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Repair and more information for the GE Refrigerator DSHS5PGX****—a 2009 side-by-side model with an ice dispenser through the door, automatic defrost system, and an anti-sweat heater switch. This page covers information for model numbers matching the pattern DSHS5PGX****.

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Ice maker not making enough ice

I have a GE dshs5pgxaess side by side refrigerator. We have noticed that it is not making enough ice (barely enough to fill a couple of glasses). I pulled it out vac’d a little dust out, unplugged to see if maybe the ice maker needed to reset. Have freezer set at 0 and refrigerator set at 38. All I have to read temp is a gauge for car ac. It shows freezer at 30 and refrigerator at 48ish . The front display shows the temps are at 0 in freezer and 48 in refrigerator. I don’t know where else to look. I do hear it running. I checked the water line and it is ok. Fan on back bottom left is turning fine. Took the ice cream out and it is very soft.Please help. BTW-I do not know how to work a voltage meter.

Thank you

Andrea

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Just a side note: When I turned down the temp for the refrigerator side, it started freezing stuff. Don’t know if that is a lead or not. I am going to bed now, so I will look at in 8 or so hours and see if things are frozen over. I do hear something but I am not sure if it is the compressor or evaporator fan. I hear it when I open both sides.

BTW- I am in Phoenix…

Thank you for your help

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2 Questions, before I start. 1) Do I need to remove the ice maker? 2) Looking at the picture, the coils look like they are on the refrigerator side, is that right? And do I need access to the coils, yet?

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@jayeff please read last post

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Hi @poppens2

Check if you can hear the evaporator fan running inside the freezer compartment.

There is a compressor fan at the back outside the unit that may be running so don't get confused.

The evaporator fan stops when a door is opened and starts when all the doors are closed. You may have to press your ear against the fridge to hear it.

If you can’t hear it at all, it may be that the evaporator and the evaporator fan is iced up preventing the flow of cold air through the freezer and fridge to get the fridge and freezer sections to the desired operating temps.

The evaporator unit and fan are behind a panel at the back, inside the freezer compartment. You need to switch off the power to the fridge and then remove the panel to see if it is iced over or not.

Depending on the state of the evaporator unit, iced up or not, then determines what to do next.

Here’s a link to the parts in a the freezer section, which may be of some help in showing you where things are.

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17 Comments:

Hi @poppens2 ,

0 deg for the freezer is correct but 48 for the fridge is too warm.

If you have set the fridge temp for 38 and the display and the thermometer from the car shows fridge temp is 48 then the fridge temp must be around 48.

Lowering the fridge temp and causing the food in the fridge to freeze (BTW how's the ice cream in the freezer? It may have been soft because the freezer was in the auto defrost cycle which is normal) means that there may be a problem with the fridge temperature sensor or perhaps the damper unit in the fridge section is sticking open and allowing more cold air in from the freezer section, if setting 38 =48 and <38 = <32 (freezing point).

Before if it was stuck in the closed position it could cause the freezer to be OK but the fridge to get too warm as no cold air could pass from the freezer to the fridge to cool it down

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0 for the freezer is just on the digital display, I put the gauge in the freezer again and it is still only 30 degrees inside and things seem to be thawing. I did order a defrost heater replacement, a new temp sensor and a new thermostat but they won't arrive until Wednesday. I just wanted to have the parts ready.

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Something is constantly running, I can hear it. I just don't know what it is.

Now that I have taken most of the food out, I see some frost build up inside on some vents in the back of the freezer. (not a whole lot)

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Jayef-

Bottom 1/4 of coils where frozen over. Used hair dryer to unfreeze. Now what do I do?

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Hi @poppens2

The fridge compressor should stop once every 8-12 hours for about 20-30 minutes to allow the ice on the evaporator to melt and be drained away.

When this happens the freezer temp rises from 0 deg to just under 32 degrees to allow the ice to melt The process is aided by turning on a defrost heater. This is the auto defrost mode. The compressor also stops when the required temps have been reached in both compartments, which is hard because the doors are always being opened and shut.

The evaporator is behind a panel in the freezer section (I assume that this is where you are) The evaporator fan is also near there. Was it also frozen over?

First you may have to see if it is operating. It won't operate with the door open, so mark a fan blade with a felt tip pen or something so that when you close the door if you can't hear that fan operating when you open the door again and the fan is stopped you can see if the fan blade has moved.

If the fan hasn't moved and the compressor is not running it may be that the fridge is in the auto defrost mode and you'll have to wait until the compressor starts again for the fan to start (if it does)

If the compressor is running then the fan should be working (with the doors closed).

If the fan is working then the next thing to check if the freezer temp is OK at 0 deg. but the fridge is still warm is that you can feel cold air coming from the damper at the top of the refrigerator section.

If you can't (as I don't know you fridge that well, has it got a door switch that you can manually operate in the fridge door frame that turns off the fridge light? If so when you open the fridge door to check the air flow through the damper operate the switch to "fool" the control into thinking the door is closed and therefore turn on the evaporator fan

If you can hear the evaporator fan but can't feel the air flow in the fridge you may have a damper door problem,

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