GE Profile Refrigerator Has Dispenser and Temperature Display Problems

[noemc]

I have a GE Profile PSS26SGPA side by side refrigerator freezer. Yesterday the ice maker stopped dispensing ice and water. The LEDs light up and respond to keystrokes on the front panel, but when you place a glass under the dispenser the door opens, but the auger does not turn and no ice or water comes out. There is ice in the dispenser.

Thinking the computer needed to be reset, I unplugged the unit, waited 5 mins and plugged it back in. Not only did that not solve the problem, but now the display panel inside the refrigerator is completely blank (no temperature displayed or LEDs inside the refrig). LEDs outside the refrig light up as they did before. If I press the "cooler" button, I hear a beep but no display. Occasionally the unit will beep 5 times and the numbers "000" will flash, then the unit goes blank again. My attempt to reset by unplugging the unit for 5 mins does not work.

The compressor is running. I'm not sure whether the unit is cooling or not.

Please help - GE service cannot come out for another 8 days!

-Mark

[Dan O.]

Sorry but the source of the problem would have to be investigated. I can't think of any specific thing that could affect all those functions at the same time besides maybe a problem in that electronic control?

** Thinking the computer needed to be reset, I unplugged the unit, waited 5 mins and plugged it back in. **

There isn't usually any other way to reset electronic controls on major appliances.

** The compressor is running. I'm not sure whether the unit is cooling or not. **

Are the items inside the appliance cold and/or frozen, respectively?

** GE service cannot come out for another 8 days! **

If the fridge is actually keeping temperature, that might not be as big of concern.

Dan O.
www.Appliance411.com
The Appliance Information Site
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[noemc]

Dan O. - Thanks for your comments. A few additional observations:

-Ice maker is working and producing ice. Quick ice is non-functional
-Refrigerator is cold and freezer is working properly. The temperature displays are still off, and there doesn't appear to be any way of controlling the temperature, but all compartments are cold. Must be working off of default or stored settings.

My guess is the main circuit board is fried OR the circuit board controlling the ice dispenser is fried and that is putting the main board into an error condition. Let me know if I am on the right track and if there is any way to test this.

-Mark

[noemc]

GE Fridge Fixed

The GE repairman came out today - replaced the board twice, but that did not fix the problem. Turns out the ice dispenser control board connector at the bottom of the freezer door was corroded. After he cleaned that up the icemaker worked. Resetting the control board by removing power from the refrigerator solved the display problem. Total cost - $85 - pretty good deal for a housecall. This is a pretty easy repair to do yourself, and apparently it's quite common for corrosion at this connector. Before he found out that was the problem, he was musing that if there was a bad wire inside the refrigerator I would have to replace the unit with a prorated refund from GE. Obviously, I would not have been happy with that outcome!

-Mark

[Dan O.]

Glad to hear you eventually got to the bottom of the problem. Thanks for the follow up.

Dan O.
www.Appliance411.com
The Appliance Information Site
=D~~~~~~

[doitmyselfguy]

Found the corroded connector, cut it out and spliced the wires. Works great! 1/2 hour - Thank you!!

[ok_kidd]

wow

found the connection- made sure the wires were snug-cleaned as much as I could without disconnecting-corrosion definitely appears to be the problem-30 minute fix is about right- saved a bunch of money- ice and water now work just fine- thanks for your help

[HayZee518]

after you clean the molex connector [plug] because the socket end is a little difficult to stick anything inside, spray the connector with wd-40. WD-40 displaces moisture.

[Dan O.]

cut [connector] out and spliced the wires.

That might cause extra work should the doors ever have to be removed in future. Trying to keep the connector and get it functioning properly again would be the ideal repair.

JMO

Dan O.
www.Appliance411.com
The Appliance Information Site
=D~~~~~~

[hjmangalam]

more detail

found the connection- made sure the wires were snug-cleaned as much as I could without disconnecting-corrosion definitely appears to be the problem-30 minute fix is about right- saved a bunch of money- ice and water now work just fine- thanks for your help

Same problem here. But! Is the connector IN the freezer door or in the wiring that goes from the door into the bottom of the appliance. ie what do I have to remove? the entire inside of the freezer door or the bottom of the appliance?

And if it's the inside of the freezer door, how? Is the flexible seal keeping it on? Or are there hidden screws somewhere?

Thanks very much in advance.
Harry

PS. Found the answer to this myself as I was poking around in the gizzards of the thing. The connector that is the reason for us all being here is behind the air grate at the very bottom of the fridge. The grate comes off with 1 screw at each side. Once off, you can see the wires, molex connect, and the water hose that runs into the freezer door.

The wires are fairly tight, but it's not a huge problem to clip off the molex, and twist-lock the wires together.. One thing to note is that the reason the wires corroded is that the plastic tube that is supposed to protect the wires actually directs condensate down the wires into the connector, hence the problem. So I cut the tube back as far as possible and set the re-connected wires as high as possible to prevent it from happening again.

Thanks to all who helped sort this out.

[rcrump]

regarding GE Dispenser problems:

Same problem here. But! Is the connector IN the freezer door or in the wiring that goes from the door into the bottom of the appliance. ie what do I have to remove? the entire inside of the freezer door or the bottom of the appliance?

And if it's the inside of the freezer door, how? Is the flexible seal keeping it on? Or are there hidden screws somewhere?

Thanks very much in advance.
Harry

PS. Found the answer to this myself as I was poking around in the gizzards of the thing. The connector that is the reason for us all being here is behind the air grate at the very bottom of the fridge. The grate comes off with 1 screw at each side. Once off, you can see the wires, molex connect, and the water hose that runs into the freezer door.

The wires are fairly tight, but it's not a huge problem to clip off the molex, and twist-lock the wires together.. One thing to note is that the reason the wires corroded is that the plastic tube that is supposed to protect the wires actually directs condensate down the wires into the connector, hence the problem. So I cut the tube back as far as possible and set the re-connected wires as high as possible to prevent it from happening again.

Thanks to all who helped sort this out.

Yes, and thanks too for all the above. I had the same problem and solution with my GE LSS25XSTE side by side.

The first sign of trouble was sporadic operation. Pressing the lever for ice or water produced a clicking sound and a brief flash of zero or zeroes on the numeric display. The problem began shortly before a storm blew through, but continued afterward. Since we were without power for days I knew it wasn't a line freezing issue.

Before you start ordering parts or calling repairman, check this connection as described above. Before cutting away the connector take note of which wires feed into another. On mine, blue tied to blue, black to black, but the red wire tied to a white one. I wrapped my wire connectors in tape for a little extra protection.

[John W]

Looking for more insights

I have a 2007 PSS26SGPA which is doing the same thing. Water and ice despensor is not working and temperature control panel is dark. The fridge is cooling, however.

Assuming the connector in question is behind the cover panel in the back of the freezer compartment, I removed the four screws, but could not get the cover to budge. It seems I have to remove the sliding shelf rails and possibly the upper cover where the lights are. People say its a 30 min job, so am i missing something? There is a lot more disassemply that I was not expecting, so am I looking in the right place. I assume the wires that attach to this connector run from the bottom of the door under the fridge and then enter at some point. I found a part diagram at the following link which shows all the various parts, including a connector, # 227. Is this the connector everyone is talking about?

(It won't let me post the URL) replace dot with a .

Try appliancepartspros dot com/partsearch/model.aspx?model_id=5130714&diagram_id=29503493#d2 9503493

Would anyone know of a online video or even pictures that show how this comes apart? So far I have not tracked any down.

As a side note, while I was attempting demantle my fridge, I had the circuit breaker off for 20-30 min. When I powered it back on, everything is now working (Water and ice despensor are working and temperature control panel is lit). So one of two things happened, the system reset itself or the connector warmed up a bit and is making contact. If the latter, my fear is the problem will be back soon.

Thanks in advance.

[Dan O.]

Assuming the connector in question is behind the cover panel in the back of the freezer compartment ... am i missing something?

Yes, you're way off base. The wiring goes to the door, either through the top or bottom door hinge. The electronic control itself is on the back of the refrigerator not inside it.

JMO

Dan O.
Appliance411.com
The Appliance Information Site
=D~~~~~~

.

[John W]

Found it!

Yes, you're way off base. The wiring goes to the door, either through the top or bottom door hinge. The electronic control itself is on the back of the refrigerator not inside it.

JMO

Dan O.
=D~~~~~~

.

Thanks, I understand it now. In my case, the wires come out the bottom of the door and then run under the fridge(along with the water line). The connector is just below where the wires exit the door. The mention of the "air grate" in a earlier post made me think it was a panel inside. The GE user docs refers to this as the "Base Grill". The connector in question is easy access after removing the "grill".

Thanks again.

John

[rcrump]

Thanks, I understand it now. In my case, the wires come out the bottom of the door and then run under the fridge(along with the water line). The connector is just below where the wires exit the door. The mention of the "air grate" in a earlier post made me think it was a panel inside. The GE user docs refers to this as the "Base Grill". The connector in question is easy access after removing the "grill".

Thanks again.

John

Yes, glad you found it. On my refrigerator, it's a black plastic grill on the bottom front, attached with two screws, right side and left. The wires with the connectors and the water line (both of which come out at the bottom freezer door hinge) are protected by this otherwise mainly cosmetic "grill". Once removed it's easy access to the faulty connectors.

From reading here and elsewhere, it seems to be a common problem with these units. Hopefully they've already corrected the problem in later models.