My General Electric Refrigerator/Bottom Mount Freezer. P1

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Well, good news and bad news...

 

 

First the good news. It's cooling like nobodies business!

 

The bad news, the condenser fan will not come on.

 

I capped two wires that originally went to the overload relay. I am curious, what is the white arrow pointing to? One of the capped wires originated from there.



 

[this post was last edited: 4/29/2019-09:28]
 
 

 

And the dead fan.  It was removed, cleaned and oiled. I hooked it up directly, and it tested fine. Placement of the starter relay and wiring is only temporary.

 



[this post was last edited: 4/29/2019-09:34]
 
 

 

I ran the fridge (sans condenser fan) for about 20 minutes. The compressor was getting noisier and you can smell a hot odor, not burning, but when something is getting too hot. Temperature in the refrigerator section dropped from 78F to 60F in that time period. There is no evaporator fan in the freezer section since I am still waiting for a replacement motor (supposedly arriving today). Regardless the freezer was getting cold. Amp usage hovered around 4.6. If anything, it seems the refrigerator still has a good charge in it.

[this post was last edited: 4/29/2019-09:42]
 
Hey that valve with the arrow appears to be the hot-gas defrost valve. It is similar to a reversing valve on a heat-pump where it sends pressurized refrigerant in the reverse direction, to the evaporator, to melt the frost.

These compressors are known for wearing out, so please give it some cooling air. These really aren't meant to run for any amount of time w/o a fan.

EDIT: As for the hot smell, the Supco start device uses a heat-operated starting circuit cut-out device. It is a solid-state device made of a ceramic material which becomes less conductive when hot. The current passing through it heats it up, and after a predetermined amount of time, it becomes effectively an open circuit. The device stays extremely hot while the compressor is running, and may smell a little when new. It's called a PTC thermistor, by the way.
 
 

 

Hey Dave! Thanks for your input. So the hot gas defrost valve had a wire going to a relay that has now been removed (because of the 3'n1). Is it OK to leave that wire capped? Or does it need to be connected somewhere else?
 
 

 

Hi John! Yeah I was afraid of that. Even though there is one wire (blue) that is connected. running through the back of the refrigerator. I sorta' suspected that other wire needed to be placed as well. Now, to find a wiring diagram for this model. I suspect this will be a daunting task.
 
 

 

The condenser fan is working (loose connection, DOH!).

 

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In addition, the NOS freezer evaporator fan has been installed and working.

 

I covered up the back, and it's cooling. We'll see where we are in awhile.

 

Here's a close-up of the hot gas defrost valve. No luck in finding a wiring schematic for this model so far. The wire that was capped went to the overload relay.

 

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After an hour of operation...

 

 

Temperature in refrigerator section has dropped to 38F. Freezer is ice cold. As I feared, the compressor has not cycled off yet. I really need to resolve the the hot gas defrost valve issue.

 

Anyone have any idea where that wire would go?

 

Or perhaps it is the defrost timer?

[this post was last edited: 5/2/2019-05:46]
 
 

 

OK, I raised the thermostats in the refrigerator and freezer sections. The evaporator fans turned off. Temp in refrigerator section now reads 44F. However the condenser fan is still on, and I think the compressor is still running. AMP. draw is 4.1. 
 
In agreement with John, it sounds like a wiring diagram is in order for you!

Probably the broken wire to the defrost valve was a neutral connection.

I believe that the defrost system was actuated by a timer and cycled off by temperature. If the defrost valve never shifts over, the compressor will keep running. This is because the temperature switch to end the defrost cycle will never change state and allow the timer to move past defrost.

If the fans in the cabinet are both stopped that would possibly indicate this is your issue.

Again hopefully a wiring diagram can be found.

I love the style of this one, just don't have experience with anything this "new" LOL!
 
Hi Dave!

 

 

What if I reconnected that capped wire to the original overload relay?

 

G.E. Guardette 3ARG1C28

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[this post was last edited: 5/2/2019-06:26]
 
 

 

Well I reconnected the wires to the Guardet overload relay (using new wires), annnd nothing. Compressor and condenser fan do not cycle off. Still cooling fine, evaporator fans cycle on and off. Bad overload relay? Something else?
 
Oh boy!

 

 

It just keeps getting better and better. Both evaporator fans have stopped working. Refrigerator temp at 60F and rising. Freezer still cold. Ice frozen solid, not melting. Compressor and condenser fan are still on. AMP. draw is 4.0.
 

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