I have a GE refrigerator-freezer which is two years old (sadly, not under warranty anymore). With an ambient temp of 83°F, the freezer on top measures 63 and the fridge under it is 47. The temp dial within the fridge is at its normal position - 3/4 the way from warm or zero or whatever the minimal amount of cooling to the fridge is, to “Very Cold”.
What could account for this inversion of the usual temperature relationship?
Some refrigerators have one dial for overall ‘coldness’, and another regulating the split between freezer and fridge compartments.
If your fridge is like this, and the second dial is set all the way to ‘fridge’, then I can see the freezer warming up like that.
Another possibility is that the auto defrost timer is stuck in the defrost mode.
Hmmm… I thought the refrigeration system generally served the freezer, and control of the fridge temp was simply a matter of how much of the freezer’s cold air was diverted to the fridge, but that it always cooled the freezer first. I assumed the fridge could never be colder than the freezer. I didn’t notice a second dial, but I will check and report back tomorrow.
danceswithcats, is there any way to check or correct the problem you suggest?
I had this exact problem with my last fridge. I thought for sure that the compressor had taken a dirt nap. Since the compressor was covered by a very long warranty, I called the factory service dept.
I turned out there was a computer circuit that had gone tits up. New circuit card and life was good again.
In my case, the easy way was to call the service guy.
Is the floor of the freezer and/or the door frame warm? If so, you’ve almost definitely got the thing stuck in a defrost cycle.
Without knowing the particular model, we can only guess that the problem is one of: a dead timer motor, a stuck switch or a blown controller board of some sort. Fridges at the lower end of the line will more likely have mechanical timers and higher-end ones will more likely have digital controls.
Oh, needless to say, even if you invert the current temperatures, something’s badly wrong - a fridge should be somewhere around 35 degrees and the freezer should be around zero.
In the bad old days where the deal was controlled by a synchronous motor and some spst switches, you replaced the entire assembly in ten minutes and parts cost was under $70.
Realistically, component level diagnosis without a unit schematic can eat up a pile of time. If you have that, a good VOM or DMM, and a fundamental understanding of AC electricity, you should be able to isolate the bad component.
Rechecked, and found there is only a single dial - it’s in the fridge compartment, and is set at “Cold”, 3/4 the way from Off to Coldest.
Did not feel particularly warm. With the freezer air at 57 this afternoon, the freezer floor and sides feel somewhat warmer than the rack, but not by much - I think that could easily be accounted for by a) lower heat conductivity of the plastic floor/sides vs the metal rack, and b) the operation of the fan motor and so forth in that area (vents in the front floor of the freezer; I assume there’s a motor between the freezer and fridge; I can see wires through the vent).
I would guess this fridge is toward the lower end. The model, if it helps, is GTR11AAPARWW.
How do you pronounce that?
It’s pronounced “GE - REFRIGERATOR P SERIES”
It turned out that a thin foam strip between the fridge and the freezer had worked loose, and caught in the blower fan - this crinkled up the foam sheet and caused the fan to completely stop.
If I suspected it would be this simple, I would have taken it apart myself, but I guess that’s often the case with repairs. Still, the repairman only charged $45, which I rate a bargain. Now the freezer is down to 14°F, and the fridge is at 36°.