GE refrigerator

[william66]

I have a GE refrigerator (top freezer design). my wife noticed that the freezer was warm and there was no cold air coming in. after taking everything out of the freezer and icing it down, i unplugged the fridge then plugged it right back in. it began running and appears to be working right again, but i don't want to trust it.

any insights on whether this is a problem i need to have repaired, or if fridges have some type of automatic shutoff?

thanks in advance. i'm glad i found this forum.

[LazyPup]

There are many things that could cause a problem like the one you describe. I will try to give you a few of the most common.
Something could have go stuck in the condenser fan motor and when it was turned off the obstruction fell out, allowing the fan to run again. If the condenser fan coils are dirty it will cause the refrigerant pressure to go excessively high, thus increasing the amperage on the motor and causing the motor to trip out on the internal thermal overload. When it was unplugged the motor windings had a chance to cool and the overload reset. Best bet it to check the condenser coils and make sure they are clean, especially in summer when the room temps are higher. You can get a coil cleaning brush at an appliance parts store for $6 or $8 dollars and if you will faithfully clean those coils ever month or so you will greatly enhance the life and performance of a refrigerator, not to mention that a simple cleaning will often preclude an expensive service call.
Another common problem is a sticking hermetic compressor start relay or a defective start capacitor Those items are best tested by a trained refrigeration tech.
another common failure is the defrost timer. a defrost timer is simply a set of cams and switches driven by a small clock motor. In operation it allows the refrigeration process to run in the order of 8 hours then switches to defrost cycle for 15 or 20 minutes and back to refrigeration. As the defrost timers get old the cams and switches get sluggish and stall the clock motor.
Most of those components are relatively inexpensive but it is best to have them checked by a trained technician before you begin a regimine of changing parts. Even cheap parts get expensive if you change too many or the wrong ones.