GSS20IETECC General Electric Refrigerator - Instructions

Frig and freezer were defrosting and refreezing other than normal. Home warranty contractor told me ice maker was faulty. Purchased new ice maker. Unplugged frig, loosened 2 screws with nut driver. unplugged old ice maker, lifted old ice maker out. Took old fill cup off old unit and put on new unit since new fill cup was a different size. Swapped ice maker insert from old to new unit. Plugged in new ice maker, slid over the 2 screws, tightened, and plugged in frig power. New ice maker works fine but still have defrosting and refreezing problem. Figure old ice maker probably works just fine. New contractor still trying to solve problem. Have had problems with this GE Monagram keeping proper temps since it was new in 2005, don't recommend it.

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.

The problem with this model is usually a burned out heater assembly, when the freezer is still freezing, but the fresh food section is warm. To check, first disconnect power from refrigerator. Remove food and then shelves from freezer section. Remove the screws that hold the back freezer panel in place. Remove back panel and the coils will be exposed. If they are covered in ice the heater is most likely the problem. At the bottom of the coils below the heater assembly is a drain hole plug this hole with a rag. Place a large towel in bottom of freezer pan beneath the coils to catch the water. I do not recommend any method to melt the ice from the coils but a hair dryer, do not chip at the ice or you will most likely damage the coils. After you have defrosted the coils and removed all water from the unit, remove the two screws that hold the heater element in place, this element is directly below the coils. Look at the element, if it is burnt black, this is a tell tale sign it is bad. If that is the case it will need to be replaced. Remove the electrical wires located on te end of unit, the new unit will have instructions with it, reconnect the electrical wires per instructions, remount heater with the same mounting screws that held it in place. Be sure to remove rag from drain hole, replace back freezer panel with screws, replace shelves, and plug refrigerator back in. If your problem was a cold freezer section but a warm fresh food section this should fix your problem. In conclusion, this problem and the fix for it is indicative to these model's ge refrigerator's

Dis-assembly only consisted of three screws, but for the not-so mechanically inclined, I would suggest taking a picture of the ice crusher blades before removing them from the auger shaft.

Actually this was a two part repair of which I purchased both parts. The micro switch Pt # PS296176 and also a double outlet water valve Pt # PS304374 from Parts Select as well.

The difficult part was accessing the area to get to the micro switch.

The trim had to be removed, then the cover.

Then one unplugs the board and removed the face plate which also contains the micro switch.

Once removed the two electrical terminals had to be disconnected, the micro switch installed and terminal reconnected.

Then reverse the removal procedure.

Then on to the double outlet replacement.

Suggest watching the installation video for the replacement although it was really a straight forward repair.

Two things to remember.

1. Unplug the fridge

2. Shut off the water to the dispenser

Overall it was not bad at all.

This was my first attempt at refrigerator repair and it went well.

Good luck on yours.

John

first replace the solenoid behind the front display. than replace the mother board on the back side of the fridge due to a relay being burned out on it.

GE Wanted $300 + to come out and do the repair.

With partsselect and a little time I cut that cost in half.

Thank you,

Mike

Sent to your company for the ice bucket and auger assembly and replaced the old one. It took about 5 minutes. Very easy to do. Works great. Thank you so much for making it so easy.

First, had to use punch tool to pop out electronic face panel. Face unit still connnect via wires. Use painters tape to hold against refrig. Next, Remove ice/water dispenser and also tape to door. This will give you access to solenoid. Remove the 3 screws holding it in place and unplug fsolenoid from Face Panel. Screw new solenoid and place and connnect to Panel. Goood idea is to unplug regrig. while doing this and put a little WD-30 on shaft of solenoid. May want to order new screws, could be rusty, that hold solenoid in place. Sounds a bit complicated but not that bad a job. You'll save over$100 over GE's service.

This was so easy even a caveman could have done it. (sorry to all you cavemen out there.) Order the parts and they arrived promptly a couple days later. Even with limited mechanical abilities this was an easy project. Only a few screws to remove and a lock nut to take off. Just to be sure your on the right track there is an excellent video to follow on this exact repair on this site.

Came home in the morning and found that everything in the freezer was defrosted. The fridge and freezer were warm so I checked the web to see what the problem could be. After about 15 minutes I found what the two causes could be. Since the parts were so cheap, I decided to change both the defrost heater and thermastat. It's been about a week since I changed the parts and no problem.

The repair is easy, just pop the grill off around the ice and water door, then there are 4 screwws to take out so the touch pad can be moved out of the way to unsnap the old door assm. and snap in the new one and wait about a year and a hald to order another one!!!!!

Shut off power to the refrige. Removed old icemaker, using large hammer. Installed new unit.

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

Of course, the first thing I did was remove the ice cube container from the freezer, and dump the ice cubes. (Conservation note: If you're in a place with water conservation rules, dump the cubes in a big pot and save them. If they melt, use the water for your house plants.) Following the advice from another DIYer, I let the container warm up before doing anything further.
Turned the container (I'll call it the "tray" from now on) over, removed the two screws holding the front cover with the Phillips screwdriver, gently pulled the cover out to disengage it from the rest of the machine.
Getting the next part out was tricky because it didn't want to release just by pushing in on the tabs on either side of the front assembly. That's where the two table knives came in, courtesy another reviewer. Be careful here not to jam or twist too energetically because the plastic housing is still quite breakable.
Just to be safe, I unscrewed one more screw that held the little bracket holding the rod with the spring on it and disengaged it. Then I discovered that I had to unclip the part that holds the auger in the front part of the assembly and slide the auger out of the way so I could pull the broken part out.
Having done all that, putting the new part in and reassembling the whole thing was pretty easy.
Slide the new part in, carefully rotate the auger back into its place, slide that assembly back into place, replace the clip holding the end of the auger, be sure the long rod engages the ice crusher gizmo, replace the screw that holds the rod in place, hook the front of the drawer back into the proper slots, rotate the cover back into position and replace and tighten the two screws.
You're done! The ice cubes you took out will probably still be frozen, so you can dump them back into the tray and slide the tray back into the freezer.
If you're cleverer than I am, maybe you won't need to do all the little things I did, but even so the whole exercise took less than 15 minutes--the ice cubes didn't even melt!

Removed old circuit board and replaced with new