[celticcove]

Desperate...Please help. Have a 5 1/2 year old GE side by side that was problem free until 5 years and 1 day. The refrigerator stopped cooling, freezer was fine. Pulled back cover in freezer off to discover the evaporator core was frozen solid. Looked for timer to learn it was built into motherboard. We replaced it and totally defrosted evap core. Also, I could hear ice in freezer door.

It ran well for 5 or 6 days and repeated refrigerator warming to 60 degrees. During these warmup times, cold air can be felt coming in from the bottom adjustable slide for the meat drawer, but none comes from the top vent. We replaced the defrost thermostat and totally defrosted the evap core, again.

Yesterday was the 6th day and a thin layer of frost appeared on the cover in back of freezer again and the fridge is back up to 60 something. Also, during the few days leading up to first warm-up and during these periods of false hope before warm-up the fridge sounds like it runs forever - cutting off rarely. We are at wits end...please help

[woodchuck]

When it goes into defrost mode the fan in the freezer turns off until the defrost cycle is over. That is when the ice built up on the coils should melt. If it's not melting then your defrost heater or the defrost thermostat is bad. Leave the back cover off to watch it. Check it here. Refrigerator Repair Guide: How To Fix a Refrigerator - ACME HOW TO.com

[celticcove]

First, thank you for the reply. We finally got time to tear it back down and follow the procedures for the heater and thermostat. BTW, we had originally replaced the motherboard on the suggestion of our local parts dealer who is supposed to be experienced in GEs. We put the old board back in and there was no change. At least we have a spare board for when this one goes out based on the track record for GE.

The replacement thermostat was fine, but when my hubby touched the heater it fell apart and the slight movement would trigger the fan to kick in and out. That is supposed to be in the parts house today.

Hopefully, this will work. Thank you for your guidance. I'll let everyone know how it does with the new heater to maybe help someone in the future.

Thanks,
Sonia