GSS23HSHECSS General Electric Refrigerator - Instructions

replaced with new connector and it worked great. also replaced the water filter and that was super easy!

I pulled-out & unplugged the refrigerator. Removed the screws to gain access through the lower back panel. The water valve is on the left side as I face the back of the fridge. It has one screw holding it to the frame of the fridge. Once it is free, the main water hose is unscrewed and the two out-let lines were pulled-out. If your valve was not ruined prior to this, it is ruined now, as the lines will not re-seat. Then everything is done in reverse order. I did cut 1/2 inch off of the two lines so that they reseat into the new valve. Just push into the valve and they are good.

It was a simple remove and replace. The new part fits directly in place of the old part. Its a pain to remove the light but once you get the light out the job is simple. The light must be pried out gently. It is snapped in place toward the air inlet cover and needs to be pried loose. Once the light is out there are 4 screws holding the air inlet cover in place. Remove the 4 screws and unfasten the wiring harness. Once the screws and wiring harness are disconnected remove the old part. Reinstall the new part in reverse order.

After lots of research online, i narrowed my problem down to be the double outlet water valve, behind the fridge. My biggest problem was getting the refridgerator out of its spot, but after that it was pretty simple to change. I took the cover off the bottom, in the back of the fridge, then i removed the inlet waterline (after i turned off the water supply to the fridge). After that i removed the screw that holds the valve to the framework. Now i pulled off the two other waterlines from the old valve and moved them, one at a time, over to the new valve, along with the wire harness. The rest of the instalation was reverse order. Simple fix that im glad i didn't pay an expert to do!

Pulled new tubing to the tank and put a union about 8 inches down from tank to new tubing. Great repair. Parts not readily available locally.

1. Removed the back panel of the fridge to get access to the inlet water valve.
2. Removed black poly water line from valve (pull back on white ring where line is attached and pull the line out)
3. Removed the inlet tube from top-back of fridge (where it goes into the ice make). use putty knife to get under the sticky white gasket beneath the black oval housing and pull the tube out form the back of the fridge.
4. Replace the water line with new part taking care to properly seat the line into the the bottom water valve and pushing the water tube into the hole for the ice maker.

Note: Be sure to take off the protective covering from the white - sticky grommet and push to adhere to metal on fridge.

to be safe - use a bit of clear silicone chaulking round the perimeter of the grommet and push to tighly bond the water inlet tube to the fridge.

The reason for this - is that if you do not get a good bond using the white - sticky gormmet alone - you may have the water tube inside the ice maker freeze up.

Also once the new water line is installed be sure to secure the line to the metal back of the fridge - so the line will not move. some fridges come with metal hose clamps to do this - otherwise use duct tape

Emptied the door bin, removed it from its slots, and gently spread the plastic bin sides allowing the broken face panel to fall out. Replaced one end in the notches, gently widened the opening at the other end to slide the new face panel in, and jiggled just a little to seat the panel fully. Done!

The very first symptom here is important! The door water dispenser is not working but the ice macine is working. You may only have a frozen water tube in the door so do the following before diagnosing that your solenoid valve is bad: 1) the tube usually runs under the front of the refrigerator and usually has a quick disconnect. Undo the connection and press the dispenser. If water comes out of the tube you have a frozen or blocked tube in the door. 2) Immediately adjust the temperature in the freezer and warm the freezer compartment as much as you can without destroying the freezer contents. Wait 24 hours. This will usually unfreeze the line. Do not waste your time with a hair dryer. NOW, if this doesn't work and you are convinced you need to order and replace the solenoid, follow these steps. Assemble your tools first. I needed a good ratchet set and a screwdriver. A shop towel is helpful for spilled water. A light is handy. Pull out the refrigerator to gain access to the rear of the unit. Unplug the power and close the water valve (older homes, you may need to actually shut the house water supply). Remove the screws which hold the cover over the lower half of the refrigerator. On the left you will see the solenoid. It's always good to see that your new part matches the one you feel needs replaced. They may not match perfectly due to changing design but they should be very similar. One screw holds this part in place and access is very simple. Now simply unplug the electrical connections. In my case, one blue "blade" type connection (powering the water) and one red "blade" type connection powering the ice maker. They are not the same size and this coupled with the coloring means you will not accidently switch them. pull the tubes clear of the solenoid. This is simple and needs no explanation. Grab your new solenoid and reattach both the electrical and water lines (two, remember, ice maker and drink dispencer). Replace the single screw. Re-attach the rear, lower refrigerator cover and go to the front of the unit to check the water. You can listen carefully and hear the power engage from the new part bringing you water. Clean up, replace the refrigerator back to its place and look really tired when your wife sees that you worked "so hard"! You probably saved at least $50-$80 from a service call.

1. Slide out refrigerator away from wall.
2. Unplug refrigerator electrical cord.
3. Slide out refrigerator further to be able to get in back of.
4.Turn off water control going to refrigerator.
5. Clear top shelf around water filter area, remove water filter.
6. Remove water filter cover housing lid by lifting off.
7. Using a ¼" nut driver, remove two screws attaching water filter housing.
8. Go to back side of refrigerator, & remove 2 screws from the silver cover plate of MWD manifold water line unit.
9.Using ¼" nut driver, remove lower cardboard cover that protects the motor & fan area.
10. Clean motor & fan area with old tooth brush gently, & vacuum dust off.
11.Using (2) ½" open end wrenches, loosen & remove both water lines.
12. Go to front inside of refrigerator. Gently pull out old water line manifold assembly, you may have to twist it some to get the protective sleeve out of the hole.
13.Insert new water line manifold assembly into the hole, when it gets to mostly in, gently work the protective sleeve through the hole.
14.Position the new manifold water filter housing into place & reinstall 2 screws. Do not over tighten.
15. Go to back side of refrigerator, gently push down on protective sleeve so you then can replace silver cover with 2 screws. Do not over tighten.
16. Remove old tape that was originally holding water line tubings.
17.Connect water lines to water supply lines, using (2) ½ " wrenches. Tight, but not over tight.
18. Re tape water lines to back of refrigerator, using a strong tape like duct tape in an orderly fashion.
19. Turn on water supply, check for leaks.
20.Re install black cardboard piece on lower end of refrigerator.
21. Plug in refrigerator.
22. Install water filter inside of refrigerator. Install cover over filter housing.

Instructions say run capacitor is by motor, but on this frige its in the refrigerator compartment. The capacitors looks different, one square and the other long

Watched a parts.com video on how to change defrost thermostat and followed the instructions

Procedure for Replacing the Ice Chute Plate
1. Turn off the power.
2. Snap off the outside trim ring. Use a plastic screwdriver to avoid scratching the cabinet.
3. Locate the three small holes below the control panel facing, just above ice chute. The center hole is not used. With a small, blunt, object (wire – blunted nail) that is slightly smaller than the holes, push up rather firmly up through the outer holes to release front control panel.
4. Remove the three wire connectors from printed circuit board. Firmly pull/pry them straight out of retaining clip. Use caution: Excessive force will break clips.
5. Release the secondary panel by removing four screws (one in each corner).
6. Remove the flap assembly.
7. Clean all accessible areas with 1/10 bleach water to sanitize. Rinse the cleaned area with clear water and thoroughly dry everything before re-assembling the panel.
8. Install the new flap assembly.
9. Re-installed everything in the reverse order and check the functionality.
10. Order a spare ice chute flapper to be ready for the next event.

Background: My refrigerator was part of the class action law suit back in 2006. As a result both doors, the auger in the ice maker and a heating element in the freezer were all replaced.

Problem this time: Water was not dispensing.

Solution: Replaced the double outlet water valve in the back lower left portion of the refergerator. Water was coming into it from the water filter hose, but not coming out of it when the water dispenser in the front was engaged.

Further, I found that the coils in the back of the freezer were iced up and I therefore defrosted them with a heater. Thus, the original problem encountered with the law suit, did not get fixed by simply replacing the doors. That problem is still there. I think the defroster/heating element in the freezer is again not working.

However, I do now have water flowing again and the installation was, as others have described, very easy. Thanks for the online help.

I removed the outer plate by sticking a very small screwdriver in the small holes at the bottom of the plate and pulling the plate toward me.
I then removed the 4 screws from the internal plate and pulled the plate toward me.
Then I romoved the 3 screws holding the old solenoid and unplugged it.
Next I put the new solenoid in place and replaced the three screws.
Finally I plugged in the solenoid and replaced the internal and external plates.

Unplug the fridge, then:
1) Remove food and shelves from freezer
2) Remove rear panel from inside freezer (panel that covers the evaporator coils)
3)Stare at all the ice covering the coils for 10 seconds!
4) Plug the drain hole in the bottom left side of the freezer (cork or plug made from rolled up paper towel), and place a big towel in the bottom of the freezer compartment to absorb the melting ice
5) Plug in a table fan and leave it blowing into the freezer compartment, at the iced-over coils. Come back in 30 minutes.
6) Ice should be all melted. Place the wet towel in a bucket.
7) Remove the little clip attached to the green wire from the top of the panel., and then remove the two top screws on either side of the panel covering the coils. Take out the panel.
8) Removed the two screws that hold the heater element in place at the bottom of the coils. Pull the element out about 3 inches and disconnected the two wires.
9) Connect the wires to the new heater element, and screw it back into place. Put panel back, shelves in, turn fridge on. Fixed

I ordered the defrost heater and replaced that, also ordered the defrost thermostat but the old one looked fine so I did not replace that. Fridge and freezer have been working great, no more icing problems.

Thank You PartSelect!