GE PSC25SGSC randomly getting warm on both sides

by Stephen
(Fair Oaks, CA)

I have read your writings on the GE Profile repair steps and I'd like some clarification if possible. My unit is the PSC25SGSC and it is randomly warming up the freezer and the refrigerator sides to 20/47 or so. I can unplug the unit for 5 minutes and power back on and it will typically be fine for a month or so. Recently the problem has come about once a week. My suspicions are the main board but are there any concerns that if it is a fan or thermistor causing the problem that a new board will get blown out as well?

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Answer

Hi,

Replacement parts in General Electric PSC25SGSCSS Refrigerator

The thermistors will not cause the board to fail.

If the fan is shorted it will blow a resistor on the board but unplugging the refrigerator then plugging it back in would not make it go back to work if this were the case.

I believe your problem is going to be the main board however your model is a dual evaporator model, which makes things more complicated. I been wanting to write repair pages on these models but I really need more real world experience on them before I do so. I have been to service schools and have service manual but don’t want to write about them until I have real experience on them.

You have a three-way valve and a compressor inverter that could also be your problem. Turing off the power to the refrigerator will reset the three-way valve but since it goes back to work we know the valve is at least moving. The valve has three positions and when you unplug the refrigerator and reconnect it the valve will return to home position. Since it is turning we can assume it is working.

The inverter is what provides power to the compressor but will only do what the main board “tells” it to do.

The problem can be in the inverter board or the main board but there isn’t a real good way to tell for sure which one. If you catch it in the act (when it is not cooling) you can tell if the main board is calling for the compressor to be running but the compressor is so quiet and runs so cool you can tell if the compressor is running or not. If the refrigerator is not cooling and the main board is not calling for the compressor to run then the main board is bad. If the main is calling for the compressor to run and it is not cooling then we can assume that the compressor is not running and the inverter is bad. It will not be the compressor because when you unplug the refrigerator and plug it back it goes back to work.

If you have a voltage tester you can check for output voltage on the main board. Set the meter to read 4-12 VDC. On the main board you will see two wires marked J15-1 and J15-2. If the main board is calling for the compressor to be running you will read between 4 and 6 VDC between the wires. I hope this helps!!

Thank you,
Shawn/administrator

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Update
by: stephen

I had a repair tech look at it. I figured for a 3k refrigerator a $60 diagnosis wouldn't be to bad. He basically said he had no idea since it was working fine when he was here. He called GE and they recommended changing the fresh food evaporator assembly but couldn't give a reason other than if that fan fails the compressor will not come on.

When I jumpstart the system there is a clicking noise for a few seconds from the lower backside near the main board. It sounds similar to a bad blinker relay in the car.

Thanks for the input, not I just have to remember where I left my digital meter.

RE
by: Shawn/admin

I can see how he wouldn’t know if the refrigerator was working when he got there (been there done that).

I can’t however see how the fresh food evaporator will cause this problem, unless they were taking about the evaporator fan. My service manual is at the shop I will look into this more for you come Monday.

Test Results
by: Stephen

Here are some result from testing during another warm up.

System warming up 41 Frig/-3 Freezer
J2-3 & J2-8 -- 13.5V
J2-3 & J2-4 -- 1.5V
J15-1 & J15-2 -- 5.0V

Did not notice Fresh Food Fan running

Left refrigerator door open for 3 minutes
J2-3 & J2-8 -- 13.5V
J2-3 & J2-4 -- .1V
J15-1 & J15-2 -- 5.0V

Unplugged and let sit 5 minutes before plugging unit back in

J2-3 & J2-8 -- 13.5V
J2-3 & J2-4 -- .0V (after about 5 minutes went to 4V and fan kicked on. After 10 minutes was at 8V and fan sped up and slowly climbed to about 10V
J15-1 & J15-2 -- 5.0V

Any thoughts on these numbers?

And thank you so much for your help.

Voltage Readings
by: Shawn/admin

Since it is hard to tell if the compressor is running or not this is what I would do. When the refrigerator quits again (sorry this is a slow process but we want to get it right) open both doors and access both evaporators. If the compressor is running one or both if the evaporators will be frosty (thin frost). If the refrigerator isn?t cooling and there is no frost on either coil then we can assume the compressor isn?t running. Confirm you still got the 5 V to the inverter and if so replace the inverter board.

When you were testing from J2 pin 3 and 4 you were testing the freezer fan motor and on your model (dual evaporators) you have to open the freezer door for three minutes for the freezer fan to come on. Opening the fresh food door will not make it come on. On other models it doesn?t matter which door you open. To test the fresh food fan you check from pin 3 to 6. If both sides of the refrigerator (fresh food and freezer) are not cooling then both fans should be running. Opening both doors for more than three minutes should cause both fans to come on. If you are not getting voltage to the fans after the door is opened for three minutes then I say replace the main board.

I can?t find anything in the manual that says that if the fan isn?t running then the compressor will not run. All it says is that when the compressor is running one or both if the fans should be running. But that doesn't mean that if the fan isn't running that the compressor will not run.

I wish I had more real experience on this problem so I could help you more (all I know is what I read). The company I work for has sold some of these models but they haven?t broken down yet. I don?t want to wish for someone?s refrigerator to break down but it will happen and I will eventually get some experience on these models. I did go to a service school on these models a few months ago but that isn?t like actually working on them.

Mistake
by: Shawn

I had to correct a mistake from this morning so if you have read my last comment read it agian. Basically I put main board when I wanted to put inverter board.

Updated Tests
by: Stephen

Noticed the fresh food side starting to warm up but freezer was still at 0. Here are the test results. J15-1,2 stayed at 5 volts throught all tests.

Doors closed - pre test
J2 3-4 .08
J2 3-5 10.3
J2 3-6 1.17
J2 3-8 13.5

Doors open - immediate test
J2 3-4 .08
J2 3-5 10.34
J2 3-6 10.3
J2 3-8 13.5

Doors open - 3 & 5 min intervals

J2 3-4 3.8 8.6
J2 3-5 10.3 11.4
J2 3-6 6.2 6.2
J2 3-8 13.5 13.5

Closed doors and power cycle and also at 5min after power
J2 3-4 .07 2.64
J2 3-5 13.0 11.4
J2 3-6 1.17 1.17
J2 3-8 13.5 13.5

I went ahead and removed the food compartment cover and looked at the coils. They were cold but not frozen over as in the example pictures. At the time of the issue I didn't notice the fresh food fan running but after powering off and on it did come on. I also noticed that something must of spilled along time ago because the styrofoam casings are covered in mold. Should this get replaced or can it be cleaned? There was a little iced on the cable block coming from the freezer side but nothing terribly built up. The express thaw compartment did activate when I told it to as well but I wasn't sure what jumper that was.

Before I power cycled the unite I did notice what sounded like a groaning fan coming from the lower middle of the frig side. I assume the only fan is the unit in the styrofoam insulator but since I couldn't figure out how to remove the entire air duct I'm not sure.

I know you can't say for certain but do you think it's the motherboard at this point or a combination of fans and motherboard? I'm tempted to replace the sensors at the same time.

Thanks for you help on this. As much as I'd like it fixed, its been a great learning process.

Stephen

Re
by: Shawn

Since the freezer was still cold then we can assume the compressor was running so for now lets say the inverter is ok.

When you check the fresh food fan it is not running since the voltage is 1.17V. If the fresh food section isn?t cold enough the fan should be running. Even if it is in a defrost cycle. While this could be a sensor problem I wouldn?t think unplugging the refrigerator would cause it to go back to work for a week. In other words if the sensor is bad when you plug the refrigerator back in the sensor is still bad so the refrigerator should go back to the same thing (not working). With that being said the system that this refrigerator works on is very complicated and sensors are very cheap. So if they do happen to repair the problem it would be a good thing. But while they are cheap the fresh food evaporator thermistor is a job to replace.

Since the fan does work when you do get voltage I wouldn?t think you would have to replace the fan and the board. Right now all I can say is I think the board is the problem but I can?t say for sure. The fact that the fan isn?t working but the section isn?t cooling and the fact that unplugging and then reconnecting the power causes it to go back to work both point to the main board. But it is hard to say.

I believe the compressor is running when it stops cooling so we can assume the inverter is ok. As a side note the compressor is variable speeds and the inverter is what controls the speed (main board tells the inverter what speed it wants the compressor to run) so it is possible the compressor is running low when it should be running high but I don?t believe that is your problem.

Here is a link to the replacement parts for your refrigerator from my affiliate. Supporting my affiliate by buying any parts you may need from them would be greatly appreciated.

Replacement parts in General Electric PSC25SGSCSS Refrigerator

Clean the back of the Unit
by: Anonymous

After a 3rd time, I finally pulled out the fridge and found dust covering the back of the fan. I've cleared and restarted the unit. So far so good!!

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