Thread Number: 80175
/ Tag: Refrigerators
1964 General Electric Spacemaker 15 Refrigerator Mod. TC474YD |
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Post# 1041248   8/10/2019 at 05:01 (1,693 days old) by Ultramatic (New York City)   |   | |
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Formally "Mr Draper, your General Electric Frost Guard Refrigerator is here..."
Another rebuilt thread after a massive image loss. The following images I managed to salvage from the former thread. Most of the original images were lost unfortunately.
Originally started on 4/18/2014, this refrigerator was acquired in Pennsylvania after a heads up from our intrepid Phil (ovrphil). Thanks my friend!
GE Model TC474YD Serial # OY604471. Manufactured February, 1964
It was purchased working, and continued to work for a few years when it started to develop issues. The first one was the evaporator coils in the refrigerator section started to frost up way above normal. To the point you could barely see the coils. It seemed like the the defrost cycle had failed to initiate. However, when I switched the thermostat to "Off", the hot gas defrost cycle would kick in and melt the frost. BUT, as long as I kept the refrigerator "Off", it would continue to heat the coils, to the point the refrigerator was getting extremely warm. However, a soon as I turned "On" the refrigerator, the defrost cycle would end and it started cooling normally again. After that "reset", the defrost cycle would act normally again, keeping the frost in check for almost a year, then the coils over frosted yet again. This time I replaced the cold control with an NOS unit (Part # WR9X403). It continued to work fine for a few months when again, the over frosting. It wasn't the cold control. So I did the old turn "Off" and "On" trick to get it going again. Only this time it didn't work. The defrost cycle engaged and disengaged once the refrigerator was turned on, the coils started to cool, then click, the compressor turned off, and it kept cycling on and off every few minutes. It seemed the the overload protector was being tripped. I know, this may be fatal, but I'd like to get a formal diagnosis before I decide what to do next. Currently the refrigerator is in New Jersey awaiting the final verdict.
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Post# 1041250 , Reply# 1   8/10/2019 at 05:16 (1,693 days old) by Ultramatic (New York City)   |   | |
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Post# 1041252 , Reply# 2   8/10/2019 at 05:21 (1,693 days old) by Ultramatic (New York City)   |   | |
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Post# 1041416 , Reply# 3   8/11/2019 at 09:31 (1,691 days old) by Ultramatic (New York City)   |   | |
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Post# 1041417 , Reply# 4   8/11/2019 at 09:34 (1,691 days old) by Ultramatic (New York City)   |   | |
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Post# 1044533 , Reply# 5   9/11/2019 at 15:54 (1,660 days old) by KutterCraig (Dandridge, Tennessee)   |   | |
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I have almost this exact refrigerator! I found it in an old warehouse on the farm I live on and decided to clean it up. It has been working perfectly for a year however I have wondered what the "water switch" on the left side of the freezer accomplishes. Does anyone have any ideas?
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Post# 1044536 , Reply# 6   9/11/2019 at 16:04 (1,660 days old) by spacepig (Floridas Emerald Coast)   |   | |
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Post# 1044581 , Reply# 7   9/11/2019 at 20:30 (1,660 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)   |   | |
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Post# 1044629 , Reply# 9   9/12/2019 at 10:26 (1,659 days old) by Ultramatic (New York City)   |   | |
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Post# 1044929 , Reply# 10   9/15/2019 at 00:41 (1,657 days old) by KutterCraig (Dandridge, Tennessee)   |   | |
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I had no idea! That makes a lot more sense though for the time period. Mine has all of the hardware with the exception of the ice tray and holder. Where do you manage to find documentation on these ancient appliances nowadays? |
Post# 1050535 , Reply# 11   11/10/2019 at 15:16 (1,600 days old) by Ultramatic (New York City)   |   | |
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Post# 1050538 , Reply# 12   11/10/2019 at 15:23 (1,600 days old) by Ultramatic (New York City)   |   | |
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John (combo52) checked the G.E.. It started right up and started to cool normally. The issue may be that that the compressor is weak or it is low on Freon. The gauges needed to measure the charge were not available unfortunately. I am hoping it just needs a recharge. If it's just that. I will be looking into having it repainted before bringing it back into the kitchen. |
Post# 1050592 , Reply# 13   11/10/2019 at 20:44 (1,600 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)   |   | |
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Post# 1050593 , Reply# 14   11/10/2019 at 20:52 (1,600 days old) by Ultramatic (New York City)   |   | |
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Post# 1050595 , Reply# 15   11/10/2019 at 21:00 (1,600 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!)   |   | |
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Post# 1052094 , Reply# 16   11/23/2019 at 16:14 (1,587 days old) by Ultramatic (New York City)   |   | |
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Post# 1052095 , Reply# 17   11/23/2019 at 16:46 (1,587 days old) by spacepig (Floridas Emerald Coast)   |   | |
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Post# 1052927 , Reply# 18   12/2/2019 at 10:04 (1,578 days old) by Ultramatic (New York City)   |   | |
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Post# 1053098 , Reply# 19   12/3/2019 at 21:13 (1,577 days old) by carolinacat (north carolina)   |   | |
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How about checking to see if they have an extra hot has solenoid laying around. I tried to get one to work off of a washer and it magnetizes but does not seem to open the valve. It may be to weak or I may not know what I'm doing. Haha. |
Post# 1053180 , Reply# 22   12/4/2019 at 19:51 (1,576 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)   |   | |
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Post# 1090052 , Reply# 23   9/20/2020 at 17:40 (1,285 days old) by Ultramatic (New York City)   |   | |
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Post# 1090059 , Reply# 24   9/20/2020 at 18:31 (1,285 days old) by turbokinetic (Northport, Alabama USA)   |   | |
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Glad to see it's in the right place for a resurrection! |
Post# 1090219 , Reply# 25   9/21/2020 at 23:39 (1,284 days old) by Ultramatic (New York City)   |   | |
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Post# 1107361 , Reply# 26   2/9/2021 at 13:27 (1,143 days old) by Ultramatic (New York City)   |   | |
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Post# 1107415 , Reply# 27   2/9/2021 at 21:34 (1,143 days old) by turbokinetic (Northport, Alabama USA)   |   | |
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Louis, it seems most of the GE's of this era are reaching a common failure point with the filter-drier and cap tube. So many have the same symptoms. |
Post# 1116802 , Reply# 28   5/9/2021 at 21:03 (1,054 days old) by Ultramatic (New York City)   |   | |
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Post# 1116816 , Reply# 29   5/10/2021 at 00:45 (1,054 days old) by Dermacie (my forever home (Glenshaw, PA))   |   | |
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Post# 1117641 , Reply# 30   5/19/2021 at 10:10 (1,044 days old) by Ultramatic (New York City)   |   | |
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Post# 1117661 , Reply# 32   5/19/2021 at 11:41 (1,044 days old) by cadman (Cedar Falls, IA)   |   | |
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While this may be a step further than you want to go, on a suggestion from John, I was able to retrofit a late model WP compressor into my '65 GE. It does add an inch or so of depth to the back, but that wasn't an issue for our fridge space. That was almost 2 years ago and it still works great.
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Post# 1117666 , Reply# 33   5/19/2021 at 12:04 (1,044 days old) by Ultramatic (New York City)   |   | |
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Post# 1117667 , Reply# 34   5/19/2021 at 12:07 (1,044 days old) by Ultramatic (New York City)   |   | |
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Post# 1120446 , Reply# 35   6/16/2021 at 12:13 (1,016 days old) by Ultramatic (New York City)   |   | |
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