My General Electric Refrigerator/Bottom Mount Freezer. P1

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Part of the haul of vintage appliances from Newport, R.I. . Thanks to Jeannine (spacepig) for posting the ad, John (combo52) for letting me know, and a huge thank you to Scott (searsbest) for helping move and load those heavy appliances.

 

This is a General Electric Model TCF19DBC Serial # LB631067, If I am reading the code correctly, it was manufactured on January, 1969. As stated before, it is in remarkable condition for it's age. I was so impressed that I decided to replace my current G.E. Frost Guard with this one. The following are pictures taken in Brooklyn.

[this post was last edited: 4/16/2019-00:29]

 

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And that compressor, before and after.

 

 

[ea56]

That is a beautiful fridge Louie! They just don’t make them like this anymore, and the condition of yours is flawless. I especially like those beautiful, blue, porcelain crisper drawers. Not like the plastic, throw away crap they make now. You ought to get many years of service from this one.

Congratulations on the score.

Eddie

 

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Eddie thank you...

 

 

However, there is bad news. It doesn't work. Yup, from one bad G.E. to another. So here are the symptoms:

 

1) It lights up, fan in the refrigerator compartment goes on.

2) Fan in freezer compartment does not turn on.

3) Condenser fan does not turn on.

4) Compressor does not start.

5) Refrigerator compartment starts to get hot (sound familiar?). Like stuck on the defrost cycle.

6) Amp draw is 0.737

 

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7) Should be 5.8

 

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Soooo, there you have it. I am open to suggestions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[spacepig]

Oh no, Louis, I'm so sorry to hear this. The fridge looks beautiful. Hope it's an easy fix.

 

[turquoisedude]

Louis, the fridge looks great, but I'm so disappointed to hear that it doesn't seem to be working!

It sounds as if there may be a couple of issues from what you are describing. Perhaps the defrost timer is stuck and forcing the system into a permanent-defrost cycle. There may be a way to manually advance it out of defrost mode.

There may also be an issue with a starting/running relay - I gave up too quickly on a really old Westinghouse fridge that wouldn't cool and it turned out to be a bad relay. I wish I knew more and could offer better suggestions, but I'm rooting for you! It's a beauty of a fridge for sure. Betty Draper would be proud.... LOL

 

[rp2813]

I bought a relay for my '57 Combination that it didn't need.  I don't know if it's the right replacement for this later fridge, but it's Louie's if he wants it.

 

I really, really hope the compressor didn't give up due to the condenser never having been cleaned.

 

[turbokinetic]

Nonworking fridge....

Hey, it sounds like it's stuck in Defrost. If the compressor was bad, it would almost always do one of two things... A; click off and on with the overload. This would cause periodic dimming of the lights and clicking and humming off and on.

Or, it would actually run, and make a motor running sound without actually cooling.

For it to do "nothing" it's almost certainly an electrical problem in the fridge. I know that John (combo52) is much more well-versed in these than I am; but if I remember from reading his posts, the freezer fan stopping is a sigh of Defrost mode being active. If it didn't ever cycle on, then the timer may be stuck.

 

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Thanks David...

 

 

John (and Paul) were thinking the same thing...perhaps it is stuck on defrost mode. I'm going to attempt to advance the timer 1/8. It's located in the freezer compartment. If it's still a no go, the relay may be the culprit. I am hopeful.

 

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Tiny update...

 

 

When freezer temp control is on and you hold in the door switch, you can hear a whine. But condenser fan, the compressor and freezer fan remain non operational. I'm waiting for the pain killers to kick in so I can get on my back and advance the defrost timer.

 

 

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The defrost timer moves freely, and I can hear it working. I advanced it, no change.

 



 

The freezer fan is toast. It has seized, can barely turn it, it's also seems to have broken loose from it's mounting.

 



 

 

 

 

 

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I hear these fans are easily replaceable. So now I will need a part number.

 

[turbokinetic]

Interesting about the fan. I bet that will be easy to change.

As for the timer, if there is no change when it's moved then the contacts are probably bad in the timer. It's likely not sending power to the compressor.

 

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Thanks David.

 

 

Would a new,  generic defrost timer work or would I need to find a NOS replacement?

 

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Some shots of the defrost timer and freezer fan.

 

 

Defrost timer:

 





 

There are aftermarket defrost timers that can work.

 

Freezer fan:

 





 

John (combo52) suggested to lubricate the shaft with Turbine oil.

 

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Looks like I found the correct timer...

 

 

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Defrost-Ti...513057&hash=item2ce1ca59c1:g:WHwAAOSwf7Ja26T~

 

[northwesty]

it

That old timer really is toast I would drill out those rivets and take a look inside. You might be able to tweak and clean it.

 

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It's an idea Brian...

 

 

However, John feels the defrost timer is most likely good. So I'm moving on to the compressor and the starter relay. Now where did I put that multimeter?

 

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Looks like the freezer evaporator fan is a goner. I lubricated it with a couple of drops of Turbine oil and it loosed it up considerably. However, when I connected it directly, all it did was hum, it would not even attempt to turn.

 





[this post was last edited: 4/19/2019-16:31]

 

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General Electric Evaporator Motor Mod. WR60X60

 

 

I've found an NOS replacement evaporator motor for $59.95 and a modern replacement for $19.95.

 

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Well it's over. This refrigerator is too tall to fit under my kitchen wall cabinets, by an inch. I can't replace the cabinets so this was all for naught. Thank God I didn't buy parts. I still have a few options though. I'll keep you all posted.

 

[spacepig]

Oh no! I'm so sorry to hear this Louis, especially after all of the time, energy, and resources you put into getting it.

 

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I know Jeannine. I had so much going on that week, and I figured it would fit. Width wise I was spot on, but height wise missed it. Anyway, depending how the compressor checks out later today I'll decide what to do next. If there is a silver lining, at least these appliances were saved.

 

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Some good news...

 

 

According to the multimeter, the compressor checked out OK. The starter relay wires were in bad shape. They literally crumbled. Unknown if there was a break before I pulled it off but I am willing to bet there was. If the refrigerator is salvageable, there is a way I can keep it, at least for the time being. I can remove my current G.E. refrigerator from the utility closet, put that in the kitchen, and place the Newport G.E. in the utility closet. No problem with room there. Next stop a starter relay and some new wiring.

[this post was last edited: 4/20/2019-21:34]

 

[spacepig]

Louis, glad to hear that there's still some hope for you and this fridge. Thanks for keeping us posted.

 

[mtn1584]

Where is your Maytag 806?

I have been waiting for pictures for a long time!
Is it finished? If not what are you using?
Mike

 

[ken]

This might seem obvious but do you have the feet adjusted all the way in? If not might give the extra space you need to fit under the cabinets.

 

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Even with the feet off it is still too tall Ken.  Just ordered a new starter/relay. Hopefully the G.E. will be in service by this weekend. I desperately need a second refrigerator. My current one is packed.

 

Mike, I still have to remove the inner tub. Eventually I will get to it. I'm currently using a compact Magic Chef washer.