GE bottom freezer not cold, clicking noise (1 Viewer)

[4mydogs]

We have a 12 year old GE Profile bottom freezer refrigerator that started to make clicking noise every few minutes. The click is followed by what sounds like the compressor starting up, but within about 10 seconds you hear the same click and the compressor stops. This happens repeatedly. The refrigerator is staying at around 36-38 degrees, but the freezer which is set to zero has been oscillating between 0 and 32.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated!

 

[e9999]

Suggestion: start looking at 12V/120 camping freezers/fridges if you don't have one already. May save the day. It did for me. And a good opportunity to convince your SO it's an essential device! Something good will come out of that. Because a 12 year old fridge with a serious issue may not be worth fixing. And there may be long waits on desirable fridges nowadays. Then again, maybe it's just a thermal sensor or a circuit board (that may not be so easy to diagnose). But it does sound like what I would expect if the refrigerant pressure were low. Is there any trace of oil that you can see anywhere in the inner workings of the thing that would suggest a leak?

 

[4mydogs]

Suggestion: start looking at 12V/120 camping freezers/fridges if you don't have one already. May save the day. It did for me. And a good opportunity to convince your SO it's an essential device! Something good will come out of that. Because a 12 year old fridge with a serious issue may not be worth fixing. And there may be long waits on desirable fridges nowadays. Then again, maybe it's just a thermal sensor or a circuit board (that may not be so easy to diagnose). But it does sound like what I would expect if the refrigerant pressure were low. Is there any trace of oil that you can see anywhere in the inner workings of the thing that would suggest a leak?

We have a newer fridge/freezer in the garage so it's not an urgent thing. No signs of leakage anywhere, everything looks remarkably good.

I did some internet research -- and you know what a dangerous thing that is -- and came to the decision to buy a new main controller board for $200 I think it's worth the gamble. It seems to be the source of many issues with GE refrigerators. A comparable replacement fridge is $1,600.

 

[e9999]

IMHO, it's not just $200 to save $1600, it's also $200 (on possibly a long shot fix) to put into a 12 yrs old fridge that may not have too much longer to go as far as the rest of the hardware. I think modern fridges just don't last very long any more. From memory, I think I read that the average lifetime nowadays is something like 10 years (but not sure). Not to mention the cost of running older ones, electricity wise. I went through a similar thought process recently although on a much more expensive but also much older fridge and it turns out that the new fridge is so much more efficient that it will basically be a free purchase compared to running the old one, let alone fixing it.

 

[4mydogs]

I hear you, but I’m stubborn and I’m gonna give this a whirl. I do appreciate the input.

 

[e9999]

Hope it works for you, let us know what you find.

 

[4mydogs]

Update: A day after I began this thread and had decided to replace the main board the fridge/freezer stopped cooling altogether. I unplugged it for a few hours and then plugged it back in, took the rear cover off, sat down behind it and listened. I determined that the clicking wasn't coming from the main board, but from the compressor. After some research I found that I could get a new start relay for the compressor for $50 so I ordered it. Got it a week ago today, plugged it in and so far so good. Compressor kicks on as it's supposed to, and fridge/freezer temps are where they should be, so we've begun to move stuff from the garage fridge back into it. I'm keeping a close eye on it in case it is the compressor, but I'm hopeful that we've bought ourselves some time, hopefully some years!

 

[thatcabledude]

I’ve fixed my plasma (yes I’m still rocking plasma) Samsung twice, my (beautiful but POS) Samsung fridge twice, and a old pair of front load GE washer and dryer several times. The problem is t fixing them, it’s finding the damn parts.

I tell anyone who will listen to not buy front load washer. Unless your buying a Speed Queen made for a laundromat, they suck. Don’t hold near the amount a top load can and will eventually small like a dog lives in it. I don’t care how often you “clean” it.