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We have a GE Profile PSS26MSTESS that came with our house. No idea how old it is. On Sunday, we found that the fridge had warmed up to 60 F. The Freezer at that time was at -6 F. We reset the power, tried messing with the set temperature, and left it for about an hour. The freezer warmed up to about -2 and the refrigerator side stayed at 60. Figuring it was dead, we removed everything from it and took the food to my grandmother’s place. I do not think the door was stuck open or anything because on the occasions that we have done that, we usually notice a large quantity of condensation on the steel doors from the escaping cold air and there was nothing like that here. Now it’s Tuesday. For Monday and today the Fridge has seemed to hold temperature at 0 F for the Freezer and 33 F for the Refrigerator. Our home warranty company can’t get anyone out here for at least another week. I am not sure what to think. It seems to be holding temperature now but I am disinclined to trust it. Any ideas?
Hi, Things to check for now and if it occurs again: Check if you can hear if the evaporator fan is running when the compressor is running. The evaporator fan is located near the evaporator unit which is behind a panel in the freezer compartment. This is accessed from the front through the compartment The fan will stop when a door (either door) is open and start again when the doors are shut. You may have to listen closely next to the fridge to hear it. Do not confuse this fan with the condenser fan which is located under the compartments near the compressor and can run whether the doors are opened or not. If the compressor is stopped then the evap fan should be stopped. This may occur when either the set temps in the freezer and the refrigerator compartments have been reached or the refrigerator is in the auto defrost mode. The auto defrost mode occurs once every 8-12 hours (depends on maker). During this time the compressor and evap fan are turned off and the temp in the freezer is allowed to rise to ~32F to allow the ice buildup on the evap unit to melt and drain away to the evap pan under the compartments. The melting process is sped up by turning on the defrost heater as you don’t want the food to even begin to thaw. The whole process lasts about 15-25 minutes. When the freezer temp gets to ~32F the defrost thermostat signals the control board to turn on the compressor and the evap fan to cool the compartments back down to their set temps. this takes a little while to achieve. If you can’t hear the evap fan running when the compressor is running then the problem may be a faulty fan / fan circuit or it is iced up. If it is iced up then it could be a faulty defrost heater, blocked drain tube to the evap pan or a faulty control board. If you can’t hear the fan and the compressor is not running, then it may be a faulty defrost thermostat but be aware that it may be in the auto defrost mode so allow a bit of time (~30 minutes) to see if it starts up again. If the fan is running and the compressor is running and the freezer temp is OK but the fridge is warm, it may be a faulty air damper which connects the freezer compartment to the refrigerator compartment for the cold air to be blown through to cool it down to the set temp or a faulty fridge temperature sensor. Hopefully this is of some help.
