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naphobia · Mar 4, 2008, 12:41 PM

I have a Ge side by side that keeps freezing up on me I turn the ice machine off and leave the door open for a few hours then put it all back tuen the ice machine on an it will work for a couple days does anyone know how I can fix this. My model number is gss201epd ww
Thanks

hkstroud · Mar 4, 2008, 02:03 PM

Does ice form in the tube for filling the ice tray with water?

naphobia · Mar 4, 2008, 02:38 PM

I don't think so cause the ice machine works great.. its always full its like the freezer gets to cold then the fridge stops getting cold

hkstroud · Mar 4, 2008, 04:02 PM

Oh, so its not something freezing up, it's that the refrigerator stops working. When it does, you remove the icemaker and then put it back, the fridge starts working again. Is that correct?

naphobia · Mar 4, 2008, 04:09 PM

No it does freeze up I just didn't think the tube was freezing up, but the back wall of the freezer gets all snowy an iced over at that point the fridge stops staying cold... so basically I defrost the freezer and then it starts to work again for a few days and I have to start all over... my uneducated guess is the ice maker make the freezer so cold that it freeze up the freezer... not really sure just my guess

hkstroud · Mar 4, 2008, 08:51 PM

I have not been able to find a GE site to look at parts break down but I suspect that the defrost timer is in the ice maker. The frost in the freezer is preventing air from circulating around the cooling fins. What you are doing is manually defrosting. Then the cooling can begin again. Can't confirm because can't find parts break down.

Davek01 · Mar 17, 2008, 01:40 PM

Originally Posted by naphobia

I have a Ge side by side that keeps freezing up on me i turn the ice machine off and leave the door open for a few hours then put it all back tuen the ice machine on an it will work for a couple days does anyone know how i can fix this. my model number is gss201epd ww
thanks

I have the same problem with my GE side-by-side. Did you find the answer?

It will either be:
#1: Defrost Timer bad
#2: Defrost heating element bad
.. or
#3: Defrost temperature sensor

... or so I have been told. My fridge is about three years old. I would never buy another GE appliance again. We equipped our new kitchen with all high end GE Profile appliances at the same time.

Advantium bulb failed (just the interior light, not cooking bulbs) and have not been able to get one yet. It is a mercury vapor bulb. Was sent one new one and it exploded upon power (glass was not touched by anyone's finger after it was received. Asked for another one. It was on back order for 30 days. When it came off back order, we were informed the warranty expired 15 days previous and they would not give us a buld even though the old on failed under the warranty period).

Keypad failed in Stainless Steel dishwasher. They flex circuit developed short. They wanted $80 + shipping. Got it for $12 when they found out that I work for them.

Glass suface stained twice on the GE Trivection Oven and was replaced under warranty. Now that it is out of warranty, they will not replace it for the same problem, ugly staining of the flat glass surface.

Right hand refrigerator door was replaced twice under warranty.
Out of warranty Refridge issues:
#1 Fan in freezer made clopping sound. This was ice forming in the fan box. Tore apart and cleaned out all the ice and it no longer make noice. That noise was very laud.
#2: Water in door quits working all the time, eventually starts back up again for no reason. I haven't been able to find out were the line is clogged or pinched. As soon as I start looking for the problem, it starts working again. This has been driving me nuts for a year and a half.
#3: Now this damn freezer coil freezing totally up and the refrigerator not getting cold. This is new.

I work for the company, but would never buy one of their appliances again. They are just plain un-reliable. I tried to give some other GE appliance to Habitat for Humanity a few years ago (they were only two years old) and they refused to take them.

Maybe all new appliances are un-reliable? It's not like the old Norge that lasted 40 years.

momarie · Jun 9, 2008, 04:00 PM

Originally Posted by naphobia

no it does freeze up i just didn't think the tube was freezing up, but the back wall of the freezer gets all snowy an iced over at that point the fridge stops staying cold....so basicly i defrost the freezer and then it starts to work again for a few days and i have to start all over....my uneducated guess is the ice maker make the freezer so cold that it freeze up the freezer....not really sure just my guess

Did you find any help? Yours sounds just like my Kenmore. We are still defrosting it from time to time.

Davek01 · Jun 9, 2008, 08:49 PM

Originally Posted by momarie

Did you find any help? Yours sounds just like my Kenmore. We are still defrosting it from time to time.

Yes I did. On the GE freezer compartment (left side) at the bottom behind the metal cover panel and under the coils sits the defrost element. It looks like a Halogin bulb kind of (it's not, but it's in a clear tube about 6 inchs long. It kind of looked like it flashed.

I found a replacement at our local hole-in-the wall appliance repair shop for about $35.00.

The guy there told me that on the GE's the rubber end caps get brittle and shrink and the leak water in to the glass sleeve and the element then burns open. He's seen it many times with the newer GE Refrigerators. GE's have been very good for his service business (guess that is why GE is selling off the appliance division as that division gives them a bad name).

Anyway, it's been several months now and the Freezer has not frozen up and the fridge has stayed cool.

It was a lot of stress and crap to go through for a 3 year old appliance.

momarie · Jun 12, 2008, 06:02 AM

Thanks for the info. I'm going to show this to my husband and see what he can do. He has had the back off before, so he'll know what you're talking about.

I can't believe we have so much trouble with our new Kenmores. Shows me they want my business - in the service dept!

szwalch · Jun 13, 2008, 05:43 AM

Originally Posted by naphobia

I have a Ge side by side that keeps freezing up on me i turn the ice machine off and leave the door open for a few hours then put it all back tuen the ice machine on an it will work for a couple days does anyone know how i can fix this. my model number is gss201epd ww
thanks

I have a side by side and I was having the same problem. If you have too much stuff on your shelves, especially the top one, it causes things to freeze. Now that I moved things around it hasn't happened in quite a few months.

misha3242 · Apr 10, 2010, 11:58 AM

We had the same problem and replaced the defrost heating element in the freezer and it fixed it for about a year, then we replaced it with a larger element and never had the trouble again. I know a heating unit in the frige sounds counter intuitive but it is to keep it from building up frost the makes it so the frige won't cool.