TFX20BASAWH General Electric Refrigerator - Instructions

remove lower back cover - disconnect wires to fan motor - place 6" fan to blow on condenser - fridge began cooling & freezing again - ordered part - part arrived - removed fan motor & bracket - cleaned brackets & fan blade - cleaned lint & dust from condenser compartment (took longer to clean than anything else) - replaced fan motor - replaced cover - was hero with wife ... :-)

Removed the top hinge with a socket and lifted the door off. Removed the bottom hinge from the refrigerator with same sized socket. Used a Dermel to cut out the old rivet holding the old mangled cam. Attached the new cam with a screw, washers and nut. Reattached bottom hinge to the refrigerator. Removed the bracket holding the second cam on the bottom of the door. Replaced the shim and cam. Reinstalled the door. No problems. Just don't make the same mistake I made. You need two cams. They interlock and work together to close the door automatically. The cams are identical. They are just off set by 90 degrees when the door is closed.

It was easy after finding PartSelect online. It wasn't obvious at first that my evaporator core(in back of freezer side) was frosting over, (since I have a flat white panel that is about 8 x 30 inches covering it), until I reached inside and ran my fingers over the cover and noticed a thin layer of frost on it. At this point I told my buddies to go get ice for our beer cuz I was fixin to do a lock out/tag out on the Fridge. Seriously, Do disconnect the electrical power before taking it apart. After taking the 9 screws (6-1/4" hex heads & 3-#2 phillips)out and removing the panel, I saw that the evaporator core was completely frosted over. I then put a large towel in the bottom and let it thaw for a day. Next day after getting the old Defrost Heater Kit with Thermostat out (4-#2 phillips, plug-in electrical connection, thermostat snap on clip) , I noticed it was burnt inside the filaments and did not pass the continuity test. I then ordered my part from PartSelect and took the oppurtunity to clean my fridge spotless. 3 business days later, I received my part, installed it, and now have a "like new" refrigertor. Actual repair time - 30 minutes, Overall down time - 4 days, Saving the cost of a new Fridge - a heck of lot more beer!

Removed the 4 screws holding the back panel in freezer compartment and then removed panel. Removed the 4 screws holding defrost heater and removed it. The replacement parts fit perfect , plug the new part in and bingo my frig is operating like a new one. Took about 15 minutes to make the repair. Took longer to defrost the ice buildup on the coils ( 1hr ) than to do the repair (15 min). I can't believe i would have been paying an appliance repairman to hold a hair dryer for an hour. Your diagrams showing where the various parts are located on the appliance are invaluable. Would recommend PartsSelect to anyone and I am sure that I will be ordering parts for my other appliances as needed. Thanks

as described, I used a thin screwdriver to wedge in and pull down existing, broken switch. I was able to pull it down about a 1/4 inch, but wasn't quit able to disegage it until I gripped it with pliers. I then pulled it out, unplugged the old switch, plugged in the new switch, and carefully tucked the wires back into the fridge and snapped the new switch into place.

10 minutes total.

After diagnosis though Part Select I determined it must be the defrost heater. I took the panel off on the inside of the back wall of the freezer and used a hair dryer to thaw the ice buildup. I found the bottom element was burned out. I ordered the defrost heater kit and the defrost timer in case that was faulty too. Parts arrived next day. I installed the heater kit and replaced the panel. Then took off the plastic cover inside the refrigerator. One screw near the top of the metal box allows you to remove it to get to the defrost timer.

Changed the door stop and hinge assembly. Door works perfectly.

I weged a block of wood under the door to hold the weight then used a nutdriver to removed the two screws attaching the bottom hinge to the refrigerator. The plastic closing cam was broken and preventing the door from closing. I found some plastic washers in my junk drawer to install on the lower hinge as a temporary fix to keep the appliance operational until the correct replacement parts could be tracked down. I then called local appliance stores in search of the closing cam and learned that none of them had the part in stock. I then hit the internet and within minutes found a picture of exactly what I needed at PartsSelect.com and had it on order a couple minutes later. A couple days after that, the new hinge was delivered, Again, I proped up the door, removed the lower hinge and replaced it with the new the new one that included the new closing cam. I was very happy to have saved lots of time and money and my wife was even happier to have the refrigerator working properly again. :)

Unplugged the refrigerator. I took all the food items out of the freezer, took out the ice bin and shelves. Then I unscrewed the back panel and removed it. The freezer coils were frozen over with ice. Then I used a large fan to thaw the ice and cleaned up the water with towels.
I unscrewed the old defrost heater at the bottom of the coil section, removed it and screwed the new defrost heater part in. I ended up using some dikes to cut the wiring midway up . ( I was going to use the new plastic plug that came with the new part, but it wasn't correct ). I spliced the wires together ( the color scheme was the same - pink to pink, blue to blue, etc), capped them , taped them with electrical tape, and I covered them with a corner from a sandwich bag and taped them a bit more to keep moisture out. Then I tucked the wiring up away from the coil section. I also spliced this little cylindrical part into the existing wiring harness and clipped it onto the copper tubing. ( I suspect this is the defrost timer, but I'm not sure ). After I removed the the old cylindrical little part, I noticed the cap was popped out of it. (it looked like it was damaged a bit ). Once I got all wiring tucked away and back in place, I put the back panel back on, plugged it back in. Voila'. Easy as pie. It's been running fine ( about a week now) ever since. I replaced the thermostat sensor first since that was the cheapest part, but it wasn't the problem. So I moved on to the defrost heater and that ended up being the bad part. I repaired my refrigerator for less than $100.00. Thanks PartSelect. You rock!

i put a new evaporator motor in and now it works fine

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.

This is a built-in unit. Remove the external bezel at the top of the unit. Reach through the unit and unplug the frig. On the compressor unit, you'll see a vertical metal panel. Remove the metal panel and the timer is right behind it. Remove one wire at a time and switch it to the new timer. Remove timer and replace with new one.

Just an added comment, GE Service wanted to put an "ice kit" into my unit. The full repairs would have cost $1,000. While I described how to replace the defrost timer, the problem was the tray heater. But that's another story.

The fan was the correct part. It arrived one day after my well trained son-in-law had left for Texas. I had to install the motor myself. He had trained me well; it was not hard. the most difficult was getting the two tabs on the fan housing to fit back into the frame of the refrigerator where they belonged. Thanks. the part & delivery were overpriced, but I needed seed and convenience. Thanks for getting it right the first time.
John Moragues

UNPLUG UNIT. Open freezer compartment, top door. You may want to let it warm up a bit before beginning work. Next remove single screw from small square plastic grate at top left back of freezer compartment with phillips screw driver. Remove green ground wire connection behind removed grate with nut driver. Next remove 2 screws at top of freezer compartment holding plastic air diffuser bracket in place and holding back panel. Remove metal back panel of freezer by pulling top towards you, then angle out of compartment. Evap. fan is now exposed. I inspected and removed fan by removing two screws with nutdriver on bracket behind fan blade. I inserted nutdriver (with long socket driver)between fan blades to screws on bracket behind blade - 1 each side. After these two screws are removed, pull fan and bracket assembly out from plenum. Remove wiring from motor and remove motor to workbench. Remove round metal clamp from fan hub with needle nose pliers and slide off fan blade from motor. Also remove bracket and rubber bushing. Disgard old motor. Inspect and clean blade. Replace if necessary. Reattach rubber bushing, bracket THEN fan blade to new motor. New fan has atleast one terminal in new location and I had to use one wire extension that came with kit. Route wire behind motor and plug in new wires to back of motor. Insert fan and bracket to plenum, hold in place with one hand while reattaching screws with nutdriver between fan blades. Once fan is in place and nuts secure, I tested operation by plugging unit back in to make sure new motor ran and fan spun freely. Reattach back panel, top diffuser bracket and small grate with 3 screws. Shut door, set temp. and wait 24 hours before loading freezer. Unit good as new!

I stacked three 2x4's that were approximately as wide as the door in length. This required lifting the door about 1/4" but it also got the weight of the door off the cam so the bracket assembly that the cam was attached to could be removed. I drilled out the rivet that held the old cam in place and like previous DIY's had to use a small bolt and nut to secure the new cam in place. Reattached the bracket with the new cam and that was it. The only problem was that the head of the bolt I used was not flat enough to allow proper clearance for the door to swing freely without feeling some drag and the wife noticed that immediately. I told her to wait until the weekend and I would again remove the door and file down the head of the bolt to allow the required clearance. After a few days of use, the door itself ground enough material off the head of the bolt so that the door began to open and close properly. So now she's happy, I'm happy and the dog is happy.