The freezer waqs fine, the fridge was not working. Doing a continuity test, we determined it was the defrost thermosat. I replaced that, but then nothing but the heater is working. What happened? Help, please!!!
Sorry but I am confused
You said "The freezer was fine, the fridge was not working."
Why would you replace a defrost thermostat if the freezer was fine?
it was the defrost thermosat. I replaced that, but then nothing but the heater is working. What happened?
Perhaps nothing.
Maybe you are just in a defrost cycle.
Give it half an hour or so.
Did you leave it plugged in and wait?
It really does sound like you are just in a defrost cycle.
If it has been an hour or so try rotating the timer cam.
If the compressor fires up then perhaps you had 2 problem parts and the timer needs replacing.
[SIZE=3]No, I didn’t. I was putting the freezer back together and the back panel was hot to the touch. Hot. I figured that could not be right, so I unplugged it, took the panel off and the heater was red hot still. There is no defrost timer on this model. It’s some kind of high efficiency thing. But it never got cold. I had "defrosted" it with a hairdryer. One other thing, I checked the continuity of the new defrost therm and it had continuity at room temp. I don’t know, but would that mean that it is always closed (i.e. it thinks it’s frozen when it’s not)? And if so, would that trigger the compressors and fans to not work & the heater to fire up?[/SIZE]
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[SIZE=3]Just a thought.[/SIZE]
Thanks Denman. I appreciate your help and will let you know.
I keyword searched for "timer" and nothing came up. The live chat said that on the newer GE’s there are not timers, but the schematic is right. I’ll look for the control. One last thing, how do I check the defrost control to see if that is the problem?
They can fail in a couple ways.
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The contacts can fail. There is usually a hole that will let you turn the cam.
It only turns one way. If you can turn it and the compressor comes on then you were definitely in a defrost cycle. Keep turning and it should then go into a defrost cycle. The timers are usually 6 or 8 hours with one half hour defrost cycle for one revolution of the cam. -
The timer motor or it’s gears can stop mess up. It may not run at all but it could just stop anywhere in the rotation. To check if it is running put a pen lined up mark on the cam and the cover. Check it again in half an hour to see it the cam has moved. But if it is jamming somewhere in the rotation it is a pain unless you want to check the marks every couple hours.
Usually if the heater and defrost thermostat check out OK and the unit is not defrosting you replace the timer as that is all that is left.
It does sound like your defrost thermostat is shot since the heater kept running after all the ice was melted off.
The jury is still out on the timer.