It is an unpleasant surprise to notice that your refrigerator is not blowing air. It significantly worsens the condition of your food and shortens its shelf life. Sure, not every owner distinguishes this issue at once as the freezer continues freezing. Nevertheless, if you see that something goes wrong, it is time to run a diagnostic. When the fridge is not blowing air, an evaporator fan can be faulty. The evaporator fan draws air from the refrigerator and blows it over the evaporator coils. The liquid refrigerant absorbs heat from the air and the air blows back into the refrigerator at a lower temperature, cooling the refrigerator. The liquid refrigerant starts to vaporize as it heats up and moves to the compressor. The evaporator fan can be found behind the rear panel of the freezer and testing it yourself can help you troubleshoot freezer issues.
1 Open the freezer door and look for light. Make sure the freezer is plugged in tightly.
2 Feel for cold air in the freezer. If the evaporator fan motor stops working, your freezer will begin to defrost. Open the freezer door and feel for cool air with your hand. Check the temperature setting on the freezer to be sure it's cold.
3 Find the freezer door switch. As the door opens, the switch depresses, turning on the light and turning off the evaporator fan motor.
4 Press and hold the switch for a minute. If the fan motor does not turn on while you hold the switch, the motor is probably bad.
5 Listen for a squeal or chirp sound. If the evaporator fan motor is going bad, it may still run while making a high pitched sound that may come and go. If you hear that sort of sound, something may be caught in the fan blades or the motor may be dying.
If you notice a similar problem with your GE refrigerator, contact the service center. There is no need to wait until the equipment is completely out of order. Similar malfunctions happen with refrigerators and can be repaired after one maintenance visit.
