---
title: "Running constantly"
description: "GE running constantly — a refrigerator in South Florida runs longer than the same appliance anywhere dry, so long run times alone are not evidence of…"
url: "https://gemiami.support/symptoms/refrigerator-running-constantly/"
date_modified: "2026-08-31"
Appliance type: "Freezers, Refrigerators, Wine and beverage centers"
---


# GE running constantly

### Decide first whether it is cold or not

That single fact splits this symptom in two. Running and cold means the appliance is compensating for something — a seal, a coil, a door, the room. Running and warm means it cannot keep up at all, and that belongs on the not-cooling page. Put a thermometer in it before you do anything else.

### Long run times are normal here

Compressor run time is a function of the room as much as the appliance. In August, in a Miami kitchen, a refrigerator that runs most of the time may be performing exactly to specification. That is why we ask what it is holding rather than what it sounds like.

### The three that are worth fixing

A seal, a coil and a defrost circuit. All three make the appliance work harder for the same result, all three are ordinary repairs, and all three show up on the electricity bill long before they show up as a warm refrigerator.

A GE refrigerator running constantly is only a problem if it is not holding temperature while it runs. Cold and running points at a seal, a coil or the room; warm and running belongs on the not-cooling page.

A door seal that has let go

The commonest cause of long run times in this climate. Warm wet air enters continuously and the appliance never catches up.

A condenser that cannot shed heat

GE's own first check. A coil at floor level in a Miami kitchen fills with what floors carry, and a covered coil means longer runs for less cold.

The defrost circuit not clearing the evaporator

Ice on the evaporator blocks the air path, so the appliance runs longer to move less cold. GE's dE code reports it.

Where the appliance lives

A garage, a hot utility room or a cabinet without clearance changes the arithmetic completely, and no repair changes the room.

Put a thermometer in both compartments

Cold and running is a different problem from warm and running.

Do the paper test on both doors

Hinge side first, because that is where seals fail.

Look at the condenser

If you can see the coil, you can see whether it is clean.

Note whether anything changed

A new position, a hot appliance next to it, a summer that arrived. All of these produce this symptom honestly.

The compressor never seems to stop

What it usually means

It rarely or never switches off

The kitchen is warmer or the bill is higher

It still holds temperature — or it does not

Decide first whether it is cold or not

That single fact splits this symptom in two. Running and cold means the appliance is compensating for something — a seal, a coil, a door, the room. Running and warm means it cannot keep up at all, and that belongs on the not-cooling page. Put a thermometer in it before you do anything else.

Long run times are normal here

Compressor run time is a function of the room as much as the appliance. In August, in a Miami kitchen, a refrigerator that runs most of the time may be performing exactly to specification. That is why we ask what it is holding rather than what it sounds like.

The three that are worth fixing

A seal, a coil and a defrost circuit. All three make the appliance work harder for the same result, all three are ordinary repairs, and all three show up on the electricity bill long before they show up as a warm refrigerator.

A GE refrigerator running constantly is only a problem if it is not holding temperature while it runs. Cold and running points at a seal, a coil or the room; warm and running belongs on the not-cooling page.

### Is constant running damaging it?

It shortens the compressor's life and it costs money every day, but it is not an emergency. What it usually is, is a seal or a coil — and both are cheap next to what they cost in run time.

### It got worse this summer.

Seasonal is the clue. It points at the room, the condenser or the clearance around a built-in rather than at a component that failed.

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**[Read full article: Running constantly](https://gemiami.support/symptoms/refrigerator-running-constantly/)**