GSR23YBWASS General Electric Refrigerator - Instructions

After determining it was not a problem with the defrost cycle, ( this refrigerator had no separate defrost timer), I ordered the main circuit board with the hope that the relays built into it were hanging up and not properly turning on the compressor, (a chattering sound could be heard). Ten screws to take the access cover to the board off and a few connectors later and it was as good as new. Took about ten minutes!

------------- defrost heater replacement --------------------------
- unplug the refrigerator
- unload all shelves underneath ice maker
- move ice crem into the refrigerator section
- remove all shelves and the bottom tray.
- remove light bulb cover and the bulb
- unscrew two 1/8" screws on top corners of the back panel
- unclip the ground clip on top
- pull the back panel up; pull the left side toward yourself
- test 3 thermistors (see instructions below)
- test the thermostat (see instructions below)
- if either thermistors or the thermostat units are defective, they may be the reason for fan malfunction, not the fan itself.
- unscrew 2 philips screws on either side of the defrost heater
- pull it out and unplug the 2 wires on either end. Replace with a new part.
- putting together is the reverse of disassembly
- move ice cream back to the freezer


--- thermistor testing

- unplug the refrigerator
- locate thermistors to be tested. There's one on evaporating coils, one on bot. left of the freezer (behind deep tray, with white wires), 1 in fridge section (top left, in the corner, inside square white wire conduit; undo the top 1/8" screw ONLY and pull conduit up).
- without disconnecting from the circuit, place a thermistor in a cup of ice water. Wait for 5 minutes
- locate the main control board. Locate and unplug the J1 connector. The pinout, starting from the side with all wires connected:
* pin 5: ground
* pin 4: evaporator thermistor
* pin 3: freezer
* pins 2,1: fresh food thermistor
- use an ohmmeter to measure resistance. Push the needle of the ohmmeter into the socket, where the wire plugs in, without trying to remove the wire. It should be 16.3 kOhm +/- 5% (for 0 deg C)

to replace a thermistor
- cut out the old thermistor, leaving as much wire as possible
- strip the wires, twist them pairwise
- use a bell connector filled with RTV silicone, to ensure that no moisture can get to the connection
* others have also used butt splices and screw-on caps with electrical tape (for moisture isolation)
- using a proper crimping tool, squeeze the bell connector to secure the wire

------------- thermostat testing ---------------------------------
- it's a round quarter-sized cylinder w/ pink and orange wires
- check for bulging (= burnt)
- locate temperature ratings on the side of the thermostat. It should read e.g. 140-30F. This means it's switches to open circuit when >140F is reached and switches to closed circuit when <30F is reached.
- unplue the 6 pin connector that has thermostat.
- test the thermostat. Orange wire is in the 6-pin connector; pink wire can be disconnected from the defrost heater under the evaporation coil. It should read closed circuit (no R).
- place the thermostat into a cup of boiling water. It should open.
- if OK, reattach the thermostat

Taken longer to remove food out of refrigerator than replacing the part. Easy

Uncovering the motor is the most difficult part. Installation is stupid-easy. Put all of the coverings back on in reverse order to the way they were removed. I don't think the ice maker has to come out but we weren't using it so it came out first.

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.

This part worked marvelously. I followed a YouTube video to completion. Essentially, I removed the water filter cover by squeezing the tabs on the side. Then, I removed the housing for the light based on the tabs placement. I unscrewed the lighting fixture, unplugged and set aside. After that, I removed the bottom part of the damper assembly (that's not included but virtually attached to the damper) by pulling on its tabs' placements. Then, I pulled off the damper assembly, unplugged the cords and added the new assembly WITH the inclusion of the damper gasket assembly that doesn't seem to have been a part of the old assembly. Rescrewed and reattached everything and now the fridge is as good as new!!!

Went online and read all the problem an found it could be my Air Inlet Kit...did not know it had one ..was online and ordered it...came in couple days..
to replace the damper I just remove the light at the top of the frige and the cover around it .I also removed the filter and filter cover..then the damper assembly only has 2 screws .I removed top three glass trays for more room...was a little easier than I was expecting..just about 30 minutes to hour ...(1) unplug Ref and last (plug it back in). Thanks ...

Unplug the refrigerator removed the condenser/ compressor cover back bottom on fridge, remove the relay from the compressor took off the two wires, replace with new relay

narrowed it down to the circuit board...removed cover panel after unplugging frig. read directions thouroughly.... removed cables attached to old board. this is the tricky part removing the board from the plastic clips....broke two pulling old board off popped new Board onto remaining plastic mounting clips and reattached cables plugged frig in and got a shock as my shoulder touched the board. everything seemed to be working and but cover back on....viola all done.

Disconnected power, removed screws from cover on back of refrigerator, unpluged wire connectors, squezzed four support fasteners and removed old board. Put new board on support fasteners, reconnected wiring, replaced cover, pluged power back in, turned controls back on. It wored fine.

Removed the old control board at the rear of the refigerator, installed the replacement board.

I followed instructions in your video. at the beggining I hesitated because the original card had two fewer ports than the new one. but after a call to a Partselect representative I confirm that I had the right card. after that it was a matter of connet wires to the ports. 1 week later my refrigerator is running smooth. Thaks a to Partselect I have saved a bunch of money.

Found this site on the web. Told them my problem. They told me the most common part failure. I purched the part. Installed it per instructions. Waaa la now have a working refrigerator thank so much. U got the wife happy

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!

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