ZSGW420DME General Electric Refrigerator - Instructions

So I replaced a burnt out defrost heater; replaced the thermostat for good measure and STILL the freezer compartment was freezing up. WHY didn't I look more closely at the ice making system sooner!!?? Thought about it for a while and decided that it had to be that the solenoid in the water valve was NOT shutting off water flow to ice maker (overflowing the icemaker and running over & down interior of freezer compartment making an icberg).

Took off about 4-5 backcover screws with one size nut driver. Moved to a size larger driver to remove 1 screw holding on the water valve. And what some people don't realize is that you can push in the connectors (push them down) and THEN pull the water lines out as long as you're careful and someone hasn't already tugged on the waterlines with some force. You don't have to cut the lines off at the valve. Put the water lines in the new valve and put one screw back in it; then 4-5 backcover screws and you're done!!! At most 15 minutes...that is if you want to clean the condensor unit located behind the backcover (on the newer models within the last 4-6 years).

EASY!!! Do it yourself and save a BUNCH of money. If you're getting a flooded freezer compartment or icebergs created in there then check whenever you hear the icemaker drawing in water and see if water is running down the interior.....problem solved!

First, I removed all the shelves and the light guard. Second, I removed the nuts that held the fan guard and the freezer back in place (2 just under the fan guard and removed the freezer back. Third, lifted fan guard out of way (being very careful not to crack it..... cold plastic). Fourth, unpugged fan from pug then removed nuts that held fan bracket in place...removed fan. fifth, then removed fan blade and remove fan motor from bracket, removed two wires that went to freezer light (pay attention to where they go) and installed them into the new wireing harness. Sixth, installed fan blade on new motor, bolted new assembly in fan bracket, plugged in and reistalled fan into the freezer, replaced fan guard and freezer back (reverse order of above) and then replaced freezer racks. works beautiful.

While the switch did last for 9 years, the design is poor due to the failure mode. The failure should be to fail off or not able to turn on the lights which would be inconvenient but would not warm the refrigerator contents. Arcing at the contacts eventually caused the switch to "weld" closed. It is not obvious that this is occurring so it took some time to recognize why the temp inside the ref was high while the freezer was OK. Replacing the switch was easy once it was recognized as the problem. All that was required to replace the switch was to remove the screws holding a fiber cover and then pulling off the aluminum cap which covered the switches. Unplug the switch an squeeze the keeper on the switch to release it and pull down. Pop the replacement switch in place and plug the wires harness back in. All in all it took much less time to replace than it has to write this up. T Pope

I had taken the noise long enough and wanted to get this repaired. I didn't want to pay a repair man hundreds of dollars to do it so i decided to do it myself. I went on to YouTube and found a few videos that showed me how easy it was to do (very helpful).

I wasn't so sure all that noise would come from the Evaporator Fan motor so i ordered it and took the chance. For the small cost, it was worth the try.

All went well accessing the unit and removing the old part. Very fast indeed. However, the snag came when i went to plug in the new part electrical to the existing electrical adapters. The old part had 4 lead connections. The new part had 6. and the wires on the new part were different colors than the existing. I had to use some logic and courage to cut the wires on the new part and rewire the old adapter to this piece. Luckily, i wired everything correctly.

Calling Part Select got me a phone number for the parts manufacturer to help with the splicing but i opted to do it on my own.

The result is i have a noiseless refrigerator again. What should have taken 10 to 15 minutes took half an hour because of the wiring but overall, very easy.

The existing light switch was very hard to remove. I ended up having to grab it with a pair of pliers and pull it out. Once it was out, it was very easy to put in the replacement and it seems to be working fine.

Part arrived very fast as ordered..need to pry old switch out from top..use care to push the retainer down..after old switch was 1/2 out, I used a putty knife for better leveridge.Remove wire connector...after plugging in the wire connector to the replacement switch, make sure the switch is properly positioned so the switch will depress when door shuts.

opened refrigerator door located water filter location in right back corner unscrewd 1/2 turn and out it comes without shutting off water it is a snap to do by anyone and shipment was really quick thanks. People do not call a service tech for something this simple even a child tall enough can do it.

Replaced flapper

Remove lower front panel, disconnect damaged union from water hose under freezer door, replace with new union, tighten and reattach front panel. No more water coming from under the unit. Ice maker and dispenser features returned to working order!

as described, I used a thin screwdriver to wedge in and pull down existing, broken switch. I was able to pull it down about a 1/4 inch, but wasn't quit able to disegage it until I gripped it with pliers. I then pulled it out, unplugged the old switch, plugged in the new switch, and carefully tucked the wires back into the fridge and snapped the new switch into place.

10 minutes total.

I replaced the three sensors, 2 in the freezer 1 in the refrigerator. This was rated as the most common problem. Did not fix the problem. I then checked the ohms on the new sensors then the old sensors they were all within .5 of each other. So I got smart and went down the list of causes on their list. I emailed partselect and asked what the parts should read. They replied with that information and it turned out to be the voltage converter on the compressor. I ordered the part on friday payed for overnight delivery and it arrived tuesday. This as you can imagine makes me angry. But the part was easy to install and my refrigerator started working right away. I would advise anyone with this problem to start at the top of the problem list use a multi meter check everything on the list and only replace part or parts that don't come up to standards. This will save time and money and hopefully fix the problem the first time as you are not switching out parts and hoping that it solves the problem.

Watched video, however could not get outer casing off. Under the panel are three small holes, pushed up with an Allen key, used a small screwdriver to wedge out, came out easily, followed instructions from video on removing and replacing solenoid

I first replaced in-line water filter to the fridge. No ice. Then I replaced the water filter inside the fridge. Still no ice. I inspected the water inlet feeding the ice cube trays and it was froze up with ice. I removed the two screws holding the ice maker in place to remove the ice from the inlet tray. I then used a hair dryer to melt the ice accumulated in the in-coming water tube. Turned off the water and unplugged the fridge. When replacing the old water valve, I first blew through the hose feeding the ice maker to be sure that it was clear of ice. After re-attaching the water hoses and the electrical connections, I turned on the water, plugged in the fridge and turned the ice maker switch back on. Next morning I had ice cubes. Only mystery is I am not hearing the usual water noise when water is feeding the cube tray like I did before, - not to worry though if it works. My drawer is now full of cubes.

Unfortunately, the replacement part didn't come with instructions. The repair, nevertheless, was fairly straightforward. After removing the plastic parts that guide the ice through the door (by removing a few screws that attach the parts to the inside of the door), I was able to slip my hand into the ice maker dispenser and remove the old part. The part clips on. It is a tight fit through the funnel (from the outside of the freezer), however, and requires that the gasket first be "flipped" open wherein it unfolds 180 degrees. Doing this will make it easier to clip the new gasket onto the assembly.

Ordered the new part (water valve). Took off the bad one followed directions on you video. The video explained the process making it easy to do.