ZIF180NPKAII General Electric Freezer - Instructions

Took panel off back of inside of freezer section, took off old sensor from the evaporator, spliced new sensor into the existing wires, waterproofed spliced connections, snapped sensor back onto evaporator, then put panel back on the inside of the freezer. Really, it took only 10 minutes to fix. Now refrigerator defrosts like it used to, and temps have settled in at specified temps.

Noticed the problem in November 2009. Replaced Hi Limit Sesor for Defrost thinking it was the freezor temperature sensor. Did not fix the problem. Replaced Motherboard. Did not fix the problem. Called Sears Repair. They mis-diagnosed the problem and told me it was the sealed system. I doubted them and sent them home. Replaced the correct freezer temperature sensor that connects to the motherboard. FIXED.
Removed a panel, cut two wires, soldered and insulated two wries, reinstalled panel.

First I hired a repairman and he said that it was in the unit and would not be worth the expense to fix.

I started to research on the net and this was one possible source. ( evaporator fan). I had to take it apart to verify it. Then put it back together to use until the part came.

The next time went much faster as I did not have to take near as many screws out to access the fan motor. Very Happy to have it working fine again as a new relacement would cost $1200. Thanks much. Ron

No self defrost. Measured heater coil with ohm meter which was OK (not open). Ordered 2 temp sensors (there are 2 in freezer, 2 in fresh food sections). The original and the new all meaured ~150 ohms. Replaced one by one. This did not fix problem. Ordered defrost thermostat. Original measured ~150 ohms - new one was ~100 ohms. Unpluged refridgerator. Removed coil panel (4 nut screws) in freezer and light cover (1 small phillips screw). Locate defrost thermostat clipped to top of coils (orange / pink wires). Cut wires and unclipped thermostat. Stripped insulation off of wires and reconnect using wire nuts. Clipped thermostat back to coils. Ran refridgerator without panel on coils to see if coils frosted up again and listend for fans/compressor to stop ( took hours). Opened freezer and viewed glow of defrost heater. Problem resolved.

I lifted the old switch with a flat screwdriver, attached wires, and popped into place. Saved 80 bucks for a repair call.

First, I removed all the shelves and the light guard. Second, I removed the nuts that held the fan guard and the freezer back in place (2 just under the fan guard and removed the freezer back. Third, lifted fan guard out of way (being very careful not to crack it..... cold plastic). Fourth, unpugged fan from pug then removed nuts that held fan bracket in place...removed fan. fifth, then removed fan blade and remove fan motor from bracket, removed two wires that went to freezer light (pay attention to where they go) and installed them into the new wireing harness. Sixth, installed fan blade on new motor, bolted new assembly in fan bracket, plugged in and reistalled fan into the freezer, replaced fan guard and freezer back (reverse order of above) and then replaced freezer racks. works beautiful.

I had taken the noise long enough and wanted to get this repaired. I didn't want to pay a repair man hundreds of dollars to do it so i decided to do it myself. I went on to YouTube and found a few videos that showed me how easy it was to do (very helpful).

I wasn't so sure all that noise would come from the Evaporator Fan motor so i ordered it and took the chance. For the small cost, it was worth the try.

All went well accessing the unit and removing the old part. Very fast indeed. However, the snag came when i went to plug in the new part electrical to the existing electrical adapters. The old part had 4 lead connections. The new part had 6. and the wires on the new part were different colors than the existing. I had to use some logic and courage to cut the wires on the new part and rewire the old adapter to this piece. Luckily, i wired everything correctly.

Calling Part Select got me a phone number for the parts manufacturer to help with the splicing but i opted to do it on my own.

The result is i have a noiseless refrigerator again. What should have taken 10 to 15 minutes took half an hour because of the wiring but overall, very easy.

Two tabs hold the switch in place. I used a plastic wedge to remove the switch. Removed and replaced the two connectors held in by friction. Painless.

Just pop the old one out, careful not to lose the wiring inside the ref wall & popped the new one in.

My GE refrigerator emitted high pitch noise a short while ago. I tried different dampening methods that helped but not eliminating the problem. I finally replaced the fan, motor, and associated parts and solved the problem. The total cost was about $50.

i used the video it showed on the site or iwould not have been able to do it

I replaced the three sensors, 2 in the freezer 1 in the refrigerator. This was rated as the most common problem. Did not fix the problem. I then checked the ohms on the new sensors then the old sensors they were all within .5 of each other. So I got smart and went down the list of causes on their list. I emailed partselect and asked what the parts should read. They replied with that information and it turned out to be the voltage converter on the compressor. I ordered the part on friday payed for overnight delivery and it arrived tuesday. This as you can imagine makes me angry. But the part was easy to install and my refrigerator started working right away. I would advise anyone with this problem to start at the top of the problem list use a multi meter check everything on the list and only replace part or parts that don't come up to standards. This will save time and money and hopefully fix the problem the first time as you are not switching out parts and hoping that it solves the problem.

I popped the switch out using the blade of a small screwdriver and noticed that it connected with two wires via a slide on connector for each one. I noted the info on the old switch to identify which wire went to which terminal. I held each wire with a pair of pliers while I pulled the wire connector off the terminal on the old switch. I connected the two wires to the correct terminals on the new swith, and popped the switch back into the door frame. Easy, easy, easy and saved the $40 service call + parts cost!

I opened the back panel of the fridge and exposed the compressor. Unplugged existing run capacitor and installed new one with the addition of the sleeve that is stated must be installed around the run capacitor.
Everything I read and on this web site says that based on these symptoms, that the problem is the run capacitor. I searched and search for a part called a start relay which plugs in to the compressor. This run capacitor plugs in to this other part which I take as the start relay.

Installing this run capacitor did not solve the problem. The fridge compressor keeps cycling on and off. Freezer doesn't keep as cold as it should.

i removed srews from area until i could access the fan unit and removed it. wires were not identical so i had to splice some together, most likely could not have been avoided. the exploded parts diagram helped me to be sure that i would have all replacement parts on hand so i wouldn't have to wait for something i had forgotten.