GE French Door Fridge GNE27JYMNFFS evap coil freezing up, fan pulsing

[cbailey31]

Model Number

GNE27JYMNFFS

Brand

GE

Age

1-5 years

Hi all-
The evap fan on my fridge has been pulsing for a couple weeks, fast-slow-fast-slow. I pulled the back panel off the freezer and found evap coil pull of ice. I let it defrost, while checking for continuity in evap heater. Heater seemed fine.

Also tried to check thermistor and thermostat, but am not familiar enough with correct readings to know if they indicated bad parts.

Figured I'd put it back together to get through Christmas since I can't get a repair person or parts for 5-10 days.

That's when I noticed this small, scorched spot on the rear underside which looks concerning.

Question 1: any idea if this scorched spot (attached image) indicates a problem related to the pulsing evap fan I had been hearing?

Question 2: any ideas about common GE issues similar to my frozen coils which are a likely cause?

Appreciate any input.

 

[Jake]

Question 1: any idea if this scorched spot (attached image) indicates a problem related to the pulsing evap fan I had been hearing?

No, that shouldn't be related. If no one has worked on this before, then that scorched spot is factory related weld spot on the assembly line and should be fine.

Question 2: any ideas about common GE issues similar to my frozen coils which are a likely cause?

GE has had some issues with the evaporator fan motor, and that would cause frozen coils if that fan is not running constantly.

Here's the freezer evaporator fan motor for your model:

GE WR60X32614 Evap Motor Service Kit (AP6990164) - AppliancePartsPros.com

Evap motor service kit WR60X32614 / AP6990164 made by GE

click.linksynergy.com

Page 51 tells you how to check voltage to it on the main board: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wI9V5eZnmwD1C16qxrIlh2XeqeUIUDns/view?usp=sharing

Main board location is on page 59 and pinouts on page 60.

RED and WHITE wires at that evaporator fan motor connector should show 13.6 VOLTS DC when it should be running constantly.

 

[cbailey31]

Thank you, Jake!

Long story short, I did have a repairman test the fan and that was not the problem. Also, after I defrosted the fridge and plugged it back in, the fan has been running fine. But obviously there is still likely an issue that will result in the same situation after some time.

I appreciate your guidance for checking the board. Will give that a shot.

Thanks again for your courtesy and time!

 

[Jake]

Glad to help!

Just keep your eye on it for awhile and if it keeps doing the same thing and the voltage to that fan motor is not a constant 13.6 VOLTS DC then the control board is the issue.

Here's the control board for your model, if needed:

GE WR55X40448 Board T Main Bf Vs (AP7188102) - AppliancePartsPros.com

Board t main bf vs WR55X40448 / AP7188102 made by GE

click.linksynergy.com

 

[cbailey31]

Glad to help!

Just keep your eye on it for awhile and if it keeps doing the same thing and the voltage to that fan motor is not a constant 13.6 VOLTS DC then the control board is the issue.

Here's the control board for your model, if needed:

GE WR55X40448 Board T Main Bf Vs (AP7188102) - AppliancePartsPros.com

Board t main bf vs WR55X40448 / AP7188102 made by GE

click.linksynergy.com

Hi Jake-
Thanks for the link to the manual. I used it to take more readings from the board.

After defrosting about 3 weeks back, it took about 2 weeks to frost up and the fan started pulsing again... same as before. Evap coil was frosted up worse than the first time, interior walls of freezer also had frost on them

Anyway, here are some of the readings I took at the board pins. Curious if you have any input.

Board:
green light blinks as it should per manual

Evap fan:
VDC reading supposed to be 13 per manual, my readings were 13.77 w/fan running

Defrost Heater:
VAC reading supposed to be 120 per manual, my readings were .235 at room temp(following defrost), 1.1 in ice water
Ohms reading supposed to be at 33 per manual, my readings were between 31-33

Defrost Thermostat:
Manual instructs using same board pins and readings as the heater, so my readings are above

Evap thermistor:
VAC reading supposed to be 1.85, my readings were 2.9 in ice water
Ohms reading supposed to be around 16 at 32 degrees F per manual, but was not able to get any reading at room temp or in ice water
Worth noting that in Service Mode, the system test says P for pass. If Ohms reading is really a problem, I would expect to see an F for fail, yes?

Hope this info is decipherable. Does this give you any ideas about root cause of the issue?

I'm inclined to order a new thermistor and thermostat, simply because they are the least expensive components.

Two additional notes:
1. I'm attaching a video in which you can hear the evaporator coil making noise. Does this sound normal? Sounds strange to me but may be that I typically don't hear this when the fan is plugged in and making noise.
2. I'm attaching two photos which show indication of heat which melted the plastic housing (circled in red image 3065) at the return air passage. The return air passage happens to be directly above a second indication of heat in the second photo 3066. Not sure if they are related but worth noting. Seems concerning to me that any heat warm enough to bubble the plastic was present at some point. Your thoughts?

 

[Jake]

Evap thermistor:
VAC reading supposed to be 1.85, my readings were 2.9 in ice water
Ohms reading supposed to be around 16 at 32 degrees F per manual, but was not able to get any reading at room temp or in ice water
Worth noting that in Service Mode, the system test says P for pass. If Ohms reading is really a problem, I would expect to see an F for fail, yes?

I'm not sure in service mode it can tell if the ohms are wrong, but from your ohm test from it, that's the culprit.

Its the evaporator thermistor that's bad.

It should also read about 16.3k ohms at 32 degrees.

Here's the evaporator thermistor for your model:
Thermistor WR55X10025