1966 General Electric Spacemaker 19 Refrigerator MOD. TCF19DBC P.3

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Funny how the freezer still registers at 0F with no evaporator fan. And the refrigerator is at 34F for now until the ice build up blocks the cold into the refrigerated section. Frost is beginning to form, which means the old timer is also not advancing. The only thing I can think of is that both defrost timers are bad. After manually setting them to defrost, the cycle will work for about 15 minutes, then the compressor will kick in and ice will start to form on the coils.  As I mentioned, neither timers will cycle back to defrost.

 

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Hi David.

 

 

The drain line is clear. When I put it in defrost, the water drains away. As for the ice, perhaps the defrost timer has been bad for a long time causing the excessive  ice build up. Excessive moisture may also have contributed. The door seals are original, perhaps they letting in too much ambient air. 

 

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With the help of a blower, I melted all the ice on and behind the coils. I had the empty the drain pan 3 times. So reinstalled the the evaporator fan, turned on the refrigerator, and nothing. The fan is not working. Even though it checked out OK, I guess as suggested by David, the connectors might have been damaged from all the ice and water. I will check the connectors next.  Still too early if the defrost timer is advancing on it's own.

 

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Louis; if I remember, on your fridge, the evaporator fan works through the freezer door switch. Be sure that the switch is working correctly. The fan stops while the freezer is open.

 

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Indeed it does David. I believe the switch is working since the light goes off when I press it. I will check the contacts later today.

 

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Third times the charm...

 

 

Since the new defrost timer was a dud, I ordered a NOS genuine General Electric WRX330, the original timer. Well sir, it's been working just fine for the last 36 hours. It's defrosting regularly, hardly any frost on the coils, and about a cup of water in the drain pan. Freezer is at zero at 6 and refrigerator is at 34F at 6.  Now just the evaporator fan remains and we're done.

 

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[turbokinetic]

That's a good thing! Hope the fan is an easy fix.

 

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Turns out the evaporator fan was bad. So ordered a new replacement universal fan. It fit perfectly with the added parts. And it started up just fine.

 

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[turbokinetic]

That's great to hear!

I remember reading about an appliance repair call-out where the complaint was noise. The owner was convinced that "an owl" was in the refrigerator. She could hear it. Sometimes it would "hoot" when the freezer door was opened. Sometimes she could hear it "hooting" softly from inside while the door was closed.

In the end, it turned out to be that motor gong out and the shaft making noise in dry bearings.

 

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Thanks David!

 

 

 Let's hope this is it for many years to come.

 

 I will be getting cold controls for the freezer and the refrigerator sections. Just in case.

 

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On a side note, I got a full refund for the defective Paragon defrost timer.

 

[turbokinetic]

It's always good to have spares for these vintage appliances. While it's true that parts can be found or repaired, that doesn't help with the short term inconvenience while waiting.

 

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Very true David. You waste a lot of time finding and ordering a part. And of course, it would be something critical that you would need yesterday. 

 

I suspect the defrost timer was going bad for months. That's the only explanation how it could of developed that amazing amount of ice behind the evaporator fan. 

 

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A bad omen...

 

 

I opened the freezer and it was 36F...there was an odd ticking sound. Refrigerator was 48F. On a hunch, I advanced the defrost timer and the compressor kicked in and it immediately started to cool. It seems it was stuck on the defrost cycle. Temperatures are back to normal now. I can't believe the defrost timer might be failing again....

 

[coldspot66]

Are you sure that is the right defrost timer for a hot gas defrost refrigerator? That 330 defrost timer is the common one for an electric defrost refrig. I think that timer has too long of a defrost time, hence the warm temps.

 

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Hello John. The WR9X330 is the correct timer. The refrigerator has been working just fine for the past few weeks. Here is an image of the original defrost timer:

 

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It has been 5 days since the "stuck" incident". The defrost timer is continuing to cycle normally. Freezer temperatures @ #7 vary from below 0F to 4F. Evaporator fan going about it's business normally. Refrigerator section @ #7 varies from 36F to 42F.

 

Thanks everyone for your advice.