Hello all, I have a GE Profile Refridgerator mod# PDS18SBMBRBS bottom freezer unit. The freezer works great, but the fridge is staying warm. It was given to me by my in-laws because of this problem. It is the second time this happened. They had a Sears tech come out and fix it. About 2 yrs later the same problem. They called out another tech and told my mother in-law something was not heating and there was ice then she said the tech was working under the floor panel in the fresh food compartment. So she decided not to get it fixed and bought a new one. I took it home and started looking at it and removed the floor panel and exposed a giant ice block. I have been reading online about refridgerators not defrosting. I assume this would be my problem but I am not sure exactly whats supposed to happen and how refridgerators work. I am not too familiar with applainces but I am an electrical tech and I work on production machines so I am sure I will be able to fix this on my own. Any help and drawings would be greatly appreaciated.
First remove the evaporator cover in the freezer so you can see the coils.
Do not let them de-ice.
If they are heavily iced/frosted over you have a defrost problem.
If yes.
Manually force a defrost cycle by turning the defrost timer cam (Item 47 in Section 3) till the fans and compressor turn off.
Now check the defrost heater to see if it is on.
Be careful you do not want to burn your fingers.
If the heater is on then the timer needs replacing, re: it is probably stalling during it’s rotation so is never getting into a defrost cycle.
If not on.
Unplug the unit.
Remove the wire for one side of the heating element (Item 11 in Section 3) from the wiring and measure it for continuity, usually around 20 ohms or so.
If the heater is OK
Remove one wire to the defrost thermostat (Item 10 in Section 3) and measure it, should be 0 ohms when frozen. Note that it opens just above freezing so must be frozen to check it. Also inspect it, if it is bulged at all replace it even if it measures OK.
If both the above are OK then odds are the defrost timer contacts are toast.
Best way to test this is a live test to see if you have 120 volts across the heater/defrost thermostat combo.
If you do not own a meter, I would suggest you purchase a one. You can get a decent digital multimeter for under $20.00. You do not need fancy though it is nice if the leads are a couple feet long.
If it saves ordering one unnecessary part it has paid for itself and you end up owning a useful tool.
Most places will not let you return electrical parts so if you order it, you own it.
A couple things to watch when measuring ohms and continuity
Always remove power from the machine otherwise you could blow your meter.
Always disconnect at least one side of any device you are checking. This eliminates the possibility of measuring an alternate/parallel circuit path.
When checking for closed contacts and continuity use the lowest scale (Usually 200 ohms). Then try higher scales. This scale is 0 to 200 ohms so if the device you are measuring is 300 ohms this scale would show an open circuit which it is not, you are just measuring outside the scale’s dynamic range.
There is a good STICKY at the start of this forum about it’s use.
I checked yesterday and the timer motor i running, but i kow that doesn’t mean it not stalling. I checked the heater an it had continuity so then I unplugged th fidge and cut out the thermostat and wire nutted the wires together. Then I turned the defrost timer until the fan and compessor went off. THe heater got how and just or kicks I mesured the voltage across the heater and had 120v. Then I removed the wire nut and seperated the wires and the heater stoped heating. I let it sit for a while and the fan and compressor came on. To get to my second questionI was wondering how long does it take from the time the thermostat closes until the heater comes on. I am just trying to figure out if the timer is stalling.
To get to my second questionI was wondering how long does it take from the time the thermostat closes until the heater comes on.
Heater should come on right away. I am assuming you are referring to the defrost thermostat which should be closed as long as the coils are frozer.
Most thermostats open around 40 degrees F.
I am just trying to figure out if the timer is stalling.
Mark a spot on the timer cam and then a corresponding spot on the timer case or cover then you will be able to tell if the timer is stopping somewhere.
Timer is 35 minutes of defrost every 10 hours so I would say it is 10 hours for one revolution. I do not have tech data on this unit so I cannot say if the timer is continuous (always advances) or cumulative (only advances when the compressor is on).
Hello all back again with the same fridge, the ge profile pds18sbmbrbs. I had the problem of the coils freezing about 3 yrs ago and with help of the site and posts from the valued members here I got it fixed.
Well now I am having another problem. About every three weeks to a month I have to go in and pull out the veggie draws and the vent plate the get the frozen defrost water out the "drain channel". I made sure the "u" shaped drain is clear and the timer is working and defrost thermostat is working. I have no clue how to get the water to stop freezing. I have the fridge and freezer dials turned all the way up abd then put them both back to mfgr recommended settings and still the same result of the water freezing and not draining.
The fridge is a great unit and would really hate to throw it away or spend money on a repair tech as the unit was free to me.
I want to also add that the fridge is in my garage. The garage is on the side of the house that gets the setting sun. We only keep drinks and beer in the fridge and some frozen items in the freezer. I don’t know if it being in the garage would have an effect on it being as this has been happening only for the last 10 months and the fridge has been in the garage for the last 3 yrs.
How cold does it get in the garage?
Perhaps the water in the U trap of the drain tube is freezing causing a blockage.
I would remove the drain tube just to be sure it is nice and clean. It is not uncommon for crud to grow in the tube causing a restriction. If there is crud flush it with a 10% bleach solution to kill it and then clean it.
Check that the path from the evaporator coils to the drain is nice and clean. Any dirt etc. will slow down the draining water giving it time to freeze. Sometimes a coating of buffed up wax will help the water drain out quicker.
Check your freezer temperature. It should be between 0 and 5 degrees F. Any colder and it may just freeze the water before it can exit.
There is a jiggery pokery method for a freezing drain.
You may want to try this as a last resort. Unfortunately your unit uses a glass defrost heater so that is why it is a last resort.
Take a length of 12 or 14 gauge wire, wrap it snugly but not really tight (don’t want to break the glass) a couple times around the defrost heater.
Then route it down the drain hole about an inch. Now when it does a defrost it will also defrost the drain route.
You will have to then let the unit get down to set point temperature and then force a defrost so that you can check that the wire is not getting too hot which could do damage or cause a fire.
Also the wire wrap will cause a cool spot on the glass element which can cause element break problems.
I checked the drain tube and blew it out with 80 psi from my air compressor. Nothing came out and it was clear. The garage gets about 40 degrees Fahrenheit at its coldest I’m in south Mississippi and we had a mild winter
How does the drain tube actually work? Is the water supposed to evaporate from the tube?
If I set the fan blade on the the blower motor at the wrong spot, too far forward or backward will that have an effect?
I will put a thermometer in the freezer and check the temp to let you know.
How does the drain tube actually work? Is the water supposed to evaporate from the tube?
It is hard to tell by just looking at the parts breakdown but usually it drain into a drip pan and then the water evaporates from there.
It would not evaporate out of the drain tube itself as there is not enough surface area.
If I set the fan blade on the the blower motor at the wrong spot, too far forward or backward will that have an effect?
The fan position should not make a difference. It is off during defrost.
Are you having problems with it?
If yes click on the below and tale a look at the Q&A section. AP4339507
The fridge warms up while the freezer seems to be Okay. Where can I find "defrost heater, defrost thermostat and defrost timer"? Are these inside the freezer or outside the unit. If it’s inside, I don’t see any place where I can open it and see where these parts are. There is only one screw inside the freezer, I unscrewed it but I don’t know if that’s the right thing to do. It’s all plastic and I am afraid I’d break something.
Could you please direct me to where I can find the three parts I mentioned above?
Get your model number and serial number and go to the tab on this page that says parts. There you can enter in your info and search the part and most of the time they will have a diagram on what to remove. If you don’t have any luck post your make and model with model number here and I will try to help. If you do find it also just let us know. Good luck
I can’t seem to find the defrost timer or defrost thermostat for this model of GE ‘Profile’ bottom freezer (Mod.GE PDS20SBRALSS). Is it all electronic on a board somewhere? the cabinet drawings only come back with a hit for the defrost heater
The timer should be by the temp controls in the fridge portion. You need to remove the cover in the back it will be there. The defrost thermostat is located in the bottom of fridge comportment. Remove the drawers then the bottom panel. You will see the coils and in the front it will be clipped to the coil. If you go to appliancespartspros.com if you put in the model number you should be able to get a pets diagram.
Thanks for the ideas… I checked in the fridge cabinet only the big foam and plastic duct that directs cold air from freeze to fridge the rest is one big single continuous plastic mold. the temp is displayed digitally just behind the top of the main door (fridge’/freeze) but nothing in there but door switch and a housing for cabinet lights. There is an access panel in freezer where the ‘ice dam beast’ visits weekly but I saw no motor there or on the schematics. there may be a thermostat I missed. At the same time I have yet to see the mother board so the problem may well be a blind operator… I’ll continue with the head bashing and thanks for your time and interest.
Under the foam should be the coil. You will also see the heater that does the defrosting. Double check the full model number and repost please. I will have a look to the schematics and give my thoughts.