TFT26JWDAWW General Electric Refrigerator - Instructions

Unplugged refrigerator and turned off water valve at wall. Removed the entire back, lower cardboard panel (turns out I didn't have to do this...could have just removed the screws from the right side and folded the cardboard along a perforated line designed for that purpose). Removed screw holding water control valve to back of refrigerator. Took new control valve, and slipped on adaptors for electrical connectors (in bag) to the two smaller of the four electrical prongs). Removed electrical sockets from old connector and placed them over appropriate prongs on new connector. Unscrewed the two old water out lines, cut the old fittings off and slipped the lines snugly into the new outlet valve (new valve had slip on connectors not requiring lines to be screwed in). Keep straight which line goes to which outlet port! Then removed water line going into old fitting and screwed it on to new valve inlet fitting (after removing black plastic protective cap). Turned wall water valve on, checked for leaks (none), and plugged refrigerator back in. Water restored to both icemaker and water dispenser!

By the way, the first valve came damaged, but one phone call and the people at Part Select promptly sent out a replacement which I had the very next day (and this was two days before Christmas!). Great job!

At the front of the shelf there is a Phillips metal sheet metal screw that holds the front of the shelf in place. Its removal was fairly set straight forward but removing the pop rivet was awkward and took some time to drill out from the rear metal shelf. Once the rivet was out, it was easy finding a small screw that would hold the shelf in place since I didn't have any pop rivets that would fit sufficiently tight or long enough.

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

My right door (food door on side-by-side) stopped closing - I found pieces of the plastic washer (cam riser) on the floor. After reading the stories on the web I decided to order the new part - and YES there are many universal parts that work for Kenmore/GE. The part comes with two parts (hinge and cam riser) - you should install both to insure a good fit. I took 3 blocks of wood and a shim and supported the bottom center of the door, unscrewed the hinge off and dropped it out (3 minutes). The "only" tough part was unscrewing the cam riser from the bottom of the door - it required a very small socket and you will only have about 6-8 inches of work space. Be sure you have a socket that fits before you take the hinge off. The entire repair took less than 30 minutes and contrary to some of the posts, you DO NOT need to take the door off. Good as new again!

Emptied refrigerator door shelves. Supported door with 4x4 blocks. Removed old door hinge and replaced with new door hinge and cams. Pleased with end result and dealing with PartSelect.

Disconnected the power and then the water line. Removed the cardboard shield on back of the refrig. Then removed the faulty solenoid which was held in place by one bolt. Removed the two plastic water hoses and two sets of electrical connectors. I then reversed the process to install the new solenoid. I encountered two challenges. The new solenoid had a plastic housing that had to be removed and one set of the electrical connectors required an extension. The extensions were included with the solenoid, but there were no instructions.

Very quick and easy repair. Took off cover to access valve using standardr screw driver. After shutting off water supply to valve disconnected copper water supply line. Used a large towel to catch any residual water in line. Removed two water lines on valve use plies if more than hand tight to loosen. Removed screw holding valve in place, removed valve and disconnected wires (be sure power to frig is off least you get a shock. Reverse proceedure to install new valve. new valve has simple push in connections for plastic water lines. Install two electrical adpaters and electric lines. Mount valve with screw, connect copper water line. Turn water back on and check for leaks. Turn power on and check for proper water running at dispenser. Again check for any leaks. No leaks, install cover and you are done.

I unloaded the door and took the cover off at the top of the upper hinge (1 phillips screw) I then unbolted the upper hinge (2-28mm bolts) and lifted the door off. I was surprised how light it was. I laid the door down and installed the new cam riser on the door. I then unbolted the lower hinge (2-28mm bolts)and installed the new hinge.
I lubed the 2 hinges with vaseline and put the door back on the lower hinge. I then reinstalled the upper hinge and cover. It took about 15 minutes, and a lot of that was cleaning up. Oh yes, to get at the lower hinge you have to pull off the lower grate that covers the coils. It just snaps off and on. It was a very easy job.

Replaced dispenser door flapper by following the do it yourself video in this site. It was really easy. Just be careful when removing the dispenser black bezel. I broke one of the little tabs when taking it off.

I removed the door from the bottom hinge assembly by removing the top hinge assembly.
1. Installed the cam to the bottom of the door.
2. Installed hinge and bottom pin & cam to the refrigerator.
3. Reinstalled door and adjusted front roller height to make door close better.

------------- 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.

First I placed a 2x4 under the frig door to keep it in place while I removed the hinge on the bottom of the door. I removed two screws holding the hinge and one screw holding the washer in place. I also loosened a screw adjacent to the washer so that I could more easily remove and replace the washer. The parts went in easily. The repair took much less time than I anticipated.

Use small putty knife to cut internal sealant on ice maker door trim piece. Then you can easily remove it.