ZISP420DTBSS General Electric Refrigerator - Instructions

I inserted the tip of a very small screwdriver from a eye glass repair kit into the three small holes under the panel near where the ice is dispensed. I never would have known about this simple procedure if it wasn't for the feedback you post from your parts cumtomers. Once I did this the front panel with the buttons on it poped off and it was just a matter of removing a few screws at that point. The wires from the new solenoid easily plugged into the board on the front panel. I would recommend changing the screws at the same time. The old one's worked but they were rusty. I feel the solenoid was my only problem but I changed all the parts in between the dispenser door and the solenoid just to be sure.

First ,I placed all the frozen food from the freezer into the lower fridge compartment. Removed the main shelf. Removed the ice cube tray shelf. Removed the center plastic covers using a nut driver. Removed the complete inside back wall of the freezer to get access to the fan. Simply removed about 5 screws, and cut 3 tie straps that held the wiring in place. Unplugged the fan connector and removed fan with its brackets and placed them on the kitchen table. Then used the nut driver to remove 2 screws which hald the fan to its bracket. Simply pulled off the fan blades and pressed them onto the new motor. Mounted new motor onto the bracket. Reinstalled the fan assembly back into freezer. Reconnected the wiring and the fan began to run... BE CAREFUL NOT TO TOUCH THE FAN WITH YOUR FINGERS!
Finally replaced all the covers, panels, and shelf etc. and everything is once again nice and cold.

Pulled the ice/water control panel off using the three holes under the lip. Pops off pretty easy. Next came 4 screws holding the chute for the ice. Two bottom screws were very rusty, top two look brand new. Watch the wires. Replace the solenoid assembly by unplugging wires leading to the board, then removed the plunger over the top of the hook on the far right. Went ahead and replaced the dispenser door assembly or flapper. Plugged refridge back in and pressed the ice dispenser handle and listened for the solenoid to cycle. Perfect. There is a little delay before you hear the flapper fall into place. Saving rest of parts just in case they are needed next time.Thanks to everyone who wrote in to show how easy it would be. No telling how much a repairman would have charged me.

First remove about 30 screws w/nutdriver that are hidden under door seal then inside of freezer door will come off. Second remove about 10 screws that hold dispenser assy to the inside of door, then support the unit with tape so you don't damage the wires that connect it. Third, pop touchpad loose, then remove three sets of wires plugged into the circuit board. Fourth, remove four screws that hold the ice chute and light assy. Fifth, now remove the 3 screws that hold solenoid. These three screws that hold the solenoid will be very rusty, you may want to replace these also. I went ahead and replaced all the related parts because they are so hard to get to. Also took the opportunity to clean in here with bleach to remove all the black mold and rust.
NOTE: when reassembling the inside of the freezer door to the outside of the door you must loosely attach the door on both sides in the middle first, then the top and bottom. Add some more screws on each side and tighten them all. Now you must check to be sure that the door is not racked. If the door is not sealed at the top or bottom, loosen the screws and twist the door a little and tighten screws and check door again for proper seal. Spent more time adjusting door to seal right than doing the actual repair.

I replaced the motor that runs the fan in the freezer compartment. Had to remove a number of shields to get to the fan and then some wires and screws to get at the motor. It came with a plug with 4 wires in it and I was supposed to pull 2 wires out of the old plug and place them in the new plug. Long story short the pins would not extract from the plug and the wiring harness was molded in solid plastic, so I ended up cutting the 4 wires to the motor and splicing in the new one and taping them with electrical tape. So far no more moaning and the ice cream is still hard, so I think we nailed it.

I carefully removed the trim from around the dispenser area then freed the catches in the top of the electronic card. I leaned the card forward and disconnected the electrical connections, then removed the card. I removed the four screws holding the shield to the door and removed the shield. Then I removed the funnel from the shield and removed the spring from the old funnel and placed it on the new one. I removed the light and socket from the old shield and installed the in the new one, then installed the new funnel on the new shield, used the four screws to install the assembly on the door and replaced the trim piece.

Removed the ice bin and maker, then removed cover from the rear that covered the solenoid that controls the dispensing mechanism. Replace solenoid. The tricky part here is that there is a styrofoam cover around the solenoid pin that needs to be superglued into place and oriented properly during replacement. All electrical feeds snap out neatly and are easily replaced. Reassemble ice dispenser and bin, and viola, your back in business.

the first thing i did was replace the water valve at the bottom of the refrigerator but that didn't work so then i spent more time researching the problem on your site and your diagnostic said to replace the ice maker so i ordered it, took the old one out, plugged the new one in and we had ice the next day.

Removed outer trim by pulling it carefully out of its clips. Then disengaged the electronic display card by grabing the bottom of the card to disengage the card from the upper clips. I leaned the card forward and disconnected the wire connectors. Removed the 4 screws to take off the frame that contains the funnel. Remove the broken funnel from clips. Note study how the spring is engaged. Note position of the rubber funnel how there is a gap for the water tube. Removed the rubber funnel and attached to new funnel dispenser. Start at one end of the rubber flap and work around engaging the rubber into tabs. Replace the Funnel dispenser back into frame. Make sure the longer wire of the spring sits flat on the plastic frame and that the right elbow of the spring raps around the edge of the funnel. Secured the frame assembly back into the Refig using 4 screws and attached out trim starting withe bottom tabs engaged first.

Used by pass filter and problem disappeared. Of course wayer is now unfiltered. This is a GE design flaw. Also replacement filters are outrageously expensive and do not last long. We have good water here and I'll stick with the bypass.

There were not two screws as the instructions said. There was only one screw and I had to firmly pull it out after taking out the one screw. Then, to put the new one in, I had to line up two slots on two knob-like things and push it in firmly. Then screw the one screw in.

Other than the two-screw problem, it was easy.

The replacement ice maker that GE supplies for my old refrigerator is a little different than the original. The electrical plug changed from a round plug to a square one. They include an adapter for it, but DON'T USE IT. There's not enough room for the bulky cord and connector. I got a much cleaner installation by taking apart the old and the new ice maker, and then splicing in the old connector into the new ice maker. You need to carefully unscrew a circuit board inside to wire it in, and it'll be more secure if you solider 3 wires instead of using crimp connectors. The instructions also tell you to use your old 'ice breaker', but it won't fit on the new ice maker. I just left the new ice maker's ice breaker on, and it seems to work perfect.

I have unlock the black panel. With a screw driver I have removed 2 screws and removed 3 conectors from circuit board. So, I had access to solenoid set. From this point on was intuitive. Very easy.

I recomend these parts be replaced once time for each two years.

after finding the video describing the same problem, i gave it a shot. Major problem was figuring out how to take outside trim off of the ice/water dispenser. Everything i tried did not work like the videos i had seen. Looking thru some of the posted blogs i found another way to get behind the control panel without even taking off the trim piece. i pressed a 1/8th allen wrench into the two outer holes on the bottom of the control panel which released the panel to pull out from the bottom. after that it was simple to release the three plugs from the circuit board and remove the control panel. 4 phi lips screws later the ice chute comes straight out revealing the flapper door which is held in by 2 more screws. once that assembly is out the solenoid is held by three more screws. there was nothing difficult at all about this repair once the secret was out about the first step about the three holes (use only the outer two) in the bottom of the control panel

Frig and freezer were defrosting and refreezing other than normal. Home warranty contractor told me ice maker was faulty. Purchased new ice maker. Unplugged frig, loosened 2 screws with nut driver. unplugged old ice maker, lifted old ice maker out. Took old fill cup off old unit and put on new unit since new fill cup was a different size. Swapped ice maker insert from old to new unit. Plugged in new ice maker, slid over the 2 screws, tightened, and plugged in frig power. New ice maker works fine but still have defrosting and refreezing problem. Figure old ice maker probably works just fine. New contractor still trying to solve problem. Have had problems with this GE Monagram keeping proper temps since it was new in 2005, don't recommend it.