GCG1580L0SS General Electric Trash Compactor - Instructions

First I removed the trash compactor from the cabinet and transported it to the garage to avoid scraping the kitchen floor....I then removed the the sheetmetal cover enclosing the motor by removing several sheetmetal screws. To remove the motor, I then removed the compactor drawer and tilted the compactor onto its front (the side you pull the drawer in and out of). This allow you to get to the bottom of the compactor. I then removed 3 sheet metal screws attaching the bottom cover of the compactor. After removing the bottom cover, I could then access the 4 mounting nuts that hold the motor in place. I disconnected the wiring harness to the motor, removed the motor and replaced it. The motor plate allows you to adjust the chain tensioning and gear lash of the drive motor. I adjusted and tightened the plate to provide close gear lash, and chain tension of about 1/2" play. Re-installed the motor cover and bottom plates, plugged the compactor into a wall socket, re-installed the compactor drawer and tested for several cycles. All is well. FYI - I do not think the motor itself was bad; however, there is a centrifugal switch built into the motor assembly...that is what I believe failed. The motor and centrifugal switch come as a one assembly.

I noticed that one of the holes that the foot pedal was attached to on the drawer assembly, had opened up so that the pivot pin wouldn't stay seated in it. I ordered a complete drawer assembly which included the metal trash container, drawer slides, and foot pedal assembly. The old front of the cabinet is removed by unscrewing about 8 screws. The front then slides up and off of the old assembly. The front panel is then slid over the new drawer assembly and the screws are tightened down.

Removed compactor from opening. Using screw driver unthreaded 4 screws from top and then removed the on/off dial. Face plate came off easy and provided access to relay switch bank. Unscrewed two screws which allowed both relay switches to be removed and replaced. Recommend replacing both relay switches. Reassembled and compactor worked fine. Very easy job. If your compactor is making a machine gun noise during the return cycle then this will solve your problem.

The wire harness from the part supplier was set up wrong, two of the three wires were switched and it damm near burned up the new motor. I had to correct the error by switching the wires around so that they matched the wireing from the original motor.

replaced drive nuts only problems i had was to adjust shutoff switch

after contacting GE about 3yr old product for 94.00 a service man will tell you thst it needs a new motor another couple of days and parts and labor (cheaper to buy a new one) ordered motor myself and took out 6 sheet metel screws remove the bottom panel and plastic fly wheel and liftrd out motor and replace and put new flywheel on and attched wires and was good to go all for $214.00 thanks again

The Ram was stuck down in our compactor so I pulled the entire unit from under the counter, flipped it on it's side, opened the bottle panel, saw the drive gear was snapped, and manually cranked the ram up. This brought the ram to the up position and allowed me to open the door and pull out the trash canister/bin. Once I had the replacement part (drive gear) I simply removed the washer and lock, slid the gear on the bolt, aligned it with the smaller engine gear and finally placed the washer and lock back in place. Reinstalled the bottom panel, placed it back under counter, leveled it and it was good to go. If you know where the drive gear is and can use a screwdriver (only to take bottom panel screws off) then you can fix this issue. Very eary.

The repairman wanted $600 to replace the motor. A replacement compactor was $800. The motor was $220 and I did it alone in 30 minutes! Easy to do.

Removed the trash container. Pulled out the compactor. Laid it on its side. Removed four srews from the bottom panel, two from the back. 4 Bolts held the motor on. Removed those, took out the motor. DId not replace or move the chain drive or large gear. Replaced the motor and it works perfectly.

Followed YouTube instructions. Was relatively easy to dismantle, though on this GE Profile model compactor, needed to partially undo the front panel to provide room to remove the RAM. Works great now!!

I watched you tube videos on how to dismantle and replace both Power Nuts. Job was not difficult but took a few hours to disassemble and repair. Compactor works as good as it ever has. If you are handy I would recommend doing this type repair.

1. Remove Trash Compactor from installed position
2. Unplug power cord from outlet
3. Remove 2 Screws (phillips #2) from bottom back side of panel at bottom (left and right screws on sheet metal panel). These screws hold on the small panel as well as one side of the bottom panel of the uniit.
4. Remove screw on top of back panel.
5. Lift off panel covering motor assembly.
6. Place towel or pad on ground in front of compactor, tilt compactor onto its front to gain access to bottom panel.
7. Remove 2 screws from bottom panel (these are the two screws toward front 1/3 of unit, holding the panel on the bottom.
8. Pry the panel off the bottom, exposing the gears.
9. Unplug the electrical harness (3 wire) from the motor assembly. 10. Unplug the black wire which goes from the compactor to the motor assembly. Mine was a single spade connector on the back wire.
11. Remove the 4 bolts on the bottom of compactor (7/16") which hold the motor assembly in place. Make sure and hold the motor in place for the last 2 bolts to avoid galling the threads.
12. Remove the motor assembly (with small gear on spindle) from its mounting location. You can flex the sheet metal on top of assembly to get adequate clearance to remove the motor and the gear from unit.
13. Using the appropriate size punch and hammer drive the retaining pin from the small gear on shaft. (I used a small star bit to get the pin started, and an allen wrench as well to drive it the rest of the way out).
14. Remove the small gear from the motor shaft. Place the small gear on the motor shaft of the new motor. Replace the pin and drive into place with punch as needed till it is flush.
15. I did not replace the large gear on my unit (it was fine) - those instructions are not included here).
16. Follow instructions in reverse order (13 through 1) to restore unit to working condition. A few notes on electrical connections:
16a. For 3 wire harness: My old motor (and compactor) had a 3 wire in line harness connection which was flat. The new motor had a square wire harness adaptor to adapt the new motor to the holder harness assembly. You must use the new harness to connect it if you have the older connector.
16b. For black wire: My compactor had a spade connector on end of black wire which connected to the motor. The new motor came with a different connector (the spade connector wouldn't mate). I had to cut the connector end off the end of the black wire coming from the motor, and also cut the black wire spade connector off (coming from compactor), and connect those wires directly together to make it work. I twisted the wires together, soldered them, and added a wire nut and electrical tape to stabilize the connection. This connection worked just fine and helped me avoid a trip to the hardware store to buy another male spade connector of the correct size to make it work.
*** GOOD LUCK! ***

Note that the above problem was not due to a bad direction switch. The centrifugal switch (not a replaceable part) inside the motor had failed. Replacing the entire motor is the solution. I downloaded a service manual for this model which decribes how to replace the motor.

1. Removed the garbage.
2. Removed the compactor drawer.
3. Turned upside down.
4. Unscrewed the phillips head screws, 2ea.
5. Started the new threds in step. Makes it easier to connect.
6. Placed the screws and tightened them all the way. They have a collar that fits in the mounting hole.
7. Righted the unit, tested and back to rull operations.

My appliance repair guy came out, declared the motor "dead" and gave me an estimate of $600 to replace the three-year-old motor. Having purchased many parts from PartSelect.com for older appliances at our cabin, I found I could buy a new motor here for $200. IT didn't take long to pull the compactor from the cabinets, remove the shrouding around the motor, remove the old motor and gear; and replace with new parts. The most difficult task was pulling the old plastic gear from the metal spindle; finally drove it out with a small socket and hammer. The new motor dropped into place. After reassembling the covers and putting the compactor back in place, it works great.

First I removed the on/off switch cover. Then I removed the The on/off switch assembly to access the limit switches.Then I found which switch was bad and replaced it.