GSS22IBTC General Electric Refrigerator - Instructions

First I removed the ice tray rack lifting it out of the way to reach the back cover of the fan. Then, the whole back inside panel had to be removed. Two screws removed the fan and bracket from the freezer unit. The missing bumper lid just snapped into place. Replaced everything in reverse order. Pretty easy job.

By the time this failure (failed defroster heating element) is evident (top of freezer starts thawing), the entire freezer coil is encased in a block of ice & frost is visble on the back freezer panel.
Empty the freezer & unplug (or turn circuit breaker off) then remove all racks and the light bulb then remove the two lower drawer guides using a phillips srewdriver (2 scrwes each). Use a 1/4" nutdriver to remove the two panel screws on either side of the light bulb socket and pull the panel out, unclip the green grounging wire and set panel aside. this exposes the freezer evaporator coil which is probably encased in ice. If so, use a heat gun or hair dryer to melt the ice away. This takes a half hour of heat application and a bowl or other catchpan should be placed under the coil to remove some of the resulting melting runoff so the evap. pan under the fridg/freezer unit won't be overwhelmed with the excess water.
Replacing the defrost heater & bracket assembly itself is just a matter of removing two phillips screws on either side of the bracket assembly, pulling the bracket free and then uncliping the two electrical terminals. Clip in the new unit to the eletrical terminals & replace the screws, reinstall the rear panel (don't forget to reconnect the ground wire), install the drawer backets, light bulb, shelves and drawer & reapply power. Replacing the bracket itself w/o the defrost proceedure takes about 15 minutes.

Note: If this symptom occurs and is diagnosed (the heater tube will be black and electrically read as "open" using an ohmmeter) and you cannot get the heater assembly & bracket assembly immediately, you can use the heat gun (hairdryer) manual defrost proceedure noted above to get the the unit running while you await the parts arrival. I used the manual defrost procedure and there was just some moderate frost on the coils after five days when I was able to install the replacement part.

First, turn off power - since I did not want to pull the refrigerator out on my wood floor I tripped the circuit breaker to that circuit and opened door to make sure interior light was off (ensuring power was off). This unit has a bottom freezer, I took out all shelves, ice maker and all parts in the way of accessing back of interior of freezer section. Removed back plastic section by removing one screw in middle top of back panel and prying it out. This was a bit difficult as it was in there a bit tight but once the plastic warmed up it pulled out ok. This revealed the compressor section and temp sensor that was attached to the copper coils with of all things - a zip tie! In pictures of this that I looked at on various web sites the sensor was on a metal bracket attached to the coil so it made me wonder if tf the factory took a shortcut? I cut the old sensor wire, stripped the two wires 1/2", and connected them to the new sensor wire with butt connectors, I put some silicone into the ends of the butt connectors to prevent moisture from entering into connectors and wrapped the connection in black electrical tape. I then "attached" the sensor to the coil using a zip tie, put the plastic back piece back on, inserted everything I took out and put power back to refrigerator. It's been 3 days and temp of refrigerator is stable, ice maker not clogging up, and compressor not running all the time! So far so good.

i unplugged the fridge, first i removed the racks, then unhooked the grounding clip. the i tool off two 1/4 nut screws holding the backplate. then i used my wifes hair dryer to thaw out the ice. after it thawed out i unscrewed the element bracket which is secured by two philips screw. after taking the screws off, its just unplug one end at a time and plug it to the new one to avoid confusion. then reverse install to put back together.

I called the repair tech who obviously did not want to come out, thank god. He told me to remove the back panel of the freezer and also check fan on back side. Told him there was alot of ice on freezer condenser and he advised that defrost heater was probably shot, and referred me to partselect.com. I unplugged the frig/freezerer, and removed the heater and saw it was blackened and cooked. I used a hairdryer to thaw the condenser, and the new part arrived the next day. I reattached the 2 plugs, 2 screws, and put the back panel of the freezer back on. I plugged the appliance back in, checked it 6 hours later and the frig is cold again. It was a VERY easy repair and took less than 30 minutes from start to finish. I was quoted between $40-$78 for the part at 3 different places in the phone book, which would have also required a 45 minute drive. I got it here for $38 including shipping and it arrived in 24 hours !
With the "blow-up view" appliance feature on this web-site, and simply being guided to the correct part by entering the model number, it was a very easy ordering process and repair.

First I removed the two screws that held the old slide to the refer side wall, (after unloading the shelf and taking out the Veg. draw). I then put the screws in the new slide spots and screwed them into the refer wall using a hand screwdriver (phillips) and put everything back in place. It was about as simple a repair of anything I have had in the past 75 years. I didn't even have to swear.

Removed cover in freezer over evaporator,unbolted element ,plugged ,and replaced, very simple. Should be first thing checked when theres a problem.

replaced the drawer, amazing to me that I managed to order the right drawer and it fit

After I have checked oline , I ordered the parts wich Igot a day early and fix it , it took me about 15 minutes and I saved at 250.00 dollars . Thanks for all the help.

J Serpa ,Ma.

Removed the two drawers. Unscrewed the side rails that cracked away from the screws.Replaced the new side rails in place screwed in the screws and waalaa all done....easy as pie. Oh by the way I am a woman with little experience of tools...Just have to say the pictures of the parts made it really easy to pick out the correct part. Thanks

I must thank yo for sending the fan so fast. If I ever have to deal with any appliance again, you are first on my list.

Laying on my side.

I followed your video and completely dismantled the refrigerator evaporator motor, fan, brackets, and grommet, I completely cleaned the refrigerator including the cooling coils. I then ordered the evaporator motor ,fan, grommets, lid bumper, and brackets. The order would take a week to arrive. In the meantime I cleaned and reassembled all the old parts, waiting for the new ones to come. Guess what! The refrigerator was quiet as a mouse. I really did not need the new parts, but I kept them anyway just for good luck. Not bad for a refrigerator that's twenty four years old.

I had to remove the food off the shelves, then i had to had to remove the shelves. I then took the refrigerator door off. I then removed the bins and removed the broken drawer rails. I then cleaned the area where the bins were. I then installed the new rails and put back the bins. I then reinstalled the refrigerator door and all the shelves. Last was putting all the food back in. Everything went very well.

I started out replacing a bad thermostat, no problem,
when I hooked up the water, I found that the water resovior had a leak.
I replaced the resovior, easy fix, but I had to buy two 5/16 brass couplers.
then I found that the box would not get below 10 degrees, and the suction pressure was very low.
I figured that the fan motor was burned out, so I opened up the access covers, the fan motor was hanging there with broken mounts, so I replaced the motor, and repaired the mount.
Everything works great now, The parts shiping was very fast, I was impressed.
I thought I was going to get away without fixing everyones
HVAC problems when I retired.
Friends and family still remember that you are the HVAC man.
Tom