Nor-Lake Popular Questions, Answers, Tips & Manuals

Unplug the Ref for 15-20 min. take off the cover so you can see the compressor, then plug it back in and listen for the compressor to start. You should be behind the Ref so you can tell the difference between the fan running or the compressor.

The compressor should start and keep running.

The fan cooling the compressor should be running.

The fan in the freezer should be running.

You should feel cold air coming into the Fridge side from the freezer side.

First, I think it’s important to know that the Ref side has no cooling coils, it’s basically a box and the cold air in the freezer is blown over by a fan through a channel into the Ref side. This channel has a door which regulates how much cold air goes through. You probably have two control knobs in the Ref side, one controls the temp with numbers 1-9, 9 being the coldest. This temp control tells the compressor how long to run. The other control is for that little door and it may have letters A-E, E being the coldest. If you set it on E (coldest) then this will close that little door and keep most the cold air in the freezer.

Now, why is that cold air not getting over to the Ref side?
1. The little door is not open.
check your control setting. You should be able to feel air coming through the channel on the Ref side.

2. The fan in the freezer is not working.
You can hear this fan running when you open the freezer.

3. The coils on the freezer side are clogged with ice which won't let the fan circulate the air over to the Ref side.
This is a failure of the defrost system.

If your ice maker has stopped producing ice completely, check these, in this order:

• It may be turned off. Look for the wire along the right side of the ice maker that looks a bit like a coat hanger. If the wire is in the raised position, the ice maker is turned off. If so, try one of these:
  
  
  • If your ice maker has a small red plastic lever, lower it to lower the wire.
    
    
  • If there's no plastic lever, simply lower the wire.
    
    
  In either case, the ice maker should begin producing ice again. Also make sure that the temperature is 8 degrees Fahrenheit or lower. If the freezer is too warm, the ice maker won't cycle properly.
  
  
• The ice maker fill tube may be blocked with ice. If so, melt the blockage using a hair dryer-but be careful to not melt any plastic parts! Also replace the water shut-off valve or water-inlet valve, or both, if necessary.
  
  
• The ice maker head assembly may have broken parts. Look to see if the gears are broken. Check to see if the small plastic arms that rest against the ice rake are broken. If the ice maker head assembly is modular and you've found broken parts, you can just replace it.
  

check out the defrost timer it sound like its in defrost. if that is not whats wrong then you can checkout the refrigerant by looking at the sight glass on the liquid line. It dhould not have any boubbles in it and if there is then your low on charge, n if threr isn't then you whille probebly be better off calling a service company out to repair the unit.

You may not have the filter installed correctly, or installed the correct filter.
If you rotate to lock the filter in place, make sure you rotated the filter completely to lock.
If you had to turn the water off, did you turn it back on?

Depends on the product you want to keep in the freezer. Usually you want to try and stay between 0 and +10 degrees for most items. Ice Cream must be -10 degrees minimum. Any warmer and it won't keep. Hope this helps.

Good Luck

yes the ice buildup is coz of a problem in the defrost cycle... and u wud be required to test all the three components.....
first we ll see how u need to check the defrost timer....
Before testing the defrost timer, unplug the freezer to avoid an electrical shock hazard.
A mechanical defrost timer controls the defrost cycle of the appliance. In older models, the timer runs continuously and roughly every six hours, shuts off power to the cooling system and sends power to the defrost heater. In newer models the timer advances only when the compressor or defrost cycle is running - an improvement for efficiency. As the timer advances, power to the heating element shuts off and power is restored to the cooling system. If the timer does not advance, the appliance will be stuck either in defrost or refrigerate mode, resulting in, respectively, no cooling or frost build-up.
The defrost timer is usually found behind the front grill of the freezer. It may also be found behind a cover plate inside the freezer, in the temperature control console, or behind the freezer near the compressor.
To test whether the defrost timer is simply failing to advance, locate the advance screw and turn it clockwise until you hear it click. This advances it to the next mode. If it was cooling before, it is now in defrost mode. Simply wait about 35 minutes and check whether it has left defrost mode and has resumed cooling (listen for the compressor). If it does not advance, the timer motor is probably bad and the entire timer needs to be replaced. If it advances as it should, then you can follow the steps below to test the switch electrically.
The timer is usually held in place with one or more screws. Remove the screws and gently pull the timer out far enough to disconnect the wiring connector. The connector can be removed by firmly pulling and rocking it left and right. It is not necessary to note the position of the wires because the connector plug is keyed so that it can be replaced in only one way.

Test the timer for continuity using a multitester. Set the multitester to the ohms setting X1. The timer has four terminals. Locate the common terminal, it should be labeled "3" or "C". If the terminals are not labeled, determine which terminal coincides with the common wire in the connector plug; it is usually the white wire.
Once you have located the common terminal, touch one probe to it. Touch the other probe to each of the three remaining terminals. The multitester should display a reading of zero or near to zero ohms (which indicates continuity) for one pair of the terminals and possibly two pairs. The third pair of terminals should show no continuity (infinity).
Locate the timer switch and turn it clockwise until you hear it click. Now retest the timer as you did above. One pair of terminals should indicate continuity (possibly two pairs). At least one pair should give a reading of infinity. Note however, one of the pairs that showed continuity in the first test should now read infinity and one pair that read infinity should now show continuity. If the defrost timer does not pass these tests, it is likely that it should be replaced.
* We have received two reports of cases in which only one pair of terminals shows continuity and when the timer is advanced, the same pair still shows continuity. For these isolated cases, this was reported to be the correct operation of the timer. At this time we have not been able verify this case. This may indicate a specific model or models that use a different wiring configuration than discussed in this article. Also, note that this article applies to mechanical defrost timer controls and not electronic or adaptive defrost controls.

WALK INS HAVE TWO THINGS THAT SHORTEN DEFROST OR MAKE THEM LONGER. IF ALL THE ICE IS BEING CLEARED BY THE HEATERS IN THE COIL THEN IT WILL KICK OUT AUTOMATICALLY IF DEFROST CONTINUES AND THE COIL GETS TO HOT DUE TO AN OVERTEMP SENSOR ON THE COIL. HOWEVER IT WILL STAY IN A DFROST AS LONG AS IT IS PROGRAMMED TO UNLESS THAT SENSOR TRIPS. SO...... LOOK AT THE TIME CLOCK AND SEE WHAT LENGTH OF TIME ITS IS SET FOR. USUALLY A DEFROST CYCLE WILL BE SET FOR 30 TO 40 MINUTES. IF SET TO LONG THEN DEFROST GOES TO LONG AND ONLY COMES BACK ON WHEN SENSOR TRIPS. ADJUST CLOCK TIME TO 30 MINUTES OR 5 MINUTES LESSS THAN ITS SET AT RUN A FEW DAYS AND OBSERVE ICE FORMATION ETC. CLOCK MAY BE STICKING AND MAY NEED A LIGHT DRENCHING OF THE GEARS WITH A LIGHT OIL. TURN IT AROUND A FEW TIMES TO SPREAD OIL AROUND. YOU COULD RUN A CHECK ON THE CLOCK BY SETTING THE TIME TO TWO MINUTES AND GENTLY TURN IT TILL ITS CLICKS INTO A DEFROST AND WAIT . IT SHOULD COME OUT OF DEFROST AND BACK INTO REFRIGERATION IN 5 MINUTES. IF DEFROST IS SET WAY TO LONG THEN IT HAS BEEN RELYING ONLY ON THE TEMP OVERTEMP SENSOR TO TERMINATE DEFROST. IF IT FAILS THEN THE EXCESSSIVE DEFROST WILL CONTINUE TILL PRODUCT MELTS. SETTING THE CLOCK TO A SHORTER TIME SHOULD CORRECT BUT THE OVERTEMP SENSOR IS PROBABLY BAD . AVAILABLE FROM MOST COMMERCIAL REF REPAIR COMPANIES. OR YOU MAYBE CAN ORDER FROM MANUFACTURER AND CHACK EXACT OEM PART WIRE FOR WIRE ETC. LABEL ALL WIRES . TURN OFF POWER, TEST IT. MAKE NOTES.

YES GOOD ADVISE . ALWAYS START WITH THE BASICS. IS EVAPORATOR COIL CLEAN AND CLEAR? ALL EVAP FANS RUNNING? DRAIN PAN CLEAR? IS STAT CALLING FOR COOL? IS OUTDOOR COND COIL CLEAN? IS OUTRDOOR FAN RUNNING WITH NO PLAY IN BUSHING? DO RUN AND START CAPS TEST GOOD? DOES CONTACTOR LOOK GOOD? THEN TRY TO CATCH UNIT WHEN TEMP IS ABOVE DESIRED SETTING. FIRST TEST STAT. IS IT OPEN OR CLOSED? IF BOX IS HOT AND ITS OPEN THEN PROBLEM IS STAT. IF STAT IS CLOSED AND OUTDOOR FAN IS NOT RUNNING THEN COMPRESSOR PROBABLY OVERHEATING WHEN FAN QUITS. CHECK FOR VOLTS TO FAN GOT VOLTS? FAN IS BAD. NO VOLTS? TRACK BACK TO SOURCE OF POWER ( CONTACTOR) AN R22 BOX AT 52 PRESS IS NOT TO BAD ON START UP ON A HOT BOX BUT COULD BE HIGH ON 502 408 OR R12 STUFF TYPE OF REF IS DEFINITELY IMPORTANT. GOOD LUCK

heat in this area is normal especially when just switched on

Sounds like a defrost problem. Check to see if there is any frost buildup in the back wall of the freezer. If so, it is not defrosting as it should.

• possible causes:

1. bad defrost timer/control board
2. bad defrost heater (in freezer)
3. bad thermo switch in freezer

If you don’t know what these are then unplug the machine and let the ice melt in the freezer overnight with the door open. Then try it the next day, if is cooling fine then you need to have a service person replace one of the above items. 

• if you already checked this and think it is a different problem then let me know, i will help you figure it out. 
  

Mike  


these are the usual suspects.


heater in the back wall of the freezer:



thermal switch also in the back wall of the freezer

check the ice-maker itself, it has a teflon coating (like a frying pan) that sometimes flakes off leaving little black flakes in the ice. if this is the case you have to change the ice-maker.

If your products are already in the frozen state the answer is yes, you can make an immediate transfer. Normally a couple of hours run to allow the temperatures to stabilize is sufficient. The cool down run time also insures the the unit is functioning properly. If you plug it in and transfer the products right away make frequent checks to insure proper operation.

yes. it will just take more time to cool to room temperature.

try this link
www.fixya.com/support/t325008-ge_gss22jfmcww_side_side_refrigerator - 28k -

try door switches

MAY I KNOW THE EXACT MODEL/MAKER OF YOUR UNIT..?

THANKS

Check the evaporator coil for frost buildup on the back. Check for frost on the suction line, the biggest line returning to the compressor. If frost is evident at these places you have a defrost system problem. These systems have a defrost timer that defrosts the coil at preset times. Check the timer for proper operation by marking the position of the dial and check back to see if it changes. If it does not change position the timer motor is most likely bad. If the dial is not rotating automatically you can manually turn the dial in the direction of the arrow and put it through a defrost cycle.

The defrost timer is normally located in the area of the temperature controls. There is a clutch head knob on the timer which can be rotated clockwise very slowly until a click is heard. Wait 30 minutes and defrost should take place in that time period. If defrost does occur and the system does not restart cooling, rotate the knob more and you will hear a second click and the compressor should start .
If the system restarts in the cooling mode in 18-22 minutes the defrost timer is good and the problem is more than likely in the defrost heater circuit.

YES see if you have 12 volts dc at the evaperator motor if you do then the motor is bad if you do not then the mother board is bad and ge recomends in this case to also change the fan motor at the same time