GTL16JBRFRBS General Electric Refrigerator - Instructions

after watching how easy it was to get to the evaporator fan motor on u-tube, I took out the motor to inspect it......the motor had about 1/8 inch shaft end play and a slight amount of play on the shaft, the rubber grommets looked OK.....I then put it back together......since the motor was the only moving part in this location I figured it had to be the part making the noise, so I ordered a motor and 2 grommets …...the replacement motor also had 1/8 inch end play on the shaft, but no play on the shaft....I installed the new parts and it has been a week now and no noise.....SUCCESS!...….the shaft on the motor protrudes from the motor, and the fan is mounted about 1 1/4 inch away from the bearing in the motor and the fan is unsupported, so I ASSUME that the slight amount of play on the shaft caused some harmonics which caused it to make noise some of the time, but not all of the time......

Emptied the lower area of food, removed the drawers and the removed the broken shelf frame. My glass was unbroken so after removing it from the broken frame and cleaning it, I just had to place it in the new frame and put it in the frig. Can't believe how easy and quick the whole process was. I can now utilized all that wasted space in my frig again.

Remove power from the unit. With short length #2 Phillips loosen and remove the two(2) screws on the control panel located center top of the refrigeration area. Slide the control panel back about 1/2 inch and allow it to dangle from its wiring harness. Pinch the locking tab on the harness connector with one hand and use the other hand to separate the two sides. A little force is required. Remove the control panel from the refrigerator and shut the refrigerator door. Examine and note the routing of the temperature probe (Silver colored flexible wire) take a picture for later reference. Remove the old and replace with new unit. route temperature probe like the replaced unit. Reverse the steps and reinstall the control panel. It is a good idea to also purchase and replace the defrost timer.

Inspected freezer because food was not freezing, getting cold, but not freezing. Noticed fan was not blowing air, but making a little motor noise, like it's trying to turn. Removed cover panel, and found the fan blade rubbing on the panel, fan shaft was worn out and very loose, wobley. That told me the fan needed to be replaced. Found part on the GE Partselect website and ordered the parts via the website order process. This was easy. The parts were shipped quickley and were at my front door the next day. Couldn't believe it. The actual process was very easy: Remove cover, remove bracket holding fan motor, remove and replace motor, re-assemble parts. About 20-25 minutes from start to finish. Freezer is working like it's suppose to.

Replaced temp controller

To remove the temp sensor.2 Phillip head screws not remove the cover inside fridge .the temp control knob cover.removed that and unplugged switch.installed new switch.reinstalled cover.

First, remove the cardboard cover on the back, lower portion of the refrigerator.

Next, locate the condensor fan motor assembly and blade. (Right side as you are facing)

Using a pliers, hold the shaft to keep it from turning and prevent damage to the motor. Using a screwdriver, slide the old ring compression on the blade shaft toward the motor (away from the fan blades) to loosen.

Remove old blade from the shaft by firmly grasping the motor shaft with a pliers (to prevent from damaging) and pull the blade assembly off.

Reverse the above steps to attach the new blade.

I found instructions on the web about how to do this repair, so I ordered the part with confidence. But the instructions simply said "pull out the old switchlight". That was actually somewhat difficult as the clip on the side intended to hold the part in was stubborn. I eventually used a utility to slice off the clip. From that point, it was just a matter of plugging in the new switchlight , which was very simple.

Replace temperature control. That fixed it. Also, removed plastic bag obstructing air vent in freezer which added performance. Fridge works good now.

First I observe that the compressor motor is running since the freezer is cooling. The purchase of the condenser fan is initiated and when the part arrive it is just easy to reinstall the replacement condenser fan.

The problem on the front of the freezer door remains hot to touch and the compressor runs for a while and stop. The freezer is cold but still could not freeze the water. Inspection of the condenser fan reveals that it is not running. The order for the condenser fan from PARTSELECT came in a few days. Cleaning of the condenser of lint was first done and the process of removing the defective fan is just easy so with the installation.

The refrigerator as of now is running in perfect condition!

Replaced drawer shelf and meat pan

I wouldn't have tried it without the excellent YouTube video that gave step-by-step instructions! I set up a laptop next to the refrigerator and watched each step then did it myself.

The instructions were very detailed and all of the parts looked exactly like what I was seeing. The only difference was that I didn't need to remove the floor of the freezer to get to the fan motor.

I bought the fan motor, grommets (2), compression ring and fan blade because I wasn't sure which part was causing the problem, and figured that as long as I was in there I might as well put in all new parts.

As it turned out, I did not need the compression ring, because the new fan blade came with a compression ring on it. This was different from what was shown in the video.

Since doing the repair the freezer is now as quiet as it should be, which is a great relief. The project and the money spent were more than worth it. It was great not having to pay a repair man to do the work!

The video that was attached to the part order was good, but not exactly the same as my unit. One thing I recommend is that you cover up the drain below the evaporator coil with a piece of paper and tape it down, because as I was putting the motor back I dropped a screw and it fell down the drain. So I had to go buy a new screw.
Give the cost of a repair man coming to fix a refrigerator that cost only $450 to begin with, doing this repair was well worth my time. (But I also had another refrigerator to move things to and could take my time and wait while they replaced the faulty part they shipped me.)

My husband did the repair in 45 minutes and said it was very easy. The video made everything plain and simple.

I first washed old shelf to make sure glass will easily slip out. Installed old glass and replaced.