Frigidaire Refrigerator Not Cooling - PLEASE HELP!!!

[Kampfzentrum]

I seriously need help, I'll save everyone from my issues but I'm in a serious bind.

I have a Frigidaire refrigerator side-by-side and came home the other day to it not cooling. I pulled it away from the wall and noticed that the copper lines were completely frozen over. Also, the entire backside of the freezer was frozen (so I assume that behind the wall was locked up also). This is all I could diagnose.

Reasons for this happening are unclear yet, but despite mechanical issues, I can say that the kids have been known to not shut the freezer door fully and leaving it mildly ajar (an inch at the most). I'm wondering if the humidity (I live in Wisconsin) crept into the fridge overnight and froze all over the inside of the freeze or just had some type of effect that would lead to this.

I'm handy enough to fix most things, but I don't understand a fridge mechanics enough to self diagnose. Can someone instruct me to a checklist that I can follow to get this resolved? Or - better yet - is anyone willing to work with me through this?

[DrCool299]

Hello, I think you need to defrost the unit first. Unplug it, remove all the food in the freezer, leave the freezer door open for 6 hrs. If you have a desk fan, blow the freezer with air to accelerate defrosting, then when you think all the ice has melted, plug it back in and observe. Make sure the freezer fan is running. But if you are mechanically inclined and can open the freezer back wall, it would be faster to open it up, and defrost all the ice in the evaporator coil.

Thanks.

[ECtoFix]

The first thing to do is to remove everything from the freezer, put into a cooler, cover with a towel and close the lid.

Unplug the refrigerator.

Leave freezer door open, direct a fan into on its highest setting.  Be prepared with a bunch of towels to mop up the water as it melt.  Once the back wall has thawed, You should ALSO remove the rear panel of the freezer compartment to let the air get in around the coils.  Continue this until ALL ice is melted.

From this point you need to decide whether you wanna attempt troubleshooting it or whether you want to go with the idea that the freezeup was due to the door being ajar. 

Troubleshooting it will require a multimeter, knowledge of how to use it and knowledge of the circuits.  The ice formation COULD be attributed to a faulty defrost heater, a faulty defrost termination thermostat, a bad defrost timer or faulty wiring.

BTW:  Please provide a model number in your next post.

[Kampfzentrum]

I apologize, I should have stated that. It's not a Frigidaire, but a GE model No. GSL25JFPHBS. I've got it thawed currently, but it still doesn't seem to be picking up temperature. 

I do have a multimeter and have some knowledge. I'm open to suggestions.

Thank you so much for your response.

[Kampfzentrum]

OK, got home, opened up the panel in the back. The lines and everything are completely frozen. What a mess. Still hoping to hear something...

[Kampfzentrum]

So I followed some video online and tested the defroster/heater and got no resistance. I'm thinking that this is my culprit. I'm going to buy the part, it's too cheap not to. If other parts need replacing, so be it.

[DrCool299]

Yup.  That heating element should have a resistance.