GSS20IETC General Electric Refrigerator - Instructions

used a screwdriver to remove screw and unplugged part. Plugged in new one and secured with a screw.
Simple

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.

Removed the ice bucket assembly and attempted to dismantle and re-assemble it the same as new
after replacing the auger. I wish the part was shipped with replacement instructions because a simple job turned into a major headache for me because of the following:
1) I did not realize that the the nylon nut at the end of the auger rod assembly has a reverse thread. By the time I had it removed using vice-grip pliers and a bench vice.....the nut threads were stripped.
2) When removing the nylon washers, spacers, metal cutters from the old auger rod, I grabbed the entire grouping hoping to drop them on the new auger rod as a group. While doing so, the pieces slipped out of my hand and It was very difficult to find the correct order of configuration even with the on-line parts photo. I would recommend that you number each part before removing them from the rod because there is only 1 way all of these pieces can be re-assembled to work as designed.

Turned off the water supply valve to the refrigerator. Removed the rear access panel (6 screws) and the one screw mounting the water valve. Slid the water valve out and disconnected the two electrical plugs and two outlet tubes (slip/lock fit) and the inlet supply (ferrel nut). Connected the three tubes to the new valve, the two power plugs, slid valve back in place and reinstalled the mounting screw. Turned on the water supply valve back on and checked for leaks - none. Reinstalled the rear access panel and tightened all screws.
Checked the icemaker and cleaned the input tube and tray, ensured all were properly mounted and aligned. Restarted icemaker and and checked the operation periodically over the next day. All worked properly.

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.

Things I learned...remove only the two far left screws and one far right screw from the ice auger motor mounting plate. Disconnect both wiring harness connectors. With the assembly removed from the freezer, you'll need to get the motor seperated from the drive mechanism (fork). This was the most difficult part of the repair. The reason is that the fork (which is reverse threaded) cannot be unthreaded independantly of the motor shaft (ie. they both turn together). Locking pliers on the shaft only stripped metal from the shaft and did not supply enough torque to remove the fork. The way I finally did it was to take the old motor partially apart, then lock the gear case (keeping the shaft from rotating) with the motor's own splined internal rotor shaft. Once I finally got the fork apart from the motor shaft, swapping out motors was simple. You'll need to put the old plastic glove on the new motor to keep it dry. Also, the replacement motor I got from partselect.com did not come with threaded mounting bolt holes. Therefore, I had to use slightly larger self tapping screws I got from the hardware store. I also used locking washers as the assembly is subject to vibration.

1) Unplugged fridge and removed cover over light in freezer.
2)Removed screws holding cover over motor.
3) Removed screws on bracket holding motor in place.
4) Un plugged motor and used razor blade to cut grommet holding wires in place.
5) Plugged in new motor and routed wires through grommet. Then used zip ties to hold grommet together.
5) Re-attached motor bracket and installed new fan.
6) Reinstalled cover over motor.

Removed the back cover of the fridge with it still pluged in. The next time the compressor tried to kick on, a small piece of black plastic next to the black tank caught fire, and then went out. I unpluged the fridge, unpluged the two wires feeding the black box. Then the box unpluged from the tank. I searched on the internet for the part using the model #. It ended up being a overload/ptc or relay. There was a smaller black box attached with I think is some sort of an overload. I unplugged the overload and it plugged right into the new relay I had overnighted. Although the new relay was white (not black) and the plug attachments were in different locations, it work great.

went to your website and viewed exploded view to find the sensor( there are two I just picked one to replace for now), pried the cover off carfully and pulled out the sensor. I snipped the wire in the middle leaving plenty to work with. I shortened the wire on the new piece, spliced the wires together and with some 3M rubberized, tape wrapped them up, replaced the sensor back into the cover and snapped in place.

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.

put fridge into test mode, failed One sensor. Took it out, Tested it, Ordered part also picked up splice kit from electric store spliced it truned on and good to go

My teenage daughter and myself (2 women!)completed this task with little issue! I first made sure to read others stories as not to repeat any issues they had. Just member the threads are backwards with taking the washer end off and everything will go easy. We are both kinda handy with repair items so if that describes you than you should be fine.

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.

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.

As advised by the forum just replaced the defrost heater assembly now the refrigerator works perfect. did not have to replace the thermostat.
My nephew had exactly same problem on ge refrigerator - replaced the defrost heater assembly and the problem is solved. Just remove the back panel in the freezer compartment, disconnect the cable, remove the nuts and replace the assemble. It is very simple. Bought both assembly from parts select.com - got next day delivery. they are great. would do business in future.