GST20DBPCCC General Electric Refrigerator - Instructions

I followed the partselect videos for the temp sensor and defrost thermostat and the refrigerator has been working well for a about a week now. The refrigerator is old enough that I was just going to replace it. When I called the repair company I use, they said it would cost $200 to $300 for the repair, but I didn't want to put that money into an old refrigerator. I did a little research, found this site and figured it would be worth buying about $20 in parts and giving it a try. I have absolutely no experience working on refrigerators, but the videos were so easy to follow, everything went smoothly. The old thermostat was definitely broken when I checked it with a meter, so I'm pretty confident that the problem is fixed.

Got the part from you and I might add it came in about 3 days maybe 2 (wow).Got on the internet on how to utube and the sight had a video on how to that was awesome. So with you clear intruction on the part number and speedy service the whinng noise is a thing of the past.

The repair did not go exactly the way it was described in the YouTube video, but basically it was similar. After unplugging the power cord, emptying the freezer, removing the shelves and the ice reservoir, I removed the ice maker assembly by unscrewing a Philips head screw and unplugging the power connector. The connector had little retaining tabs on each side that I pried open with a straight blade screwdriver. Then the ice maker lifted right out. Next I removed one screw holding the auger motor assembly, unplugged the power connector, and lifted out the assembly. This where things got difficult. After flailing around a bit, I removed the panel on the back wall of the freezer below the evaporator fan assembly, exposing the evaporator coil. I saw that the fan assembly was attached with two screws at the top and two screws at the bottom. The top screws were easily removed, but when I removed the bottom screws, which were situated in very tight quarters, I DROPPED BOTH SCREWS DOWN BEHIND THE EVAPORATOR COIL. Be prepared with a magnetic nutdriver so this doesn't happen to you. I could not retrieve the lost screws, but fortunately it appears that the top screws hold the assembly securely enough. The assembly was loose, but it was still attached by a power cord that I could not disconnect. I removed the tracks on the side walls for the ice bucket, and then I could maneuver the fan motor assembly just enough that I could reach over the top of it, grab and pull off the old fan blade, and slide the new fan blade onto the shaft. Reassembly was straightforward, replacing each part (except two lost screws) in reverse order to disassembly. After getting everything put back in and plugging in the power cord, I was amazed at how quiet it ran.

Removed the back cover over the control board, and made sure that the board was the same. It didn't look exactly the same, but figured that it was the same, just updated. Took out the board, moved the wires to the new board and reinstalled. Plugged it in and it came on, so I reinstalled the cover. Seems to be working to this day.

used prior reviews, was good, I was not sure how to remove fan blade. It just pulls off.
space is tight but every thing went ok.

For troubleshooting, I took off rear panel inside of the freezer compartment & determined that icing of the coils was not the problem & it did not apprear to be a defroster malfunction. All components appeared to be working properly except the compressor would not turn on and only room temperature air was being circulated by the fan. After narrowing the probable causes down to a faulty Main control board by reading as many similar posts as possible,I ordered the new control board. When it arrived the following morning via UPS(less than 24 hours!), I unplugged the wiring connections attached to the old board, (which was somewhat different in appearance), and then gently popped the circuit board off of the plastic retainer studs by pushing in the little retaining clip part of the studs in with a small screwdriver so the board could be released easier as I pulled outward. I popped the new board on the studs by gently & evenly pushing with a larger hut driver over the studs until it was locked in, being careful not to damage or over stress/bend the board. I placed the wiring connecters onto the pins on the board.....every connecter had a different amount of pins so improper connection was not possible. I placed the ground wire connection of the new board between the metal cover plate @ an adjacent screw location to ensure grounding to the back of the fridge sheet metal. I plugged in the refrigerator and was quite relieved when I heard the compressor start up after a second or two! Within moments the temp began to fall until it reached the proper temp in both compartments. Success!

After replacing the light bulb and still no light I manually pushed the light switch button. Intermittently the light would come on then go out. I removed the power plug from the power source then replaced the light switch. I plugged the refrigerator back in and now I open the door the light comes on and stays on until the door is closed.

The old switch was hard to remove. Thinking that I may have to loosen the wires I used a socket wrench to remove a clamp. This was unnecessary. In the end the switch did come out using a large size screwdriver. The problem was that the expanding plastic tongue is not visible from the ouside so you have to try to feel your way around. If i had ordered the replacement before and not afterwards I would have seen this before hand.

removed 2 - 1/4" screws and 2 phillip screws to take off the evap cover, then 2 phillip srews to take out the defrost heater assembly, replaced and put everything back together. no problem.
I GOT THE PART SO FAST THAT I WAS SURPRISED TO SEE IT THERE!

pulled the board away from the 4 plastic pins, unplugged the wires and plugged them directly into the new noard, pushed board back onto the four plastic pins.......job completed in under 5 minutes. Fridge working fine now for over a week......no problems.

remove back panel inside fridge freezer side, everything frosted, unplug and used a hair dryer

1. Took out defrost heater and the bottom and tested (per this site) tested OK.

2. Then looked at the defrost thermostat, it was swollen with the top coming off. so i new it was bad
3.clipped and stripped the 2 wires, spliced in the new one with wire nuts and sealed them with silicone. All better

I used a volt/ohm meter and checked for power to compressor and start run relays, diagnosis- was remove and replace motherboard

took the back off and defrosted with a hairdryer. disconected the part pulled the part out cut the wires. put the other part on and instaled it. put it back together and it seems to be working just fine. thank you

I bought the GE Refrigerator about 4 years ago for about $1500. The defrost Heater failed about one year ago. Then I called local repair guy, he replaced the Defrost Heater and charged me about $250. Now it happened again. I think we should try it to fix it by myself. I found the parts from partselect.com, it costs me $50 with 2-3 days shipping. After it replaced, it works fine again.

Note: Symtom: cannot make cool air, Frozen area with frost on the wall. Regeriator "leaking water" on floor since iced food started to melt...

Solution: open the cover of the wall inside of frozen zone, use hot water to defrost it gradually. removed the failed Defrost Heater and replaced it with new one.

Note: after you defrost the area inside of the wall, your refrigerator will work normally without the Defrost heater without any issue about week while you are waiting for the parts coming.

Ordered a new Main circuit Board. It arrived next day. Unplug the fridge to take away electrical power. Unscrewed the panel on the back of the fridge near the top. I then pulled the wire connectors off the circuit board. Gently pull the board off the plastic tabs. Push the new board onto the tabs. Reconnect the wire connectors. Screw the panel back on.