I have a ge side by side model tfx24s the freeze is leaking and i removed the lower tray and seen a coil get glowing red is that common

Hi,

Sounds like you have a defrost problem since the freezer side is working okay . It probably is not blowing cold air into the refrigerator side , so to check the defrost circuit , unplug the refrigerator and inside the refrigerator section at the top about 2" in from each side in the back , there are "D" slots to put a finger in , and pull downward and forward , to remove the control panel cover . Once removed , there is a 1/4" screw on each side holding the adjustment indicator panel on , 1 phillips screw behind both light bulbs , and 1 screw holding the complete panel to the rear wall . After removing these 5 screws , at the top right corner , with about 6-8 wires going to it , is the adaptive defrost board . Sometimes you can see the electronic board and on newer refrigerator's , a white box will be seen. Inside this box , is the adaptive defrost control . Disconnect the plug going to the board and on the right side of the PLUG , the far right wire is yellow , then another color , then white . Using a small insulated wire with both ends stripped , insert one end into the yellow wire hole and the other into the white wire hole . This will bypass the adaptive board and send power directly through the defrost bimetal ( thermostat ) AND heater to check if they are good .Plug the refrigerator back in . Now , wait about 3-5 min and look for a red glow at the bottom of the inside freezer panel , which will be the defrost heater or listen for sizzling which will be the frost melting and dripping onto the heater .If NO red glow , watch for a spark while removing the jumper wire you installed , from the plug . If a spark IS seen , then the heater was on and the heater AND bimetal are good . If you see the red glow , hear the sizzling , or see the spark , then the adaptive defrost board should be replaced . If no glow , sizzling or spark , then unplug the refrigerator and reinstall the refrigerator control section .
Remove the food in the freezer section enough so that the 2 screws holding the lower freezer panel on and the freezer panel , can be removed . Remove the panel . If the heater (black element at the bottom of the coils ) wires are visible , trace then to the top of the coils and disconnect . Use an ohm meter to determine if the element is good . If the element IS good , at the top of the coils , is a 1" cylinder with 2 wires , clipped onto the coils . This is the defrost thermostat ( bimetal ) . Replace this part if the element shows good . If the element shows bad , replace the element . NOTE 1 : sometimes the element and the bimetal come wired together and the replacement part comes with a new heater and bimetal already wired together . This would be the adviseable replacement part . However , each part can still be replaced individually . NOTE 2 : If looking at the bimetal and the top plastic " cap " looks cockeyed , replace the bimetal as moisture has gotten inside and disturbed its designed function .

Hoping this will help in solving the problem....

Without the model number , I will assume the refrig is 10 yrs old or less . If so , would need model number to give you the correct part number for the heater . This test will still tell you what the problem is .
Pull the refrig out and remove the 8 " x 10 " panel . Behind this panel , is the main control board . Unplug the refrig . Remove the BLUE plug from the board , with 3 larger wires going to it . Looking at the blue plug , the sequence will be wire1,wire2,space,wire3 . Get a short piece of insulated wire , and strip about 1/4 inch from each end . Insert 1 end into wire2 , and the other into wire3 . Plug the refrig back in . After about 3 min , look in the freezer , at the bottom , behind the crisper , look for a red glow . If no red glow , unplug the refrig , and reassemble the plug and cover . This no glow , indicates a shorted defrost heater . It is also advisable to replace the defrost thermostat ( pt. number WR50X10068 ) when replacing the heater . To access these parts , you will have to remove the inside rear wall of the freezer . The heater , is at the bottom of the coils , held on with 2 screws , and the thermostat , is the 1 " cylinder , with a blue and pink wire going to it , clipped on the top left of the coils .
If you do get a red glow , then the # 4 thermistor is bad . This tells the main control board , the temp of the coils , if they need defrosted , when they are thru defrosting . This thermistor is the 1 " long , torpedo looking piece , clipped on the top left of the coils , with 2 white wires going to it . Part number WR55X10025 . It would be advisable to also replace the # 5 thermistor , located at the bottom of the freezer , slightly in front of the drain , also with 2 white wires going to it , slid into a housing . This thermistor , is the freezer thermistor , which tells the control board , the freezer temp and when to cycle off due to selected temperature .

I am a tech that has worked on many ge ref's and have never seen GE do anthing outside of the units warranty. this is a common problem on ge units

If you have cold temps and humidity sometimes the coils freeze up and you need to unplug your refrigerator until the ice on the coil melts, clean the coils and plug in, you may overflow your condensate pan, so you might need a towel if it does.

I can tell you how to find the problem , but , it is a little work .
Pull the refrig out and remove the 8 " x 10 " panel . Behind this panel , is the main control board . Unplug the refrig . Remove the BLUE plug from the board , with 3 larger wires going to it . Looking at the blue plug , the sequence will be wire1,wire2,space,wire3 . Get a short piece of insulated wire , and strip about 1/4 inch from each end . Insert 1 end into wire2 , and the other into wire3 . Plug the refrig back in . After about 3 min , look in the freezer , at the bottom , behind the crisper , look for a red glow . If no red glow , unplug the refrig , and reassemble the plug and cover . This no glow , indicates a shorted defrost heater WR51X10055 . It is also advisable to replace the defrost thermostat ( pt. number WR50X10068 ) when replacing the heater . To access these parts , you will have to remove the inside rear wall of the freezer . The heater , is at the bottom of the coils , held on with 2 screws , and the thermostat , is the 1 " cylinder , with a blue and pink wire going to it , clipped on the top left of the coils .
If you do get a red glow , then the # 4 thermistor is bad . This tells the main control board , the temp of the coils , if they need defrosted , when they are thru defrosting . This thermistor is the 1 " long , torpedo looking piece , clipped on the top left of the coils , with 2 white wires going to it . Part number WR55X10025 . It would be advisable to also replace the # 5 thermistor , located at the bottom of the freezer , slightly in front of the drain , also with 2 white wires going to it , slid into a housing . This thermistor , is the freezer thermistor , which tells the control board , the freezer temp , and , when to cycle off due to temp satisfied .

Your evaporator coils frost up in normal use and every eight hours or so the entire unit shuts down and the defrost heater comes on to melt the frost. This cycle last about 20 minutes. The melted frost drips into a drain pan and through a drain tube to the drain tray under the freezer/refrigerator where it's evaporated by the condenser fan.


Your drain tube may be stopped up with ice at the upper end because it drains too slow because it's stopped up at the lower end in the evaporator pan under the unit at the floor. It can get dust and mold in it. Once you get the ice out at the top a little pressure with a turkey baster will usually clear it out. Flushing it out with hot water and clorox may help.
Make sure it drains quick enough to prevent refreezing. . The drain should be located below the evaporator coils on the lower back of the freezer.

Pull the refrig out from the wall . Behind it you will see an 8 " X 10 " panel , held on by several screws . Unplug the refrig and remove the panel . On the control board , you will see a blue plug with 3 larger wires going to it . Unplug this plug . Looking at the plug , you will see : wire1 , wire2 , space , wire3 . Get a short piece of insulated wire with both ends stripped about 1/4 " . Insert one end into wire2 and the other into wire3 . Plug the refrig back in . Open the freezer door and , at the bottom of the rear panel , do you see a red glow ? If no glow after about 1 min , then the defrost heater is probably bad . To replace this , you would have to remove the rear freezer panel , and under the coils , will be a glass tube . This is the heater . If you do see the red glow , then either the board or the #4 and #5 thermistor are bad . Start with the thermistors . Small 1" white cylinder , with 2 white wires going to them . One is clipped on top of the freezer coils , and the other is at the bottom of the freezer panel , inserted into a holder . These thermistors , tell the board the temp of coils , and freezer .

Is the freezer fan working ? If not , control board probably bad . Pull refrig out from wall and remove power . Remove the 8" X 10" panel and you will see the main control board . Remove the blue plug with 3 larger wires . The sequence is : wire1 , wire2 , space , wire3 . Using a short piece of wire with both ends stripped about 1/4 " , insert the wire into wire2 and wire3 . Plug refrig back in . Look in the freezer at the bottom rear for a red glow ( may take a minute or so ) . If you see a red glow , the main control board is bad ( the board you unplugged the wires from ) . If no red glow , then disconnect power to fridge , remove the jumper , and reinstall the blue plug and the panel .
Remove the food from the freezer section and remove the rear freezer panel inside the freezer . There you will see a round 1 " disk , clipped on top of the coils .Pt # WR60X10068 Defrost thermostat . At the bottom of the coils , you will see a heater . Pt # WR51X10042 Defrost heater . Replace both of these as the heater gets hot , and cuts off by the bimetal . he heater only has a screw on each side attaching it to the coils , and the bimetal just clips on . Easily repairable .

This is from the GE Appliance "Knowledge Database" Web site:

Refrigerator - Explanation Of Red Glow

In a no frost refrigerator, the defrost timer activates defrost heaters in the evaporator section (rear of freezer) which heat up and melt the frost off the evaporator coils. This process lasts for approximately 25-45 minutes and usually happens up to twice a day.

During this time, there will be no running sounds, no fan noise, and you may hear water dripping or sizzling as it hits the heaters. On side by side models, you may even be able to see an orange glow at the bottom of the freezer.

This is normal.

your drain will be plugged under the tray. there is a hose that runs to the drip tray. the back cover comes off you can then get at the hose