I just bought a home with a GE Monogram Freezer (ZIF36NMILH) manufactured in 2008. As far as I can tell, the fridge (which matches, but is a separate unit, I believe) works fine, but the freezer is not cold enough. It barely keeps ice frozen, and things like ice cream and frozen fruit thaw quickly. I don’t know the exact internal temp, but I have a freezer thermometer coming later today and will update this post at that time. We’ve defrosted the whole freezer both by: 1) disconnecting power and letting it sit for 12 hours and by 2) repeatedly advancing the defrost timer to the defrost interval with the door open (approximately 5-6 times for a total of 2.5 - 3 hours). While there was some frost on the evaporator coils before the defrost, I don’t see anymore now.
There is an audible clicking sound coming from the defrost timer, it sounds like a clock with regular clicking occurring more than once per second. I will test the defrost timer when I get my multimeter, but that might will not be until tomorrow when the rest of our stuff arrives. https://photos.app.goo.gl/SqThSSPcmhTaXHhJ7. If you have the sound on, you can hear the clicking. I know that the condenser is a bit dusty and plan to clean it, but I don’t think that’s the issue. The condenser coils are not getting very warm at all, possibly the same temperature as the ambient air. The compressor is a little warm, maybe 90-95F, but definitely not hot. The evaporator coils do not feel very cold either, but they do feel a little cold, so the system must be pumping some heat.
What would you recommend for a next trouble-shooting step? I’m pretty handy, but also very conservative and careful. I’d prefer to avoid a service call, even if it means that this repair takes a week or two (I am patient), but I know my own limits and will not be messing with the closed system at all. Any suggestions welcome.
Update 1: Despite the condenser coils not getting very warm, some of the evaporator coils were covered with frost within a few hours of the freezer being allowed to run normally. https://photos.app.goo.gl/eyiUkftgtaegrsAx6.
Does anyone know how to access the evaporator fan on this model?