TFT27PRBGWW General Electric Refrigerator - Instructions

------------- defrost heater replacement --------------------------
- unplug the refrigerator
- unload all shelves underneath ice maker
- move ice crem into the refrigerator section
- remove all shelves and the bottom tray.
- remove light bulb cover and the bulb
- unscrew two 1/8" screws on top corners of the back panel
- unclip the ground clip on top
- pull the back panel up; pull the left side toward yourself
- test 3 thermistors (see instructions below)
- test the thermostat (see instructions below)
- if either thermistors or the thermostat units are defective, they may be the reason for fan malfunction, not the fan itself.
- unscrew 2 philips screws on either side of the defrost heater
- pull it out and unplug the 2 wires on either end. Replace with a new part.
- putting together is the reverse of disassembly
- move ice cream back to the freezer


--- thermistor testing

- unplug the refrigerator
- locate thermistors to be tested. There's one on evaporating coils, one on bot. left of the freezer (behind deep tray, with white wires), 1 in fridge section (top left, in the corner, inside square white wire conduit; undo the top 1/8" screw ONLY and pull conduit up).
- without disconnecting from the circuit, place a thermistor in a cup of ice water. Wait for 5 minutes
- locate the main control board. Locate and unplug the J1 connector. The pinout, starting from the side with all wires connected:
* pin 5: ground
* pin 4: evaporator thermistor
* pin 3: freezer
* pins 2,1: fresh food thermistor
- use an ohmmeter to measure resistance. Push the needle of the ohmmeter into the socket, where the wire plugs in, without trying to remove the wire. It should be 16.3 kOhm +/- 5% (for 0 deg C)

to replace a thermistor
- cut out the old thermistor, leaving as much wire as possible
- strip the wires, twist them pairwise
- use a bell connector filled with RTV silicone, to ensure that no moisture can get to the connection
* others have also used butt splices and screw-on caps with electrical tape (for moisture isolation)
- using a proper crimping tool, squeeze the bell connector to secure the wire

------------- thermostat testing ---------------------------------
- it's a round quarter-sized cylinder w/ pink and orange wires
- check for bulging (= burnt)
- locate temperature ratings on the side of the thermostat. It should read e.g. 140-30F. This means it's switches to open circuit when >140F is reached and switches to closed circuit when <30F is reached.
- unplue the 6 pin connector that has thermostat.
- test the thermostat. Orange wire is in the 6-pin connector; pink wire can be disconnected from the defrost heater under the evaporation coil. It should read closed circuit (no R).
- place the thermostat into a cup of boiling water. It should open.
- if OK, reattach the thermostat

The operation is very simple on this valve. I disconnected the water lines and wires.
Then two I removed the two screws attaching
valve to the ref.box.
The reinstall is just the opposite from removal.

Followed the online video. Unplugged refrigerator, removed trim piece, lifted control board cover, removed 4 screws retaining circuit control board and removed the 3 connectors from the control board. Located flapper and removed by using small flat tip to take tension off flapper connectors. Helper held flash light to illuminate flapper connectors. Reversed procedure. New flapper seals well and cured problems. Circuit board was a bit different than one in video, but still had the 3 connectors. Marked each connector with grease pencil at top edge to ensure correct reconnection. Should note how wires are threaded around circuit board to ensure they are tucked back in correctly in reassembly. Remove trim piece carefully. I broke 2 of the 8 plastic pins that hold trim on. May be due to age of unit as they were brittle. 6 pins still hold trim piece flush.

Replaced flapper. Followed the video. The lamp caused the removable plastic bracket (which supports the control panel and the ice chute) to fuse with the plastic frame in the door. Eventually broke the fused plastic, removed the bracket, and filed the rough broken plastic before reassembly.

This should have been an extremely easy, quick job, but because I'm not that familiar with refrigerator parts, and NO INSTRUCTIONS came with the part, it took quite a while. The fittings for the water lines to icemaker and water outlet were dramatically different from the old part. The old part had screw-on fittings. The new one did not. I went first to Ace hardware-they had never seen fitting like this, and didn't know what to tell me. I drove 20 minutes to Home Depot, and the guy there told me that, rather then screwing on, or needing another part, the fittings were a quick connect, where you just shove the plastic tubing into the fitting. Finally an answer!

I went home, did as he'd said, hooked it up (shoved the tubing in, used the provided electrical adapters for the contacts, and screwed the thing on. It takes a good while for the icemaker to get cold enough to start it's cycle (which I found out from an internet search), and about 6 hours later, I started getting ice. It works fine now, love the in the door water/ice on my "new" 10-12 year old $75 plus $35 for the part-huge 26.6 side by side refrigerator, but the part should have had at least an indication that the water fittings just needed to have the tubing shoved into them.

Easy. First, unplug the fridge.

1)Shut off then disconnect water line.

2)Remove water valve mount screw.

3)Disconnect electrical plugs and snip water lines (square cut lines for new valve).

4)Simply insert and seat water lines into their respective places on the new valve. Using adapters as needed, reconnect electrical plugs.

5)Mount valve and reconnect water line.

6)Turn on water supply and check for leaks. Possible leaks: water line or not fully seated lines to the new valve.

7)Restore power and enjoy :o)

the previous left behind a side by side, everything worked however the auger in the ice bucket was a little rusty. I wish that I could say it was all me but the truth of the matter was the videos on file.

They were nicely done and easy to follow as I took the unit apart and replaced the auger in about 30 minutes. Thanks for all your help in part look up.

Part attaches to metal plate near crushing fingers which attaches to ice holding bin. Remove about 6 screws total on each side of plate. You must disassemble the auger & other parts so you can reassemble it in the proper order. Not many parts but i always take pics to cut down on time. New part is at the other end of the auger and acts as the holde of the auger shaft. Picture a crankshaft with a bearing on each end so the auger rotates between new part and the other end of auger shaft. That's it.

Unplugged the refrigerator then used the cordless drill to remove the 6 screws on the access panel on the back of the fridge to be able to get to the fan. Was able to pull the fan off by hand and push the new fan on by hand. Plugged the refrigerator by in and watched the fan run for a few minutes then replaced the access panel. Really quick and easy repair.

I removed the plate covering the water valve for the ice maker and water dispenser, removed the nut holding the 5/16" tubing to the valve and took off the tubing and nut. I did not need to turn off the water supply or unplug the unit. I removed the kick panel in the bottom front of the refrigerator, replaced the existing plastic fitting with a new push-on fitting, then spliced the tubing coming from the water chiller to the valve where the leak was thus bypassing the broken tubing with new tubing. I reassembled the valve using the original plastic compression nut, replaced the cover and ran the water dispenser while checking for leaks. The water dispanser works great with no leaks.

Opened, discovered not flapper but more complicated

Had to defrost the freezer to melt off all the ice before servicing. Once that was done the icemaker replacement only took about 15-30 minutes to complete. The new icemaker came with many accessories and adaptors that were not needed and the instructions were based on replacing an older model and not really clear for my model. They mentioned not being able to use the new stripper but it was exactly the same as the old one so I left the new one in place. All in all it was easy and did the job.

My husband took out the old icemaker in about 5 minutes. The new icemaker was a perfect fit even though the refrigerator was >10yrs old. The only difficult part was the plug extension that was needed so that it would fit into an older appliance. The part was included, it just made the cord about 3 inches longer than it needed to. After working with it for about 20 minutes we were able to fit it on the back side of the icemaker. Now it works great!!

Used the parts diagram from PartSelect.com to locate the valve. Removed the old valve and disconnected inlet water line and the 2 outlet water lines(one for ice maker & one for water dispencer). Reconnected water lines to new valve and positioned it back in place on the refrigerator. Problem solved -no more drip, drip, drip.

I Took the six screws off the back panel to get to underneath the refridgerator. took the 2 screws out of the bracket thast holds on the water valve took the 2 lines off and then put everything back