GST20IBMDCC General Electric Refrigerator - Instructions

Simple directions were provided. It took more to clean and vaccuum than the actual repair. Yes I replaced the motherboard in a referigerator. Just keep not of the connectors and were they came off from on the original board. Dont just rip them off because the new board has some different connections. So follow the directions and take your time if your not sure. But really it a cinch. No more whoooo sheeesh and howling noises from the referigerator. Thank goodness.

I diagnosed the problem using the guidelines on the website using the refrigerator model number. Refrigerator was warm and freezer had frost buildup on back panel. I followed the instructions in the video and removed the back panel with a screwdriver. The coils were completely covered in ice. I let the ice defrost by itself as this is a spare garage refrigerator and I had the time. Once the ice was melted I was able to remove the defrost heater harness with a screwdriver. The tube was black as described by others. Installation of the new heater harness was easy and the wires didn't need splicing because they were long enough. I also replaced the defrost thermostat as well as the sensors since I had the thing apart anyway. I am a 69-yr old woman DIY-er. Videos were very clear and I was able to save at least the cost of just a repair visit before parts and labor. Fridge has been running great for two weeks now.

Easy as 123

I followed the onsite video and had no problems. Shut off refrigerator, removed storage trays and bind, removed the rear panel under the light, identified the orange and pink electrical wires and cut them. Spliced the new wires of the thermostat with refrigerator wire and capped them, applied electrical tape to insure no moister makes contact with wires. Replaced rear panel and storage racks and bind. Plugged in the refrigerator and it is operations like new. I was about to purchase a new refrigerator for $ 1,300.00 and the thermostat costed $ 13.00. What a Christmas present!

First let me remind you my husband is disabled so it was up to me to do the repair. I'm 70 yrs old. I first removed everything from freezer and then removed the back cover removimg 4 screws,then i removed the old defrost unit which held 2 screws replaced with the new one then i had to put cover back in place..then put everything back in freezer and so far its working...Only time will tell.But the part was so reasonable that if if i have to i will get another..but not for a while i'm hoping,

UNPLUG! (Read Instructions for wiring configuration) Remove cover lower back right hand side.Remove ribbon plugs top and bottom you will need to lever back holding tab while pulling plug they will more than likely break dont worry you are throwing this part away., disconnect ground wire, compress plastic holding tabs,
pull off control board, plug in new board push on to holding tabs reconnect ground and turn on refrigerator and check replace cover, everything is now working great.

Remove back panel to expose the control board. Simply unplug cables from old board and pull the board out, no tools required. Put new board in place and replace the cables. Very easy.

This is the third time the defrost heater has failed, the part was shipped prompt, and the replacement was upgraded to a dual coil. The repair was quick and more cost effective than having a repair guy come out .

Removed the back panel of the freezer to inspect. The coils were totally iced up. Proceeeded to defrost coils with a heat gun. I then removed the defrost element to insepct and meter reading showed as open (infinite resistance). I ordered a replacement element and it arrive 2 days later. Replace the element and everything worked OK except for the ice maker. It seem that moisture had frozen on the motor impeller for the auger drive motor and locked it up. I removed the drive assembly and defrosted the motor impeller to free it. Everthing now is working fine.
Your blow up drawings made this a very easy repair
Thanks

I watched the video online and it said there were three sensors in the refrigerator, two in the freezer and one in the refrigerator. I only ordered one sensor and was going to try the one in the refrigerator first. He said the upper one in the freezer is the most difficult, but is usually the problem. So, I replaced the upper sensor and tried restarting the unit. Everything went well and it fixed the problem.

I first bypassed the thermostat by cutting wires and splicing them together. This made no difference. I then saw that the defrost heater glass looked dark and may be burnt out. I replaced thermostat and defrost heater in 15 minutes with the parts from part select that arrived in less than three days. I believe the thermostat was the problem and now freezer works great.

Removed cover exposing defrost heater. Defrosted the cooling system. Removed screws holding defroster, replaced old with new, by way of two quick connect eletrical clips. replaced cover. Pretty easy once I figured our that it was the defroster and not the timer.

After reading this forum and other searches, I assumed replacing the board may solve my problem. Unscrewed the back plate, used pliers to pull out the connectors, squeezed in the sides of the 4 plastic white board holders to release the board, and then replaced old board with the new one and reconnected connectors. (My model was not one of the mentioned models for cutting the 2nd pin of the J1 connector, so I left it in.) Upon plugging my frig back in, it began working perfectly again. So thankful to have found this forum!

Determined that the defrost heater was bad (didn't test the thermostat or sensor) and attempted to replace it first.

Got the part in one day (super fast shipping).

1) Removed back panel on the inside of the freezer compartment using a nut driver.
2) Removed the ground wire clip from the metal panel
3) Used a screw driver to remove the two philips head screws that hold the heater assembly in place.
4) carefully pulled off the wires attached to the assembly.
5) attached the wires to the new heater
6)attached the new heater and screwed the new heater in place
7) attached the inside panel
8) fridge is now working great.

Removed the board cover from the back, removed old board, installed new board, installed cover.