My GE side-by-side has decided to stop cooling again

Refrigerator & Freezer Repair
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1

Hi everyone,

I’ve been reading a lot of good information here but haven’t been able to find a specific answer to my problem.

Here’s the story… (I’ll try to keep it short.)

My freezer stopped cooling about a month and a half ago. The lights, condensor, and all fans still worked. From what I could tell, everything was working fine except for the compressor. I noticed that the condenser coils were loaded with dust so I went ahead and cleaned them completely. While the refrigerator was unplugged, I also unplugged and reconnected all of the connections leading to the compressor to make sure all were secure. I then plugged the power back in and adjusted the temperature settings just to see if that had any effect, which it didn’t.

I decided just to leave the power unplugged and come back later to check on things. Well, when I came back in a few hours and plugged up the refrigerator, wouldn’t you know that the compressor fired right up and the freezer started to get cold immediately! Everything has been working great until now.

The compressor has stopped working once again. I’m not really sure what to do at this point. I don’t understand why it would come back to life before and now has stopped again. I have noticed a pretty loud "click" sound when I plug in the refrigerator that I don’t remember from before.

I’m hoping that the compressor will not have to be replaced. I understand that is something left for the pros and is quite expensive. I’m pretty handy so I’m up for most any work that you, the experts, recommend. I would sincerely appreciate any advice you can give.

Lastly…
The model number of my GE refrigerator is GSS25LSMF BS and the serial number is MD425542. Also, it was manufactured in 2002.

Thanks very much for your time!

2

Sound like it may be the compressor starter/overload relay. http://www.acmehowto.com/howto/appliance/refrigerator/check/compressorrelay.php

3

Thanks for your help. I will test the starter/overload relay.

Would a faulty starter/overload relay explain why the compressor stopped before, then worked again, and now has stopped again? It seems like if the relay was bad over a month ago then the compressor would not have started working again at all at that time. I don’t know enough about how these relays work to know the answer.

Thanks again.

4

I just saw your post and have a same problem on same GE model refrigerator. I am curious to know what is the final result to your refrigerator then? Thanks for your help.

— Begin quote from john2398;101657

Thanks for your help. I will test the starter/overload relay.

Would a faulty starter/overload relay explain why the compressor stopped before, then worked again, and now has stopped again? It seems like if the relay was bad over a month ago then the compressor would not have started working again at all at that time. I don’t know enough about how these relays work to know the answer.

Thanks again.

— End quote

5

Jim Bao said:
I just saw your post and have a same problem on same GE model refrigerator. I am curious to know what is the final result to your refrigerator then? Thanks for your help.
Jim, Replacing the motherboard fixed my problem. Everything has worked perfectly ever since. I believe I bought the motherboard at a local appliance parts supply store for around $120 or so. Hope this helps.