GE Cafe CZS25TSEBFSS Wiring Puzzle

[willItWork]

Hello all,

I have a puzzling issue with our GE Cafe CZS25TSEBFSS side-by-side refrigerator.  It completely shut down with no lights (inside & display) or fans on, or the compressor running.  I started my troubleshooting process with having a look at the main control board in the back and saw no visual indication the magic smoke was let out.  I also could hear a faint tic or chirp noise at regular 2 or 3 second intervals coming from the main board.  I proceeded to unplug the connectors one at a time and upon removing the J4 connector the compressor came back on (the internal fans and door switches function as well).  At a guess, I thought the control board was possibly the problem and replaced it with the updated part number WR55X11059.  After plugging everything back in to the new board the same problem persists; unplugging J4 allows the refrigeration unit to run but still no lights or display.

I then looked into the freezer door wiring and display panel.  All the wiring and plugs seemed to be free of damage and corrosion.  Disconnecting the 4 pin plug at the bottom left of the freezer door and plugging J4 back in at the main board still causes the fault.  I pulled out a DMM to check continuity with the plugs disconnected and everything was open except between J4-2 and J4-3 on the plug that connects to the board (or the red and blue wires in front).  Between this I would measure either open or when I reversed the probes is read around 32M ohms.  I've forgotten quite a bit about electronics troubleshooting but is this the behavior of trying to measure the resistance of a diode or capacitor?  I can't locate a circuit diagram for this refrigerator and with the red/blue wires going into the back of the unit and then exiting the bottom, I have no idea what is in between or where to look next.  Do these circumstances look familiar to anyone?

Thanks in advance for any guidance!

[Vance R]

J4 goes the display in freezer door, temperature control in fresh food section( if equipped) and a smart trolley in fresh food section( if equipped). J4 pin 3 goes the the led modules in fresh food and freezer sections. 

[willItWork]

Hi Vance,

Thanks for the reply and info!

I'm guessing hardly anyone out there has any experience with the Café line as it seems pretty impossible to find anything with a deep web search.  Just out of curiosity, what the heck is a "smart trolley"?  I can't even fathom a guess at what business a trolley has within the confines of a refrigerator let alone a smart one.  So not sure if this model has one or not but I can verify the temperature controls are all on the freezer door and so there is none inside the fresh food section.

Anyhow for internet posterity, turns out this particular problem was a burned out LED module in the fresh food section.  It seems the lights when working properly should have around 13.6 VDC between the outermost of the 3 module pins and mine was reading about 0.25 VDC.  The middle pin is the door switched voltage and reads 12.5 VDC when energized.  The 13.6 V pin seems to be a power bus for the lights and remains energized with the defective module removed and so the other lights still function.

Would still love to get my hands on a circuit diagram for this specific model if anyone has one.

[Vance R]

That makes 2 of us. Have no idea what a smart trolley is in these refrigerators. Glad you found you problem.