GSA20IBMCFWW General Electric Refrigerator - Instructions

Disconnected the refrigerator for a few hours. On back of frezer compartment unscrew 4 screw to get access to Old defrost thermostat (D. T.). I cut the two wires with pliyers atached to D. T. Peel them about one inch both the old and new D. T. With plyier. Color coded put them together. I used those electrical cap wires to attach them toguether an electrical tape around it to prevent any moisture. Now working like new. Expend approximately $25. And 20 minutes of my time. (I was being charged for the repair. $250.) Now is working like new. Thanks

Replace the temperature control and the fan

Find a video on youtube. Remove 6 screws. Pull the Styrofoam part up before removing the panel. Unplug and Remove the fan assembly.
You will need a NUT DRIVER to take the bracket off the backing plate.
I ordered the red grommet and the red bumper. You need TWO of the red grommets if that is the problem. My freezer was about 8 years old, and the grommets were worn and compressed, the bumper was not. Replacing these parts DID NOT FIX the problem. I needed a new motor.
I probably disassembled and reassembled this stuff about 7 times before I got all the parts and tools. Each time I had to unload the freezer.

Remove one nut top of ice box cut wire and replace temperature sensor in freezer part remove two nuts on back panel and cut wire and add temperature sensor then remove defrost thermostat cut orange and pink wire and twist together new sensor and tape up and one more temperature sensor add bottom of freezer cut and replace and tape up all wire and replace back cover simple easy job

You guys ought to win some sort of website Emmy. I found your site as I was searching for a new motherboard, thinking this was the cause of the temperature control problem. I took the time to go through the little diagnostic process you offer and I discovered that the much less expensive defrost thermostat was more often the root cause of the problem ($8 vs $160 for the new motherboard). The part arrived within 3 days and the installation video was enormously helpful. Removal of the rear panel was more difficult than suggested on the video. I'd suggest removing the freezer light fixture before trying to remove the panel as it is nearly impossible to bend the metal panel around the light bulb bases. Anyway, the whole job cost me about $16 for parts and delivery and the fridge is running fine. The combination of the diagnostic tool and the installation video were fantastic...far beyond expectations.

This was so easy I think it took me 2 minutes. I am not very mechanically inclined but that didn't matter! Works perfect thank you!

I aligned the back of the controller with the slot in the icebox and it popped right back on. No more frozen vegetables.

Replaced Temperature Sensor and now it is getting cold.

I removed the top vent and unplugged the ice machine ,took the back cover off the freezer.Removed the old fan which was pretty easy(unplugged it after I took the housing out for easy access) I plugged the new fan in and put everything back in the order I took off, and yada yada yada we have cooling.

Must have spent 10+ hours solid looking up info on the internet. Our ice maker had broken years ago, the door flap had broken years ago and I thought this was the end of a fridge after just 6 years 8 months.

GE offered a "broken appliance" warranty for $379 for one year, with no guarantee that when a technician came to look at it, the repairs would be covered by the warranty!!! No thank you, you just want me to buy a new fridge. Okay, challenge on, I'll fix it myself.

I took everything from the back of the freezer out. Spent an hour defrosting (note: use hair dryer next time). Ruled out a motherboard problem (even though it appears I have the old style motherboard), removed dust build up from fan intake. I could not get the heater to come on, so I cut off the thermostat defroster and connected the wires together. The only way to get the heater on was to set the freezer control to 0 / zero.

So, ordered part from partselect.com and it arrived the next day!!!. Installed and unit appears to be defrosting okay after a week.

So now I'm back to order the ice maker part. The door flap will wait for another time.

Note: I've put in the time for novices and recognizing how the freezer is constructed.

Time includes taking everything out of the freezer section, unscrewing everything, diagnosing problem, fixing the problem, putting everything back. I would say allow 3-4 hours and pat yourself on the back if you do it quicker.

Note#2, if you have a large build up there is a hole in the floor of the freezer section. If the water does not evaporate it will run out of the hole and into your wooden floors! Place towels both inside and outside the unit just in case!

I started out replacing a bad thermostat, no problem,
when I hooked up the water, I found that the water resovior had a leak.
I replaced the resovior, easy fix, but I had to buy two 5/16 brass couplers.
then I found that the box would not get below 10 degrees, and the suction pressure was very low.
I figured that the fan motor was burned out, so I opened up the access covers, the fan motor was hanging there with broken mounts, so I replaced the motor, and repaired the mount.
Everything works great now, The parts shiping was very fast, I was impressed.
I thought I was going to get away without fixing everyones
HVAC problems when I retired.
Friends and family still remember that you are the HVAC man.
Tom

I have not yet done the repair. After watching this repair video two problems came to mind. First I only ordered one grommet not knowing that there were two (or more I don't yet know). The second problem is that this video must be for a fridge from like the 1940, but it looks NOTHING like mine from 2008. The manual shows a bazillion parts and frankly I'm just a wee bit afraid to get started, and I am generally very handy, buuuttttttttt I don't know about this one

Remove ice maker and all of it's accessories in order to remove the panel covering the fan. Don't drop the screws!
Unscrew the lower fan bracket. You will see the lower red rubber grommet. Hold fan motor with one hand and push the fan off the shaft and into the compartment above. Then remove the round retainer thing below it by holding it and pulling down on the motor assembly. Install new grommet on upper part. and put it all together.
REMEMBER where the fan is on the shaft. It has about one inch of shaft placement. I put mine so that most of it was above the hole that the fan goes into and about 20 percent showing below the sheet metal.
Also check to see if your fan is damaged. Mine was not.
This refrigerator has been awesome! I have had many issues but have been able to fix all of them for the last 15 years!

After turning off power and unthawing back cover so I could remove it. Then I had remove all of the ice from the coils with a hair dryer. After everything was unthawed I removed the temperature sensor from the coil tubing and cut the wires. I skinned the wires on the new sensor and crimped a butt splice on each wire. I skinned each wire in the freezer then crimped butt splices to each wire. After taping the connections with black tape I reinstalled the back cover and turned on the power. So far it has been two weeks and there Is no frost and the refridgerator is working fine.

I followed your video and completely dismantled the refrigerator evaporator motor, fan, brackets, and grommet, I completely cleaned the refrigerator including the cooling coils. I then ordered the evaporator motor ,fan, grommets, lid bumper, and brackets. The order would take a week to arrive. In the meantime I cleaned and reassembled all the old parts, waiting for the new ones to come. Guess what! The refrigerator was quiet as a mouse. I really did not need the new parts, but I kept them anyway just for good luck. Not bad for a refrigerator that's twenty four years old.