I have an 8 year old side by side GE fridge (GSH25JXSBSS). About 8 or 9 months ago we realized the freezer wasn’t as cold as before (ice cream a little slushy) and turned the freezer temperature from 5 (normal) to 9 (max cooling). Freezer was fine after that until last week when we realized that a bunch of stuff had defrosted inside the freezer. The refrigerator is still working just fine set at 5.

We took all the food out of the freezer. If I set it to 5, water will not freeze in the top/middle of the freezer. If I set it to 9, water will freeze in both places but just barely (still watery). The stuff we had in the lowest shelf of the freezer is still frozen solid.

I took the cardboard back off the fridge and found what I think are the compressor coils extremely dirty (pic attached). I cleaned them but this didn’t seem to help. Freezer door gaskets are all good and cold air is not leaking out. The freezer fan seems to be working fine, if I open the freezer I can feel it blowing cold air. Can anyone suggest the next steps to take?

 

I would agree on "extremely dirty". That poor fridge had to work hard to overcome that.
Was the fan running down below working ? It would be to the left of that coil.

Your next step would be to check and see if the evaporator coil is frozen.
Double check and make sure the model number is correct. It's easy to transpose letters.

 

Thank you for the reply. You're right, I had a couple letters backwards, the model number is GSH25JSXBSS.

Here's a pic of the evaporator coils. The very bottom one, and the pipe that connects to it and goes up the left, are very frosty. The rest are not frozen. Pics attached. Do I need to get that bottom part defrosted?

The fan to the left of the condenser was running and I could feel air blowing.

 

For some reason the pics posted sideways. Here they are right side up.

 

No problem. Usually I straighten them out.

If the lines that supply that evaporator and just the bottom of the coil are the only things getting frosted....... that indicates you are low on refrigerant charge. You more than likely have a leak in the sealed system.

Does the compressor cycle on and off or does it seem to be running continuously ?

 

The compressor seems to be running continuously, although I haven't left the fridge pulled out to check it. The freezer evaporator fan seems to be running most of the time, although it does turn off sometimes.

If it is a sealed system leak, do you think that's worth repairing on an 8 year old fridge? I'm guessing that is an expensive fix? Anything else I can try in the meantime? Thermostat or anything?