabinet Thermistor Test
00 28 FZ Evaporator Thermistor Test
00 29 Ambient Temp Test ------> 73
00 30 Deli Pan Thermistor Test
00 31 FZ Ice Mold Body Thermistor Test ------> Nothing showed -- -- (Do not have a FZ Ice Maker)
00 36 FF Door Ice Mold Body Thermistor Test
00 37 FF Door Ice Cabinet Thermistor Test

00 40 Humidity Sensor Test ------> 59F

Turns the Fan on 75% Duty Cycle and Returns the RPM
00 47 FF Fan Test ------> 25
00 48 FZ Fan Test ------> 25
00 49 Condenser Fan Test ------> 13.66
00 50 Ice Box Fan Test ------> 22
00 51 Deli/QC Fan Test ------> 43

[idanny76]

I forgot to mention that, I also cleaned the condenser coils which were dirty and inspected the condenser fan which was pulling air in. Still after the condenser coils were cleaned the temperature did not drop to zero in the freezer.

[vee8power]

That's a warm evaporator coil; there's a sealed system problem.

[Budget Appliance Repair]

21 minutes ago, vee8power said:

That's a warm evaporator coil; there's a sealed system problem.

100 %

[idanny76]

3 hours ago, vee8power said:

That's a warm evaporator coil; there's a sealed system problem.

Can you elaborate?

[idanny76]

3 hours ago, vee8power said:

That's a warm evaporator coil; there's a sealed system problem.

Do you mean the system has a leak and is low on refrigerant?

[vee8power]

59 minutes ago, idanny76 said:

Do you mean the system has a leak and is low on refrigerant?

could be, or a restriction or inefficient compressor

[idanny76]

4 hours ago, vee8power said:

could be, or a restriction or inefficient compressor

The freezer did improved today, but still not reaching the required temperatures. But below the large numbers, then lowest temp the freezer reached was 6 degrees and the Refrigerator 37 in the last 24hrs. Whats the FF 2 Thermistor? I am guessing I don't have it, just as FZ Ice Mold Body Thermistor.

[idanny76]

Checked the temperature on the compressor lines and the cold line was 78F, warm line 109F and ambient temperature was 77F. The temperature according to the Acurite that reads the internal temp of the fridge show that the fridge has reached 5F in the freezer and 38F in the fridge. Would it reach those low temps with low refrigerant? Would the leak be inside the refrigerator in the upper or lower coils? or Would it be leaking from the compressor?

 

[idanny76]

If there was a leak..... Would it most like be from the aluminum coils within either on the fridge side or the freezer side? or Would it be from where the compressor switched from copper to the aluminum coils? I checked the warranty on the refrigerator and its has a Limited 5-year sealed refrigerating system on parts and labor. I bought the refrigerator on 2021. They will charge $115 trip charge if its not an issue with the refrigerant system.

[idanny76]

OK, this video explains it all very well. I definitely have a system leak and its low in refrigerant. The good thing is that it should be still under that 5 year seal system warranty. I went ahead and scheduled a service appointment for Monday. I am glad it happened within the 5 year warranty.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIH4e6Om-To

[idanny76]

GE tech came out under the 5 year system leak warranty and he confirmed it was a system leak. He didn't have his work vehicle with the tools to do a pressurized test. He is coming back to do a pressurized test and see where the leak is coming from. He ordered many parts to have it available and be prepared when he found out where the leak was coming from. He ordered the fridge and freezer EVAP coils, heating elements, dryer filter and the 3 way valve. Most likely the EVAP coils with the leak is the freezer.
 

[idanny76]

GE techs came out yesterday after parts arrived. They pumped nitrogen into the system and could not find a leak. According to them it was holding pressure for 25-30 minutes. They could not figure out why the refrigerator was not cooling properly. I guess he did not check for refrigerant levels because they could not say if it was low on refrigerant. So they decided to replace the refrigerator coil only since he said that's the usual culprit, replaced the dryer filter and filled it back with refrigerant. He said to give it 24 hrs for temps to reach their target. I have a feeling it might not be repaired..... or the leak was super tiny. He said that the nitrogen pressure should have shown the leak even if it was small. I told them that if they could not find the leak if he thought it was then the compressor or a restriction on the dryer filter and he said not likely. I would deduct now, If it was a restriction it would be solved by the replacement of the dryer filter and it should reach set temperatures because is now properly charged now.

The target temps set were 0F and 37F before they left. Temperature reading when they left were 53F freezer and 57F refrigerator at 5:28pm. Later at night around 9pm it was 25F Freezer and 51F refrigerator. This morning around 9am it was -5F and 46F. Freezer is currently empty and refrigerator is half full. According to the Acurite thermometer sensors history.... Freezers low was -8F and refrigerators low was 41F. The high reading will be off because it was the reading when they were working on the refrigerator. I am going to give it until tomorrow, but I have a feeling its not fixed. Why would the freezer go as low as -8F if its set to 0F? Why didn't they read the refrigerant charge to verify it was low and just go straight to a pressure test?