ZISW420DXA General Electric Refrigerator - Instructions

Remove front cover did not remove wires remove ice and water unit took off flapper put new one on 5 minutes back together

The trouble with DIYers is that they don't have very much experience with and the benefit of several repairs on the same appliance. So they must rely on their mechanical abilities and the youtube help of Steve. So they must resort to eliminating the variables as their diagnostic approach. In my case I was unable to find the exact description of my problem, so I began with what seemed like the most likely and the least expensive replacement. So after I had replaced the water valve, the micro switch and the main board I finally found the problem was the water filter by ordering and installing a water bypass valve which I did not have readily available at the start.

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.

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

Actually, a friend did it with me watching. He took out about 6 screws, removed the back plate and the old motor and installed the new motor when he realized the hole on the plate that goes in front of the motor was on the wrong side! This would have been a snap and done in about 30 minutes if it wasn't for the hole on the wrong side. So he drilled a hole on the correct side of the plate, using the old plate as a pattern, and it works fine!

removed the control panel ,using a paper clip, removed five screws, disconected wire connector, and removed the solenoid. reversed procedure to reassemble. ordered the part one day and received it the next day. Thank you for the prompt response.

The only tricky part was removing the front panel. Releasing the latches required considerable force. The best tool I found was a "jack knife" type Allen wrench set, using the medium size wrench, which fit into the release hole and upward pressure did the trick. The rest of the job was very easy.

Bent the motor bracket down, then using a rat tail file, elongated the holes in the back panel of the refrigerator to secure the fan in the "centered" position. This was a problem that was with the refrig. since it was made. The parts involved were perfect. NO problem at all installing them.

Had to defrost the freezer to melt off all the ice before servicing. Once that was done the icemaker replacement only took about 15-30 minutes to complete. The new icemaker came with many accessories and adaptors that were not needed and the instructions were based on replacing an older model and not really clear for my model. They mentioned not being able to use the new stripper but it was exactly the same as the old one so I left the new one in place. All in all it was easy and did the job.

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

Opened, discovered not flapper but more complicated

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

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.

Used the instruction provide by Part Select, which are easy to follow.
When it came to replacing the Solenoid, the two bottom screws were easy to remove, The third screw (located on the top) needed lo be loosened, That screw was very difficult to remove because it was rusted, and I had to replace it.
I suggest that a spare screw should be supplied wit the solenoid.

I followed the instructions on a posted desctiption. It workded perfectly. Replacing the inner door panel was not as difficult as described. Just start the process with the screws in the middle of the door. Those two screw holes were not slots. All of the remaining screw holes had slots. I installed all of the door screws before tightening any. I workded right the first time.