GE refrigerator side by side - quit cooling

[lkeeler]

I have a GE side by side refrigerator that quit cooling on the refrigerator side --- i.e. the freezer side freezes fine. I cleaned the coils, the fan works fine . Frig is probably about 4 to 5 years old I'm guessing. It was in the house when we bought the house. Model # is TFX22ZPDA with serial # VZ265248.

Anyone have an idea what might be the cause or where to start looking.

[woodchuck]

You cleaned the coils (condenser coils under the unit or evaporater coils inside the freezer?) The coils inside could be iced over because of failure of defrost system.

The condenser fan under the fridge works? Does the fan in the freezer work, which pulls cold air from the coils inside freezer and blows it to the fridge side.

Are the temp. control knobs in the fridge adjusted correctly? It actually just opens a vent to let more or less cold air in from the freezer.

How long has it been operating like this. It takes a while for the ice to build up in the freezer enough to affect the cooling.

This troubleshooting site may be helpful.
site (http://www.acmehowto.com/howto/appliance/refrigerator/diagrefrigerator.php)

Let us know if you need more information.

[lkeeler]

To Woodchuck

Your reply to diagnoisising my refrigerator problem was very helpful. Turns out the coils in the freezer side are all iced up (big time). Is this usually caused by the defroster not working? If so how can I best check this out?
Thanks,

Lkeeler

[woodchuck]

My first guess would be the defrost timer. You can manually turn it to engage the defrost cycle and observe whether or not the defrost heaters come on. Use this link which tells where it is and how to check it out. I have had to use a hair dryer to speed up melting the ice when there is lots of ice buildup.

Defrost Timer (http://www.acmehowto.com/howto/appliance/refrigerator/check/defrosttimer.php)


Her is aother link with some info on the defrost heater.

defrost heater (http://www.acmehowto.com/howto/appliance/refrigerator/check/defrostheater.php)

[lkeeler]

To Woodchuck: Again your reply was very helpful. I found the defrost timer. It appears that it is not working (i.e. not requesting the defroster to come on) but I can't tell for sure. How do I tell how much to manually advance (clockwise right?) the timer so the defrost should start.

I advanced it a few "clicks" but so far it doesn't appear the defroster is coming on. Thanks again.

lkeeler

[woodchuck]

lkeeler:
Most timers are 24 hour timers. It will turn the defroster on every 6 or maybe 12 hours depending on the model. It doesn't stay on for a long time so unless you can feel or hear a click or somthing to indicate a change you may need to test with a multimeter per the troubleshooting section. Good Luck