aturner225
Member
- Model Number
- GSS25GSHJCSS
- Brand
- GE
- Age
- 1-5 years
Hello, I've been reading this blog over the last week or so while we've been going through a nightmare with our refrigerator. I've learned a lot, but am looking for some guidance on what to do next.
This is a side-by-side refrigerator that's about five years old. Almost two weeks ago, it stopped cooling. We called a repair tech who came out and replaced the defrost heater element, and thermostat (maybe thermistors too, I'm not sure). After he left, he said to leave it unplugged for about two more hours to allow it to fully defrost (he had used a steamer to melt most of the ice build up while he was here). We followed his instruction, and plugged it back in at 11pm before going to bed. The next morning, we could smell a slight burning smell mixed with another strong smell (sort of nail polish like, which I now know can be a sign of a Freon leak). But the burning was what we were most concerned about at the time. The repair tech said some smell with new parts can be normal, so to give it a couple of days. We did that, then took the element out and found the plastic bubbling and black burn marks at the end of the element. We figured this was the problem. The tech came back out and put another new element in. Well, it's now been several more days and while we don't have the burning smell anymore, the overwhelming plastic/nail polish smell is still very strong. The strange thing is, the temperature is holding at 0/37 just fine. We haven't used the freezer side at all since it has been so strong over there. On the fridge side, you can still smell it, and the containers are all absorbing the smell too, but it's not quite as bad as the freezer side.
Can there be a Freon leak if the temperature is staying cold? Is it really true that it's "normal" for these new parts to smell? We asked the tech if they were using genuine GE parts and he assured us they were, but we never saw the boxes. The frost pattern seems relatively normal from what I've researched. Thanks for any insight you can provide.
This is a side-by-side refrigerator that's about five years old. Almost two weeks ago, it stopped cooling. We called a repair tech who came out and replaced the defrost heater element, and thermostat (maybe thermistors too, I'm not sure). After he left, he said to leave it unplugged for about two more hours to allow it to fully defrost (he had used a steamer to melt most of the ice build up while he was here). We followed his instruction, and plugged it back in at 11pm before going to bed. The next morning, we could smell a slight burning smell mixed with another strong smell (sort of nail polish like, which I now know can be a sign of a Freon leak). But the burning was what we were most concerned about at the time. The repair tech said some smell with new parts can be normal, so to give it a couple of days. We did that, then took the element out and found the plastic bubbling and black burn marks at the end of the element. We figured this was the problem. The tech came back out and put another new element in. Well, it's now been several more days and while we don't have the burning smell anymore, the overwhelming plastic/nail polish smell is still very strong. The strange thing is, the temperature is holding at 0/37 just fine. We haven't used the freezer side at all since it has been so strong over there. On the fridge side, you can still smell it, and the containers are all absorbing the smell too, but it's not quite as bad as the freezer side.
Can there be a Freon leak if the temperature is staying cold? Is it really true that it's "normal" for these new parts to smell? We asked the tech if they were using genuine GE parts and he assured us they were, but we never saw the boxes. The frost pattern seems relatively normal from what I've researched. Thanks for any insight you can provide.
