Your problem could be the board ... or it could be an erratic temp sensor (thermistor), or fan.

Defrosting shouldn't affect the refrigerator temp. Freezer temp maybe a little but not as much as you're seeing.

Best suggestion is take GE's offer on a service tech to be sure the problem is diagnosed correctly ... unless you can do that yourself.

Replacing the board is fairly easy. I changed the board on my GE Arctica SxS a couple years ago (2004 model). However, the replacement board in my case was a revised part that required a bit of rewiring. Instructions and the necessary wiring adapter was included. Mine takes a different board than yours (variable-speed compressor and dual evaporator). Could be your replacement board is a direct match.

This post was edited by dadoes on Thu, Feb 27, 14 at 13:24

I like to buy appliance parts from RepairClinic because you can return them within a year if it doesn't solve the problem, is the wrong part, etc. What you could try is buying the main board from them, and if it fixes the problem getting it from GE and returning RepairClinic's. You should be able to install the main board yourself. I recommend appliantology.org if you need service manuals or help. In fact, you may want to check there before you order anything as they could help you figure out what the problem is. Too bad they're only giving you a 7 day window, that seems very lame.

Thank you very much for the replies. The GE customer service rep called me yesterday to find out what I wanted to do and when I said I wasn't sure she gave me an additional 7 days to decide. Told me that If I have the GE repair person come in and he/she says it's the board then I can still get it from them for $50 and put it in myself. The service person would probably charge me much more than the $50 for the part plus there would also be labor, although whatever the cost it would be 50% with the discount except for the $80-$100 service charge which is not being discounted. The board has a one year exchange warranty, no refund, if I put it in or a non GE service person puts it in. If the GE person puts it in then there is a 5 year warranty, She also told me that instructions are not included with the board. :-(

Was wondering about the acceptable range of temperatures in the freezer during defrost because the repair person with whom I spoke told me that the range was normal and I also read something similar on the internet. I wouldn't even know that there was a change in temperatures if I didn't have the digital display.

My Arctica is set on -3°F for the freezer. It typically reads between -1°F and -3°F. I see -3°F on the display when I run the Quick Ice function or the door hasn't been opened for some hours (like when I checked a few mins ago). I've not specifically monitored it for how much swing occurs during defrost, but I've never seen 15°F.

Just to say, there are multiple temp sensors in different locations, any of them could be a little wonky, including the display sensor. Perhaps placing a separate thermometer in the freezer would be useful as a reference. Place it on a middle shelf toward the back.

I placed a thermometer in the freezer and noted that the temperature on the display almost matched the temp on the thermometer. The other day the freezer went from 0 to 11 and then back down again. The refrigerator went from 36 to 40. I had added food to the freezer but don't think that is causing the change. I may be putting too much in the freezer but took most of the items out and still don't think that is the reason for the temperature shift.

I am still debating if I should have the GE tech come out and check but it probably is a good idea because I can't do the diagnostics. Have not had the best experience with GE techs in the past and just hoping that whomever comes out will be good at what he/she does and also be trustworthy.

Had a problem with brand new microwave with sensor cooking function with message that I needed to input weight of foods. With my model there was no requirement to input weights. I figured that the wrong control board was in my microwave or the settings were incorrect. The first tech said nothing wrong because it was heating up water. Second tech said the same and then when I called GE to complain I was told that if the tech needed to come out and instruct me on how to use microwave I would have to pay. Called Home Depot and their rep set up appt. for tech to check microwave same day that the rep came to my home to see what was going on. Tech refused to come into my home stating that she had already checked my microwave and nothing was wrong because it was heating the water. Home Depot representative very angry and Home Depot agreed to replace microwave. 2nd microwave worked the way it was supposed to. So not that confident about these techs and their skill sets. :-(

I checked the temperature of the freezer and refrigerator. However I used a candy thermometer so question the accuracy, although a thermometer is a thermometer. The freezer temperature displayed and the thermometer temperature pretty much matched whereas there was a big discrepancy between the thermometer and the displayed refrigerator temperature with the thermometer showing a much warmer temp. I am going to purchase an actual refrigerator thermometer today and give that a try. I question that discrepancy because nothing spoils and food/liquids are very cold.

Thinking I can get one at Lowes or Home Depot.

Thanks again for your suggestions and advice. Am probably going to give GE a call today or tomorrow and set up appt. for tech. Hope that goes well. :-)

Update: decided to move the glass of water with the thermometer in it and recheck fridge temperature and only off by about 4 degrees. Still going to get another thermometer and recheck.

This post was edited by avian on Tue, Mar 4, 14 at 11:54

Give it 24 hrs for the materials to stabilize on the temp-checking.

The GE tech came out and checked my refrigerator. He hooked up his computer to the main board and told me that the tests showed that everything was OK. He removed the back panel and stated that the coils were very dirty and the compressor was hot to the touch. He told me that by not cleaning the coils the life of the fridge has probably been shortened. He said that it should be OK for now and that there was no problem with the main board or anything else. It seemed to be running OK but the freezer temperature started rising this evening and it is now up to 17 degs. and not going down. When he arrived yesterday the temp was at 4 but he said that this was OK and up to 5 degrees for freezer was fine. Yesterday and this AM the temperature would go up slightly but then go back down to 0 or -1.

I also showed him that there was frost on the metal rails of the freezer and he said this was OK. Today there was not only frost on the metal rails but also some of the plastic components. I removed the panel from the main board and the board feels hot. Don't know if this is normal or not. Am used to main board on computers which are being cooled by fans. Felt the area near the condenser and that did not feel hot but did not remove that panel. Could feel air being circulated by the fan. I am going to call GE tomorrow and see what can be done. I paid for the service call and the cleaning and this did not seem to resolve the issues and seems to be worse now.

I've had the same problem (temp fluctuations and not holding the set temp) as described by the original poster (Avian) with my GE Profile Arctica of about the same age. I believe I have helpful information to offer.

I had a couple of service calls by the tech who was recommended by the appliance specialty dealer where we bought the fridge. After several visits without success he diagnosed a bad main board. He ordered a board and replaced it. It worked better for a while, but still would not hold the set temp. Eventually I decided to bring in a genuine GE repair tech despite the $90 travel fee (in addition to any labor and parts charges). My thought was that the "real" GE tech might have specific knowledge about the problem.

Well, it turned out he did. I can't say the board did not need to be replaced, but that wasn't the basic problem. It turns out that there's a unit in the top rear of the refrigerator side (against the back wall behind the center light) that is the culprit. This large molded plastic unit has (inside) a small "door" that opens and closes to allow cold air from the freezer unit into the refrigerator side. Basically the fridge works by sending cold air into the freezer, then this door opens and closes to bleed enough cold air from the freezer to the refrigerator side to maintain the fridge temp. That "door" was broken.

The GE tech went right to the problem (he seemed to have seen it before), showed me the broken door, and replaced the molded unit containing the door. It was expensive (of course) but the tech showed me the price then cut it in half for me. He also fixed the ice-maker line (which had basically disintegrated) and cleaned out the coils (though they weren't too bad). Total cost was about $400 (but new higher end fridges were about $3K).

Now (a few months later) it holds the 0 to 1 degree freezer temp and 38 or so fridge temp.

Hope this is helpful.

I seem to have the exact problem (temp fluctuations and noise) as described by avian.
The problem and fix posted by yellowdog51 might not be for me or for avian. My freezer temps ~ -2° to 15°. My fridge temps ~ 36° to 42°. I have had my main board replaced twice and service techs can't fix my problem.
The solution posted by yellowdog51 doesn't seem like a fix for my problem.
Cold air created in the freezer is what keeps the fridge cold. A bad damper would not make the freezer ~15° warmer, and fridge ~5° warmer. This seems like an issue related to the defrost cycle.

Avian, did you find a solution? Can anyone offer some advice for me?

My fridge is a GE PDF22MFS.

Thanks

Stoutlover, I think we just inherited the exact same problem in our side by side fridge/freezer that came with our house. Its about 8 years old. Hubby replaced the main board. Then the freezer continued to climb up to 20 degrees and soften the ice cream. The walls of freezer had condensation. THe service tech came, said the main board had already been replaced once before by the old owners. He replaced a sensor called a thermistor. Yet it still climbs to an unacceptable temp for a freezer. We bought a more reliable digital thermometer with an alarm because he said our thermometer was defective, but it's not. Today it reached 28 degrees while I was at work and the kids had to rush to get the food into the spare freezer in the garage. Haven't lost any food yet, fortunately.

I am having the same issue as Avian with my GE Profile PFS22SBSBSS. Anyone able to offer a solution that works?

I have the same problem and found a peculiar culprit. The compressor is a three speed compressor which is controlled and powered by an inverter, which is attached to the compressor... It looks like a gray plastic box with two wire harnesses coming off of it. The smaller harness comes from the main board... It plugs into J15-1 and -2 on the board. If these wires show 4-6VDC, and the compressor isn't running, the board is not the problem.

Next, remove the inverter, from the compressor and unplug from the compressor... There are 3 pins on this compressor. Ohm out the pins going from 1 pin to another... rotate around ohming out each pair of pins. They should ohm out at 6-8 ohms and should be the same when testing any two pins.

If this proves to be as i stated, the compressor is fine... The culprit is the inverter. I have found them new at easyapplianceparts.com. Hope this helps someone!

I have a PFS22SIS where the temperature fluctuates by as much as 20 degrees in one or both compartments. Currently the freezer is -20 and the upper fridge is 59 degrees. Sometimes both compartments are too cold by a couple degreesat the same time or too warm by 5 degrees at the same time. The board has been replaced 2 or 3 times (last time probably 5 years ago) and the start relay also upgraded. I wonder if I am having the same issue as yellowdog51 with the broken door???

The problem I had where both the freezer and the refrigerator were too hot was due to the defrost lamp going bad in the freezer and the evaporator coils icing over solidly. After replacing that all was well until the main board blew out (probably due to power surges). Now I have it on a surge protector, but after 16 years the thermometer in the refrigerator is reading 5 degrees lower than the actual temperature - maybe a bad thermistor?