GE Freezer losing coolness

Hi @cricket_mps ,

How often does this occur?

If it only occurs once every 8-12 hours and lasts for about 20-30 minutes before the freezer gets back down to its normal operating temp, this is the auto defrost in action and is normal operation in most auto defrost fridges.

What should not happen is that the temperature in the freezer gets above 32 deg F.

What happens during auto defrost is the compressor is turned off and the freezer temp is allowed to rise to 32F to allow the frost (ice) buildup on the evaporator unit in the freezer compartment to melt and drain away to the evaporator pan under the fridge.

The process is helped along by the defrost heater under the evap unit being operated so as to not allow the compressor to be off for too long and the temp in the fridge section to rise too much or to allow the frozen food in the freezer to start to begin to thaw.

The temp should not go above 32F so as to protect the evaporator unit from any damage as it is normally operating at 0F.

This is controlled by the defrost thermostat. If the temp goes above this then it operates to turn off the heater and to start the compressor again to drive down the temp back to 0F which may take a little while.

Check that when the temp is 0F and you hear that the compressor has stopped running that it will auto start again within 20-30 mins (and the temp is not above 32F in the freezer) to bring the temp back down again.

If it occurs quite often during the day, (more than 2-3 times) and if the temp in the freezer shows 16F (never goes higher indicating auto defrost may be in operation) and the compressor is not running then there may be a problem with the temp sensor in the freezer “telling” the control board that the temp is OK and to turn off the compressor.