Left side is warmer than the right side

Question

GE Profile Refrigerator

Information and repair instructions for GE Profile Refrigerator

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Martian @martian90133

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crwdns2931729:0crwdne2931729:0: Kul 19, 2025

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Left side is warmer than the right side

I purchased this GE Profile PGE29BYTFS french door fridge a week ago. I have 2 problems in the refrigerator section only:

It never comes to the set temperature. Generally it is around 4 degrees higher than the set temperature. Is this normal for a fridge? I've never measured the internal temperature of a fridge before.
I can live with problem 1 by reducing it to the lowest, 34, but this is the most unacceptable problem. The left side of the refrigerator compartment is about 4 degrees higher than the right side. I've even removed all the items to make sure air flow is not blocked.

My observations: There is a long narrow vent on the back top of the compartment blowing cold air. I can feel it blows a strong stream of cold air on the right side and very little on the left side.

It seems this is the cause of the temperature difference. Are there 2 fans, one for each side? Or there is only one fan and some dampers are controlling the air flow?

Also, I was trying to find a service and repair manual for this model and could not find any. Where can I find a service manual for this?

Besides these problems, the freezer and the Temperature Select Zone compartments are fine.

It is indeed under warranty, but if the wrong technician comes, I'm worried it may create new problems.

Any help would be appreciated.

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jayeff @jayeff

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crwdns2931729:0crwdne2931729:0: Kul 20, 2025

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Hi @martian90133

What is the full model number of your refrigerator?

There are 3 model variants of the model number i.e. PGE29BYTBFS, PGE29BYTCFS and PGE29BYTDFS and they don't all have the exact same number of replacement parts.

Probably not that important as they all show that there's only one fan in the refrigerator compartment. This fan is used to drag air across the evaporator unit below the air tower, cooling the air down and then blow it up and out of the air tower.

There are two evaporator units in your refrigerator, one in each compartment, so there are no dampers to block the air between compartments. The only damper is the one used for the convertible drawer in the refrigerator compartment

Looking at the image shown in the "fan" link above it should blow the air equally out of both sides of the air tower unless one side was partially blocked for whatever reason.

The part number for the mini manual + wiring diagram is GE 31-1000707 but unfortunately I can't find a download when searching online for it. It would have the diagnostic test procedure information, the schematic diagram and it also may have the airflow diagrams for the compartments, (not all mini manuals show this)

You could check if it is located in the refrigerator as shown by this article.

Hopefully it is there but also that by trying to see if it is, that you are not voiding the warranty by trying to find out if it is or not.

If you decide to look for it and it isn't there, you could order it but be aware that it seems that they want to know your mobile number, residential address as well as obviously the full model/serial number of the refrigerator, at least according to an answer posted yesterday in this other question regarding obtaining GE mini manuals

As the refrigerator is still under warranty I do suggest that you don't remove the air tower to check if anything is wrong there as you don't want to void the warranty. Hopefully the service technician will remove it and check if all is OK and if not it wouldn't hurt to suggest that perhaps they should ;-)

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Wow! This is the first time I used ifixit forums and this answer is super helpful. Thanks so much. The full model number is PGE29BYTDFS. I have not checked any of the things you told me, but I'm so excited, I thought I'll first send a thank you note immediately.

I'll keep you updated.

Thanks very much again.

crwdns2934271:0Kul 20, 2025crwdnd2934271:0 Martian crwdne2934271:0

@martian90133

Another thought that just occurred to me is to check if the door seals are OK and not allowing air to escape on 1 side.

To check this, place a sheet of paper between the door and the door jamb and with the door closed normally I.e. no pressure on it by you to keep it closed, try pulling it out.

It will come out with a bit of an effort but not easily and it should definitely not fall out by itself.

Do this at various places around the door, top, bottom and both sides.

Another way would be to place a turned on flashlight in the compartment and check for any light coming through the door seals. Perhaps best done at night when it is dark making it easier to see if there is or not.

If there is a problem with the seal or the door alignment, (hinges?), go the warranty route to get it fixed

crwdns2934271:0Kul 20, 2025crwdnd2934271:0 jayeff crwdne2934271:0

Thanks @jayeff! Door seal leaks was the first thing that came to my mind, but never used the paper technique to check it till now. No leaks. I'll do the flashlight test tonight.

Last night I also checked all over the fridge (including near the compressor by removing the back panel) for the mini manual. Since I could not find it, I used the link you gave to send a request to GE. Since you warned about providing address, phone etc, I included them, so they do not have to ask me!

The part you gave at Sears is exactly the one in the fridge. Today I'm going to find my old 'endoscopic' camera and try to see if I can put it down the vent to see if there are any obstructions on the left side.

Also, I feel another contributing factor could be something on the left side or top that generates heat, like some control board. Do you know if there is anything like that?

crwdns2934271:0Kul 21, 2025crwdnd2934271:0 Martian crwdne2934271:0

@martian90133

Below the air tower is the evaporator unit which is used to generate the cold temp as the refrigerant passes through it.

Below the evap unit is the defrost heater which is used during a defrost cycle to melt any ice build up on evap unit, so during a defrost cycle the temp may rise in the refrigerator compartment, but the heater is only on for some 20 minutes possible once every 8-10 hours or perhaps even longer depending on what method is used to activate the defrost cycle.

Some makers use cumulative compressor run time hours and others use set elapsed hours time. Either way I don't think that this is the problem.

There is nothing at the top of the air tower that generates heat. The only thing there is a temperature sensor.

Click on the "refrigerator section" parts diagram in this link and then click on expand to view the parts in the refrigerator compartment to see what's there.

The evap unit is at the back of the compartment behind a panel. Access is through the door at the front of the refrigerator i.e. remove the panel on the inside.

crwdns2934271:0Kul 21, 2025crwdnd2934271:0 jayeff crwdne2934271:0

Thanks @jayeff. The diagram links are very helpful.

GE sent me the mini manual. The airflow diagram is the view from the left side. There is no airflow shown from the front, so it not clear if there is a difference in airflow (as designed) between the 2 sides.

Anyway, I did a few tests:

1. Ran the diagnostics as given in the mini manual.

(In the mini manual FF is the refrigerator, but no idea why it is FF. Freezer is FZ, which makes sense.)

1a. FF thermal sensor: When the fridge is set to 34F, the sensor reads exactly 34F. So it may be like your home thermostat reaching the correct temp and cutting off, but the middle of the root could be a different temp, but does not explain how there could be a 4F difference between the sides.

1b. Tested the FF fax. I could not make any sense of the fan speeds. It is supposed to show low, medium and high speeds cyclically, but it was confusing to me! Some numbers were flashing.

1c. FF cooling test. Again could not make any sense of the flashing numbers.

(Contd...)

crwdns2934271:0Kul 22, 2025crwdnd2934271:0 Martian crwdne2934271:0

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Wow! This is the first time I used ifixit forums and this answer is super helpful. Thanks so much. The full model number is PGE29BYTDFS. I have not checked any of the things you told me, but I'm so excited, I thought I'll first send a thank you note immediately.

I'll keep you updated.

Thanks very much again. — Martian
@martian90133

Another thought that just occurred to me is to check if the door seals are OK and not allowing air to escape on 1 side.

To check this, place a sheet of paper between the door and the door jamb and with the door closed normally I.e. no pressure on it by you to keep it closed, try pulling it out.

It will come out with a bit of an effort but not easily and it should definitely not fall out by itself.

Do this at various places around the door, top, bottom and both sides.

Another way would be to place a turned on flashlight in the compartment and check for any light coming through the door seals. Perhaps best done at night when it is dark making it easier to see if there is or not.

If there is a problem with the seal or the door alignment, (hinges?), go the warranty route to get it fixed — jayeff
Thanks @jayeff! Door seal leaks was the first thing that came to my mind, but never used the paper technique to check it till now. No leaks. I'll do the flashlight test tonight.

Last night I also checked all over the fridge (including near the compressor by removing the back panel) for the mini manual. Since I could not find it, I used the link you gave to send a request to GE. Since you warned about providing address, phone etc, I included them, so they do not have to ask me!

The part you gave at Sears is exactly the one in the fridge. Today I'm going to find my old 'endoscopic' camera and try to see if I can put it down the vent to see if there are any obstructions on the left side.

Also, I feel another contributing factor could be something on the left side or top that generates heat, like some control board. Do you know if there is anything like that? — Martian
@martian90133

Below the air tower is the evaporator unit which is used to generate the cold temp as the refrigerant passes through it.

Below the evap unit is the defrost heater which is used during a defrost cycle to melt any ice build up on evap unit, so during a defrost cycle the temp may rise in the refrigerator compartment, but the heater is only on for some 20 minutes possible once every 8-10 hours or perhaps even longer depending on what method is used to activate the defrost cycle.

Some makers use cumulative compressor run time hours and others use set elapsed hours time. Either way I don't think that this is the problem.

There is nothing at the top of the air tower that generates heat. The only thing there is a temperature sensor.

Click on the "refrigerator section" parts diagram in this link and then click on expand to view the parts in the refrigerator compartment to see what's there.

The evap unit is at the back of the compartment behind a panel. Access is through the door at the front of the refrigerator i.e. remove the panel on the inside. — jayeff
Thanks @jayeff. The diagram links are very helpful.

GE sent me the mini manual. The airflow diagram is the view from the left side. There is no airflow shown from the front, so it not clear if there is a difference in airflow (as designed) between the 2 sides.

Anyway, I did a few tests:

1. Ran the diagnostics as given in the mini manual.

(In the mini manual FF is the refrigerator, but no idea why it is FF. Freezer is FZ, which makes sense.)

1a. FF thermal sensor: When the fridge is set to 34F, the sensor reads exactly 34F. So it may be like your home thermostat reaching the correct temp and cutting off, but the middle of the root could be a different temp, but does not explain how there could be a 4F difference between the sides.

1b. Tested the FF fax. I could not make any sense of the fan speeds. It is supposed to show low, medium and high speeds cyclically, but it was confusing to me! Some numbers were flashing.

1c. FF cooling test. Again could not make any sense of the flashing numbers.

(Contd...) — Martian

Martian @martian90133 crwdns2934065:0crwdne2934065:0: 23 2 · Answer 1 · 2025-03-24T17:50:01-07:00

Martian @martian90133

crwdns2934065:0crwdne2934065:0: 23

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crwdns2931729:0crwdne2931729:0: Kul 24, 2025

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I've rotated the picture of the left side to have correct side up. It is not easy to get the camera in the correct rotation. The right side of the vent shows the opening continuing at an angle going down. The left side shows there is something blocking the opening. However, it does not look like some random piece of debris. Either it is some kind of a clip that is put in there, or a piece of Styrofoam specifically designed to fit in there. In this picture it is not that clear, but in some other picture it looked a bit rough, most probably Styrofoam.

I think it is now time to call warranty, though my fingers are itching to remove the back panel!

If it is not a copyright violation, I would like to share the mini manual here. Do you know if it is OK to do that?

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Hi @martian90133,

You can't attach images to a comment in ifixit. You can only do this in an answer or a question

Regarding posting the mini manual here,I can't see why it would be a copyright issue. It's not as if you're going to sell it (or copies of it).

My view is that you're simply sharing an unaltered document that should have come with the refrigerator that you bought. You can give the refrigerator away if you like so why not the document? Bit simplistic maybe idk ;-)

Preferably upload it as a .pdf file if possible (same way as posting an image) as that way others can download it and then print it etc.

I don't know what computer system or programs that you would have to do this, but if you have a Windows PC then I've been using this free image viewer program for years going back to WinXP.

It's really easy to use and it converts .jpg image files to .pdf files plus a lot more.

Cheers

crwdns2934271:0Kul 25, 2025crwdnd2934271:0 jayeff crwdne2934271:0

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GE Profile Refrigerator

Left side is warmer than the right side

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