GE refrigerator with inverter compressor- voltage from control board is 3V (bad?)

[talkietoaster]

I have a GE Profile refrigerator with an inverter compressor that is not cooling.  I watched this video that explains how to diagnose it: Troubleshooting a Warm GE Refrigerator with an Inverter Compressor (GREAT video, by the way!).  It says that the voltage from the control board to the inverter should be between 4 and 6 volts.  Mine is 3V; does that mean the control board is bad?  Or what is the next step to diagnose my problem?  (In the video it was 5 so I can't tell from the video what I should do.)

Thanks

[Ian B]

Double check and make sure you are only getting 3vdc. Also make sure you're getting 120v from the main board to the inverter. 

 

If you're getting proper voltage from the main board, change the inverter board. If you are getting 3vdc, change the main control board. 

 

Check the resistance of each winding on the compressor and make sure they are within range of each other. If one terminal is off, you could have a faulty compressor. Let us know how you make out. 

[darren412]

16 hours ago, talkietoaster said:

I have a GE Profile refrigerator with an inverter compressor that is not cooling.  I watched this video that explains how to diagnose it: Troubleshooting a Warm GE Refrigerator with an Inverter Compressor (GREAT video, by the way!).  It says that the voltage from the control board to the inverter should be between 4 and 6 volts.  Mine is 3V; does that mean the control board is bad?  Or what is the next step to diagnose my problem?  (In the video it was 5 so I can't tell from the video what I should do.)

Thanks

if you post a question on this site . you need to post the correct model # and serial # of the fridge in question properly in the headline when the post is put in.  This way a tech can properly research your model in order to give you the proper answer.   re post your question with the model # And Serial # of your refrigerator.  

[talkietoaster]

Model # PFE29PSDASS

Serial # TZ503436

Response to advice from Ian B-  I double-checked both voltages coming into the inverter board and they are actually 120V and 2.9V.  I checked them near the inverter board by unplugging the 2 connectors there- is that OK or is it necessary to actually find them on the main board itself and check them there?  I wouldn't think so but I wanted to ask to be sure.  I've never tried to fix a fridge myself before.

Guess my main control board is bad, then?

 

[Ian B]

The dc voltage is low yes. You’re getting a bad signal from the main control. If the windings if the compressor are good as well as I stated before then the compressor should be ok.  @darren412 if you know something I don’t. Jump in. 

[darren412]

On 10/25/2018 at 8:38 AM, talkietoaster said:

I have a GE Profile refrigerator with an inverter compressor that is not cooling.  I watched this video that explains how to diagnose it: Troubleshooting a Warm GE Refrigerator with an Inverter Compressor (GREAT video, by the way!).  It says that the voltage from the control board to the inverter should be between 4 and 6 volts.  Mine is 3V; does that mean the control board is bad?  Or what is the next step to diagnose my problem?  (In the video it was 5 so I can't tell from the video what I should do.)

Thanks

there is not a lot of information to go by that you are giving as to what your exact cooling issue is.....      You mentioned it was not cooling.  Are the temps in the fresh food  section fluctuating up and down and the freezer is fine ?      Have you lost cooling totally in both sections and the compressor is room temperature as if its not running ?   The testing  procedure you are  performing  is for a dead in the water , no compressor running and no cooling in both sections issue.  is that what has happened.     there is a mini manual  located underneath the door hinge cover that will show you how to put the fridge in diagnostics and check for any error codes and run certain procedures like checking the thermistors  which is one of the first things you want to check. Along with the temperature of the condensor which should be around  100 degrees.   If the fridge is dead in the water  and compressor not running , the compressor will be cool to the touch.  and both sections will be warming up.   The inverter gets 120 volts directly from the line voltage.   The inverter gets 2-3 volts dc from the main boards  J9 connector pins 7 and 8 as effective voltage , all wires must be connected !     That's when the inverter figures out the compressor running speed.   If the compressor is supposed to be on at this point then the running dc voltage you should be getting  from the main control board will be  4-6 volts DC with the wires connected and measuring at the inverter.       the compressor windings should all be the same reading between any 2 of the 3 pins.  between 9 to 11 ohms     With that said I would do the diagnostic testing first before changing the board and thoroughly check the components and any error codes that may have occured  and start there first.    If you dont have a membership here on this site to be allowed to pull up downloads and the such. I highly suggest you do that. Its money well spent and there's  a treasure trove of information to help you out with a refrigerator situation such as this one.  Good luck ok 

[16345Ed]

Correct as Darren said too little info to go on

A simple bad thermistor could cause this...

have all the thermistors been tested properly?

[talkietoaster]

Thanks to darren412 and 16345Ed for your suggestions.  No cooling at all in both refrigerator and freezer sections; however, there is a humming sound when it's plugged in which seems somewhat quieter than the normal sound it used to make.

I was able to put it in service mode, and first I checked the error codes.  It shows codes 2, 10, 7, 303, 304, 722 and 105 with counts of 1 and codes 11 with a count of 97 and code 12 with a count of 98.  The "Days Ago" for all of these is 0 which must mean today.

One thing that is strange is that the manual says that codes 2, 7, 11 and 12 are "N/A"; does this mean that we just ignore those?  (Then why does it even report them?)

Code 10 says "FZ Icemaker Mold Body Thermistor (MB) Invalid".

Code 105 says "Condenser Fan cannot reach target RPM."

Code 303 says "FF Temp exceeded 75 degrees".

Code 304 says "FZ Temp exceeded 72.5 degrees".

Code 772 says "Display board error".

I especially wonder about code 105: does this mean that the condenser fan (or motor?) is bad?

 

I also did all of the thermistor tests; here are the results:

FF1 Thermistor Test- 6652
FF Evaporator Thermistor Test- 6363
FZ Thermistor Test- 6346
FZ Evaporator Thermistor Test- 6293
Ambient Temp Test- 6914
Deli Pan Thermistor Test- 6435
Ice Mold Body (DB) Thermistor Test- 6535
Ice Cabinet Thermistor Test- 6417
Hot Water 1 Thermistor Test-  -- --
Hot Water 2 Thermistor Test-  -- --
Humidity Sensor Test- 4827

The manual says that each of these has 2 decimal places (so the 1st one is 66.52 degrees, for example).  In the list above, I reported exactly what I saw.

[Ian B]

Thanks @darren412 I was simply answering his question on how to check which board could be bad. Yes, no cool could be a number of things. 

[thethirdmurph]

I know this is an old thread but I'm having the exact same issue also have codes 105 and 722.  My manual is gone so I couldn't find definitions for these codes.  Did you figure this one out?  

[LI-NY Tech]

DC signal/PWB to inverter can range from 2.5vdc to 13vdc.