GSR23YBPDWW General Electric Refrigerator - Instructions

Freezer would not defrost and ice would accumulate on the coils. After the GE repairman quoted me a price to defrost and repair it – which was ridiculous – I decided to tackle the problem myself. I am posting this comment as I found other comments very helpful with trouble shooting my problem. After reviewing other home owner repair comments I decided to first replace the upper sensor, thermostat and heater bracket assy. The longest task to do this was defrosting the coils. What a mess that turned out to be. The items were fairly easy to replace. The sensor and thermostat needed to be spliced and I used good techniques and sealed the splices with electrical tape. Defrost thru repair was about 3.5 hours. Unfortunately, this did not solve the problem and the temperature started rising after the coils froze over again. I decided to go one step further and replace the main board. One repair comment said that it is important to completely remove all of the frost before engaging the new main board – which made sense to me. The defrosting was easier and faster the second time as I plugged the drain below the coils, used hot water and then my shop wet vacuum to remove all the defrost water. Then I reversed the air flow to completely dry the coils. The main board installation instructions were fairly easy to follow. I took a picture with my camera just to ensure all the wires were installed properly. However, that was not necessary the plugs are unique and will only fit one way. The only problem was plugging in the power connector as it was in a different location on the board. With a little careful nudging it was successfully installed. Overall, a good experience and I am thankful for these repair comments by other!

First, I must say that I was told that the mother board might be the problem. I called my husband to tell him what I was told the problem might have been and how much the part was. A little expensive, but still cheaper than calling a repair man. He told me to order the less expensive part first to see if that fixed it. The fan motor. We hung up the phone and for kicks I scrolled down the page to see if it might give any more information on the part and what it controlled, etc. I don't usually read comments, but was amazed at the ones I read. The second comment on the page said that his refrigerator made a whooing sound like a ghost. Our Frig has done this since the day we bought it! He replaced the mother board and the "ghost" moved out! The third comment was that his refirg made a clicking noise and the ice maker doesn't work! I immediately called my husband back and told him I was ordering the part! It arrived the next day. So extremely easy to put in! I removed 3 screws from the cover, disconnected a couple of wires, a few plastic clips; pushed the new part on the clips rehooked the wires and put the cover back on. I bet it took less than 10 minutes! My husband thinks I'm a genius!! Thank you so much for all of your help!

I found if I would put pressure on one connector on the board the unit would come on. So the board had a short. I ordered it, it came in 24 hours and I installed it and problem was solved.

I knew almost as soon as I found the frozen milk that the air-flow diverter, whatever it's called, had broken. It's a plastic part that opens and closes to allow cold air from the freezer into the fridge side.

Step one: clear off the top two shelves and take them out.

Step two: remove the lower piece of the assembly. It pops straight out at the top and drops down after that. If you pull the bottom straight out, you may break the bits that holds it to the fridge wall.

Step three: remove screws holding in light, and then the screws holding in the AASM COVER FF INLET K (wish I had a better name for it).

Step Four: Unplug the unit from the fridge wall.

Installation, reverse, except maybe unplug the unit earlier.

Cause: Failed relays on main circuit board. Fix: Main circuit board replacement: Unplugged refrigerator. Removed 10 screws securing main circuit board metal cover (located on back of refrigerator) using a nutdriver. Disconnected 7 multi-pin electrical connectors from the circuit-board by firmly pulling each connector from the circuitboard sockets using a needlenose plyers. Depressed the small locking prong on each of the 4 plastic circuit board mounting pegs while pulling the board off the mounting pegs.
Pressed new board in place over mounting pegs. Re-plugged in all connectors (no confusion because each connector has unique pin counts). Replaced all mounting cover bolts, making sure to pin green ground wire to last bolt. Plugged in refrigerator. Done.
Note: I determined the main circuit board was bad by removing the auger motor assembly from the freezer and testing the auger motor harness power pins. AC voltage should jump when ice demand lever is pushed (while pressing the internal door light off switch). If no voltage jump, then auger motor relays on main circuit board have failed, indicating board replacement is needed.
Another check would be connecting an extension cord to the auger motor terminals and plugging it in. Motor should run. If it does, then motor is good and main circuit board is bad. If it doesn’t then auger motor is bad and needs replacement.

Very easy repair to do. Read instruction sheet before starting! Unplug unit prior to removing panel cover.

Remove three hex head screws holding control panel cover in place and reveal the circuit board.

Remove all the wiring harnesses by gently pulling them from the sockets on the board. Do not pull the wires - make sure you pull on the plastic socket so that the wires aren't damaged. If plugs seem tight use needle nose pliers to gently wiggle them out. Remove earth (green) wire from spade connection on fridge chassis. The new board has a slightly different connection for the earth wire.(No spade connector - wire now has a ring connector that attaches between panel cover and fridge chassis using one of the hex head panel screws when the cover is replaced.

Using needle nose pliers locate four plastic mounting tabs holding the board in place and squeeze in the end of each tab whilst gently pulling the board off it. Repeat for all four tabs and remove old circuit board.

Making sure the new board is the right way round locate it on the plastic tabs and push gently until you hear the tabs click. Gently pull the circuit board to ensure it is locked in place.

Re-install all the wiring harnesses. Put a hex head screw through the cover panel and slip the earth wire ring over it and screw panel to chassis. Replace two remaining hex head screws and plug fridge back in.

Voila!! No more ticking sounds and a plentiful supply of ice and water!!

I popped out the old one and popped in the new one.

I lifted the old switch with a flat screwdriver, attached wires, and popped into place. Saved 80 bucks for a repair call.

Removed old circuit board and replaced with new

went online to an appliance repair site and found out that this model has problems with the damper malfunctioning. went to partselect and ordered what I needed and it arrived in two days. to replace the damper you just remove the light at the top of the frige and the cover around it . the damper assembly only has 2 screws and is easy to remove.

Initial diagnosis indicated faulty cold air damper, so first action was to remove the light assembly and then the plastic housing that contains the FF fan and damper. The two hidden screws at base of housing required removal of lower decorative plastic duct that turned to be held by snap in-tabs at top and slide away fastener at bottom. The damper housing is held to the roof of the FF chamber by two screws that were taken out to remove the light assembly.

When the plastic housing is pulled towards the front of the refrigerator, the multi-pin wire connector can be disconnected and the damper assembly easily removed.

Installation required need of a thin plate to seat a sponge rubber seal without damage, so I used a thin metal kitchen spatula. Nothing unexpected was encountered in reversing the disassembly process.

Although the new damper corrected the excessive cold situation, the temperature max-min span remained in excess of 15 degrees F, so the control panel was swapped in the small covered cavity located in the outside back of the refrigerator. A 1/4" nut driver and needle nose pliers were all the tools necessary for this operation.

Together the two replacement components have solved the frozen food problem and the over night max-min FF span is now 5 degrees or less.

First my wife and i took the panel off the back, unscrewed the old mainboard, unplugged all the switches from it and prayed that the new one would work. We were without a fridge for 2 weeks beginning 2 days before Christmas!!!!! Gingerly, we put the new board in place, screwed it into the fridge, connected the switches, attached the ground wire, and held our breath as we plugged it back in. Within seconds, the familiar sound of water filling the icemaker was hear and there were cheers all around!!!

Checked the internet for reports of similar problems and concluded that it was probably the main control board. Not being particularly handy, I would never have attempted to change the board myself if I had not read the comments and instructions from people on this site. Thanks.

The job was as straight forward as others have described. The only time I had a problem was pushing in the white tab to be able to pull the old board out. That was a bit of a fiddle.

The only thing I found different was the grounding wire. On the original board, this wire was at the bottom of the board and hooked into a wire that ran into the refrigerator. On the new board, the wire was at the top of the board and had a metal loop on it. If I understand it correctly, with the new grounding system the wire is pushed into the space above the board. Then when the back plate is reattached the metal loop makes contact with it , thus grounding the refrigerator.
I chose to run the grounding wire through the original wire into the refrigerator. That meant cutting off the metal loop, slicing in an extra piece of wire to connect the grounding wire on the board to the grounding wire into the refrigerator.

I also now use a surge suppressor for the refrigerator. The “Moaning Myrtle” syndrome started after Hurricane Ike. I suspect the surge when the power was restored damaged the control board. And as so many people seem to have this “Moaning Myrtle” problem, I suspect the control board has little or no surge protection.

Two tabs hold the switch in place. I used a plastic wedge to remove the switch. Removed and replaced the two connectors held in by friction. Painless.

Unplugged the appliance for safety. Removed two 1/4" screws that held the assembly in place. Carefully removed the wire guard that retains the glass shield. Unscrewed old light bulb and replaced with new part. Reversed the steps after cleaning glass cover.