GE Refrigerator Evaporator fan won't always run

by Kevin
(Washington Court House, Ohio)

Hi. My refrigerator intermittently stops cooling. The compressor and condenser fan run, but when it quits working, the evaporato fan motor isn't running to circulate the cold air, causing the top part of the freezer to thaw out, and the bottom of the fresh food side to freeze things in the crisper bins. I found your video on YouTube that shows how to check voltages on the main control board. Today, my freezer was thawing out again. Compressor and condenser fan motor running, evaporator fan not running. I checked the voltage from the control board to the evaporator fan motor, pins 3&8 and got 14.52 VDC. The evaporator fan motor was not running. I checked the voltage on pins 3&4 and it was 1.45 VDC. I then opened the refrigerator and freezer doors. After three minutes, the voltage went to 4 VDC, then 8 VDC, then 13.45 VDC over about a 15 second time frame. The evaporator fan motor did come on and increased in speed with each corresponding increase in voltage supplied. Model # is DSS25KGRE. Can we tell if it is the control board or the fan motor from this test? I had also checked the thermistors by putting each of them into a small glass of ice water (32 degrees) and they were supposed to read 16.3K ohms, + - 5%. The one on the top of the evaporator read 14.8K, lower one in freezer was 16.4K. The ones in the fresh food side read 14.9K and 16.2K ohms.
Long story short, this thing still intermittently thaws out in the freezer side top two shelves, while freezing everything in the fresh food crisper bins. The issue is that the evaporator fan motor stops running and all of the cold air stays at the bottom of both sides. I have provided all of the readings that I could think of that may be necessary. Could you please let me know what part(s) I need to replace to get this thing working consistantly? Thaks so much, Kevin

Find your part:

Answer

Hi Kevin,

Replacement parts in General Electric DSS25KGREWW Refrigerator

Since the motor did run when the voltage was there the motor is ok. The thermistor readings are ok. I know they are a little out of range but I don’t feel like they are far enough to cause your problem. However the thermistors are a lot cheaper then the main board, which is what it will be if the thermistors don’t correct the problem. The one that read 14.4 is dead on so don’t replace that one. I say try the thermistors first and if that doesn’t work replace the maim board.

Thank you,
Shawn/administrator

Comments for GE Refrigerator Evaporator fan won't always run

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Same problem, but how do I check board resistors
by: Jennifer

Shawn, I have the same exact problem on GE Model GSS25RG. I also followed through your video. Thermistors in freezer, fridge and evaporator read ok. Power supply was ok. First time I couldn't get condenser fan to give me a reading, but it has tested ok every time since. (I don't remember if the fan was on at the time or not)

The evaporator fan reading is very similar to the situation above. Reading low then increasing to a normal value when fan is on high. When watching the video, you mentioned testing the resistors next to J2 on the circuit board, which would indicate if both the board and the fan motor needed to be replaced. How would I go about testing them and what readings should I expect? (I gave this a whirl using every ohms setting on multimeter with fridge unplugged and got nothing. Like the meter wasn't responding, so I have to figure I'm doing it wrong).

I also wanted to mention that I tried another test I saw online where you unplug the evaporator fan harness and test the wires to see if they give you correct voltage (red to white - 13VDC and white to yellow 8-13VDC). When I did it both voltages were correct. The site said that would indicate the evaporator fan motor was bad. I don't know if that helps at all.

And one last note, as I was testing it, I saw the evaporator fan appear to try to start a couple times. Eventually, it kicked on. I had checked it and it does spin freely.

Any advice is appreciated. Thank you for your site and your help!

GE refrigerator evap fan won,t always run
by: Erik

I have he same issue with my GE fridge. All of the readings are spot on with the tech sheet. I replaced the evaporator fan motor and the main control board along with all the thermistors. The problem is still there, the fan stops and everything in the bottom of the freezer and the crisper drawers freeze.
I also replaced the defrost thermostst as well as the defrost heater.
The problem is still there, no change.
I called GE, they sent a technician out, he hooked up a computer to the fridge. He said everything was working fine except the evaporator fan, so he replaced the fan motor. 15 minutes later the problem is back exactly the same.

Answer,

Hi Erik,

I would say the main board needs to be replaced. Give model number for more info.

Thank you,
Shawn/admin

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