GE Combination refrigerator BGS-13? Identification & general questions

[ken]

I remember someone else here stating at one time how they had an old fridge that lost Freon when unplugged for awhile. They filled the system and it continued to operate correctly since then which was quite a long time. As long as it was kept operating it didn't seem to loose Freon again.

 

[rp2813]

Allen,  I seem to recall the mention of a heater that kicks in when the compressor is shut off, regardless of whether the serpentine coil has any accumulated frost.  This would explain why the coil felt hot even though you had the cold control set to "OFF."  As long as the fridge is plugged in but the compressor isn't running, this heater will be on.  I presume there's a switch or relay that's triggered to shut off the heater when the compressor kicks in.