GE GSE25HMHBHES reading -9 on freezer + frosted coils

[rakjr2875]

Model Number

GSE25HMHBHES

Brand

GE

Age

1-5 years

Woke up this morning, freezer seemed not as cold. Sure enough, stuff was starting to thaw and fridge was cool but not cold. Display said -9 for the freezer which was clearly not right and 45ish for fridge which seemed correct. Unplugged it, pulled It out and cleaned the coils that were a bit dirty. Compressor kicked on like normal and fan was running well. Plugged it back in, fridge thermostat had raised from being unplugged but freezer still insisted on -9.

Pulled freezer apart and coils inside were about 85% frosted/frozen with a lot of build up. Let a blow dryer do the work and defrosted it as I was going to start trouble shooting the defrost system.

After putting it all back together for the time Being, it’s running fine and has cooled the fridge back down from 61 to 39 in a few hours. While I will still need to diagnose the defrost issue, my bigger concern is the freezer thermomstat on the front reading -9 even after running the hair dryer in there.

Any ideas on that aspect?

At this point the condenser will only kick on if the fridge goes above it’s set temp but it also thinks the freezer is at -9.

 

[rickgburton]

Finish diagnosing the defrost issue and see if the board is the problem. If so, that should fix both issues.

GE WR55X24347 Board Main Asm (AP5970765) - AppliancePartsPros.com

BOARD MAIN ASM WR55X24347 / AP5970765 made by GE

click.linksynergy.com

 

[rakjr2875]

Woke up this morning, read out is correct on the display and the -9 is gone. Could a dirty condenser coil on the back cause an ice/frost build up inside?

 

[rickgburton]

No. Blocked condensor coils just cause poor cooling.

coils inside were about 85% frosted/frozen with a lot of build up.

I'm curious about this. A defrost problem usually causes the frost build up on the coils to be 100%. What did the other 15% look like?

 

[rakjr2875]

They looked like they were on their way to being frosted as well but it wasn’t quite all the way there yet.

 

[rickgburton]

OK

 

[rakjr2875]

Update: it’s the board. Unfortunately my wife is impatient due to the holiday and Us going out of town in a few days and we are getting it replaced for $275. Thanks for the help none the less.

 

[rickgburton]

You're welcome.

 

[rakjr2875]

You're welcome.

Random question, how long after the board being replaced should the freezer display stop reading -9? The tech who replaces it today told me to give it at least 24hrs. Seems like that would be something that sorts it self out as soon as the boards replaced.

 

[rickgburton]

Hmm.......See if you have 13 VDC across J4-2 and J4-3 on the board.

 

[rakjr2875]

Hmm.......See if you have 13 VDC across J4-2 and J4-3 on the board.

I’ll have to get my multimeters back, but in any case, what direction am I counting to find which is 2&3?

 

[rakjr2875]

I’ll have to get my multimeters back, but in any case, what direction am I counting to find which is 2&3?

Also what is this to check exactly? The thermistor?

 

[rickgburton]

Same model number, communication voltage.

 

[rakjr2875]

Same model number, communication voltage.

Sorry- what does same model number mean in this context?

 

[rickgburton]

My bad. I was helping another member with a GE refrigerator same problem and he was piggybacking on another thread. I thought it was you so I was asking if you had the same model number. LOL Now, I have to remember what I told the other guy. lol Sorry

 

[rakjr2875]

My bad. I was helping another member with a GE refrigerator same problem and he was piggybacking on another thread. I thought it was you so I was asking if you had the same model number. LOL Now, I have to remember what I told the other guy. lol Sorry

Ah okay fair enough. I appreciate it none the less

 

[rickgburton]

 

[rakjr2875]

I forgot to edit my post- fell asleep, what exactly am I checking when I check the j3&4?

 

[rickgburton]

Same model number, communication voltage.

 

[rakjr2875]

Back again- I’ve been out of town so it’s been hard for me to confirm any of this myself. I spoke with the company who did the board and the manager agreed something so still wrong and he wants to go ahead and replace the thermistor (no charge) and go from there. All of that aside, my question is, the fridge side is working great holding at a steady 37 all day.

The freezer, while it will freeze a cup of water if I put it in there, it does not feel as cold as it should be and the food I’ve tried to put in there does not get frozen enough. On top of it, the ice maker is hardly working leading me to believe it’s not getting cold enough to make the ice. Could this be a symptom of the bad thermistor since it’s telling the unit it’s -9 when in reality it’s not? I’ll know
More when I am able to test it, but either way it’s getting replaced in the next few days regardless.

If this thermistor gets replaced and it’s still showing that -9 and the freezer isn’t cooling how it should, what are the next steps of trouble shooting? At this point I’m just trying to have an idea.