GE french door evaporator coils not defrosting

[dimeismoney]

Model Number: GYS22GSNBSS
Brand: GE
Age: 1-5 years

3-4 months ago my evaporator coils were packed full of frost in both the refrigerator and freezer so I used a heat gun to fully defrost them. I noticed even frosting of the coils after letting it run for a bit. The fridge maintaned a good temperature after that, but now I'm noticing frost building up again around the areas where the evaporator coils are, combined with poor cooling performance inside both the fridge and freezer. Right now I can feel cold air coming out of the vent in the fridge, and can feel the fan working in the freezer.

I tried contacting GE to get the diagnostic mode code sheet but they won't provide it, and their technician line is a deadend if you don't have an account set up with them already. I want to run the manual defrost mode and then triage which component is causing the frosting issues but can't find info on this specific model.

Any help is appreciated.

[Doc Ryan]

The video below should help you access service mode. 00 14 forces refrigerator and freezer defrost mode on your model. Please note that this may not work properly if the there is a failed defrost component. Often you have to manually defrost the evaporator coil with the refrigerator disassembled while diagnosing the defrost components. If you do this, be careful to not warp or damage the liner of the refrigerator as th

[dimeismoney]

Thanks for the reply. I did see that video, but wasn't sure if it applied to my fridge since when I select 00 14 to defrost I didn't see any screen change thinking the parameters were different. Just now doing it I noticed it paused the compressor or something running in the fridge but the screen still displays 00 14. Is this normal?

I also ran a 00 00 diagnostic test and had these codes pop up: "00 05," "00 lo," and "99 9d." What would these indicate? The only one I could find is 00 05 is "electronic deli thermistor reading out of range."

Edit:
I am noticing two clicking sounds when running the defrost code, seen in this video:
https://youtube.com/shorts/9nyibTSFNlw?feature=share

[Doc Ryan]

I don't know if that is normal. I don't usually use the force defrost modes with a defrost problem because we already know that there is a failure with one or more of the defrost components.

I am not sure about the invalid error codes that don't show up in the list.

If your refrigerator has a deli thermistor, you can test it as shown in the video below. Some models will show an error code if they don't have a certain feature or component from the factory. For instance, if the refrigerator doesn't have an ice maker installed in the freezer, it will show an error code related to the freezer ice maker.

To troubleshoot your defrost problem, I would take the evaporator cover off and start testing the defrost components looking for a bad defrost heater, defrost thermostat, or defrost temp sensor.

[dimeismoney]

Ok, I got around to testing all three components and they all checked out good. Thermistor had proper ohm read at both room and cold temps, thermostat turned off after 140 degrees, and the defroster read within the acceptable resistance range. This was for both the fridge and freezer. Since both evaporator coils are freezing up, could it be a common part they both use that causes this? I will post photos of the ice build up when I get to a computer. It looks like most of the ice is around the top of the coils and not between the coils.

[Doc Ryan]

Since both are freezing up at the same time, it is likely a failure of the main control board. If you replace it, make sure to manually defrost the evaporator coils after installing the new control board. Let me know what you find.

Main Control Board - WR55X46805 (PD00089637)