CST25GRZBWW Hotpoint Refrigerator - Instructions

The problem is the common issue that the proximity of the plastic water lines that leave the electrically controlled valve near the compressor in the bottom back corner of the fridge, means they become brittle and crack/break. Both the line leaving to the ice-maker that runs diagonally across the outside back of the fridge, and the line that runs under the fridge to feed the water dispenser failed at the valve, breaking off just where they start at the valve.

The result was I noticed a big puddle coming out from under the fridge (too late for the poor wood floor).

The solution, replace the parts. For the ice maker line, it is one thin line - its easy to replace other than taking care to uncrimp and recrimp the connection up at the entry to the freezer.

For the thicker tube, the one that goes to the water dispenser, you replace the reservoir tank that sits inside the fridge. It has the two lines leaving it permanently attached to the tank, hence you replace the whole thing. There are separate lines and a splice/union that can be used to replace just the last 6 inches near the compressor, but I chose to replace the whole unit. This describes replacing that water chill tank unit.

The tank sits behind the bottom 2 drawers in the fridge.. you see it when you pull out the drawers. It has two lines permanently attached, one runs out of one hole in the bottom of the fridge and to the back of the fridge where it attaches to the exit on the electrical valve. The other runs out of the other hole in the bottom of the fridge and runs along the side, then along the front from the fridge to the freezer side. There is a union that connects that line to another line that then runs up the freezer door. Remove the front cover under the fridge to see this line and the union.

To replace the tank, you have to disconnect it from both ends, where its held in by plastic nuts/unions. Water remaining in the lines will drain out when you disconnect them. I unscrewed the valve assembly from the fridge body and then unplugged the plugs to the valves to do the work (but left the fridge plugged in).

To do this work, I needed to raise the fridge side edge of the appliance, since the hoses route along the underside of the fridge. After you disconnect the two ends (at the union on the freezer side bottom front egdge, and back side at the valve) you can pull the hoses up into the fridge. Routing the new hoses will require you have at least that one side off the floor to get your hands under it. I got two 6" tall 4x4 wood blocks and tipped the fridge slightly, raising the right (fridge) side off the ground and slid the blocks under the fridge rollers.

To remove the tank, before you raise the edge of the fridge, there are two screws that you need to remove (top side and left side) from the storage tank.

I recommend that in addition to removing the bottom two drawers, you remove all the bins hanging in the fridge door, since you need to work in there with gravity wanting to shut the door on you. Once you have the tank unscrewed (and the hose ends disconnected) note which hose(based on where it connects to the tank) goes to which hole in the bottom of the fridge. Pull up the hoses from the inside the fridge. The tank is free..go put it in the sink and drain the water out.

Installing the new tank, remove any hose end caps and route the hoses back through the lower drawer support frame you pulled them out of, and feed the correct hoses back through the holes in the bottom of the fridge. I found it better to feed the longer one first, which leads to the water dispenser/front. I could then pull that one up front from under the raised fridge and clip it in place and then route the other hose fully though its hole and route it to the back of the fridge to the valve. This way I ensured I was sending the right hose to the right destination.

You will likely have to trim the hoses once the tank is reattached as they are slightly long. Be sure

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.

There were not two screws as the instructions said. There was only one screw and I had to firmly pull it out after taking out the one screw. Then, to put the new one in, I had to line up two slots on two knob-like things and push it in firmly. Then screw the one screw in.

Other than the two-screw problem, it was easy.

The replacement ice maker that GE supplies for my old refrigerator is a little different than the original. The electrical plug changed from a round plug to a square one. They include an adapter for it, but DON'T USE IT. There's not enough room for the bulky cord and connector. I got a much cleaner installation by taking apart the old and the new ice maker, and then splicing in the old connector into the new ice maker. You need to carefully unscrew a circuit board inside to wire it in, and it'll be more secure if you solider 3 wires instead of using crimp connectors. The instructions also tell you to use your old 'ice breaker', but it won't fit on the new ice maker. I just left the new ice maker's ice breaker on, and it seems to work perfect.

Frig and freezer were defrosting and refreezing other than normal. Home warranty contractor told me ice maker was faulty. Purchased new ice maker. Unplugged frig, loosened 2 screws with nut driver. unplugged old ice maker, lifted old ice maker out. Took old fill cup off old unit and put on new unit since new fill cup was a different size. Swapped ice maker insert from old to new unit. Plugged in new ice maker, slid over the 2 screws, tightened, and plugged in frig power. New ice maker works fine but still have defrosting and refreezing problem. Figure old ice maker probably works just fine. New contractor still trying to solve problem. Have had problems with this GE Monagram keeping proper temps since it was new in 2005, don't recommend it.

Removed the face plate this just gets popped off. removed the four screws to release the unit. unplugged the wiring harness, removed the two screws that hold the bracket in place that the control unit is housed in. Slid the old unit out and replaced with the new unit. installed the bracket over the control unit put two screws back, plugged the wiring harness's back in. Slid the whole unit back in replaced the four screws and put the face plate back on. Very Easy.

I had to completely disassemble the ice bucket (dispenser) to gain access to the parts that were being replaced.
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It was helpful to have the exploded parts diagram to aide in reassembling the ice dispenser when replacing the parts.

This problem had already occurred in 2008. Repairman replaced dual water valve. Cost $190.00. We decided to do it ourselves this time. The repairs were actually made in three phases. First, when I pulled the fridge out from the wall, unplugged it, and turned the water valve back on I discovered that the plastic tubing from water supply into the fridge had long cracks in it and water was spraying out everywhere. I turned water off, went to Lowe's and bought the kit for that repair. Of course I didn't have to use all of the parts in the kit because the water supply was already there from the valve that came up through the floor. After turning the water back on and plugging the fridge back in, my husband and I tested it by trying the water dispenser. We found that water was leaking from somewhere inside the fridge, but didn't know where. After UNPLUGGING it, and turning the water off again, I took the metal back off at the bottom. It was leaking from the bigger plastic tubing (5/16"). It was just hanging, not connected into the dual water valve. Figured it had just broken. So I thought I just needed 5/16" tubing. I went on the GE website and it was very hard to get answers to my problem because I couldn't find the plastic tubing that it looked like. I ended up ordering the plastic tubing that goes up that back of the fridge to the icemaker. They sent me two of those, not one for the freezer and the bigger clear one (5/16") that I thought I needed. Then, I found this website! This PartSelect website is great!! After reading about other consumer repairs, I knew how to disconnect the dual water valve and found out that the smaller plastic tubing that goes up the back of the fridge to the icemaker had been pinched where it connects to the dual water value, barley hanging on. Just quick disconnected it from the valve by pushing up on the outside where the tubing comes out while pulling on the tubing. It came out, and I had to use needle nose pliers to pull some of it out where it had broken off inside. Then, pushed the new tubing into the valve and ran it up the back of the fridge, unscrewed the plate that goes over the clamp that holds the tubing, loosened the clamp a little, pulled the old tubing out, pushed the new tubing in, (the clamp was still tight enough) put the metal plate back on and replaced the screws. Then I re-connected the dual water valve to the electric clips, connected the 5/16" tubing to the right side of the valve. (The black tubing that goes up the back of the fridge goes into the left side of the valve.) put it back into place and screwed it back against the body of the fridge where it goes, put the back on and plugged it back in. We tested it again, and water was leaking, but not from where I made my first repair. I reversed everything again, and discovered that where the 5/16" tubing goes into the dual water value, it seemed more loose than it should have been. That is where the water was leaking from! I ordered the dual water valve, the 5/16" plastic tubing and the water tube union. I replaced the dual water valve-very easy! MAKE SURE YOU UNPLUG THE FRIDGE, turn the water supply off, disconnect the small tubing from the dual water valve, disconnect the electric connections to the valve, and reverse the process. What I did was replace the 5/16" tubing the comes out of valve & goes up into the storage tank behind crisper drawer. Used union there. Put everything back together and it works!!

First I turned the freezer off and took out all of the shelves in the freezer section. I then removed the guides that the shelves go into. I removed these only from one side of the freezer - the left side actually. Now I removed the plastic piece that keeps the bulb in the freezer protected. Removed the bulb. Removed the three screws on the top and the two in the bottom that keep the rear panel of the freezer attached. This exposed the header cable and the coils. The coils had ice on the lower section, I used a hair dryer to melt the ice. Removed the cable assembly that has the two heater elements and the thermostat. The thermostat had to be plucked off the the metal pipe of coils. Replaced the assembly with the purchased assembly. Clipped the thermostat onto the metal pipe of the coils. COnnected the wires at the white connector. Attached the real panel using the five screws, put the bulb back in, installed the bulb cover, installed the shelf guides, put the shelves back in.

Freezer freezes very well now.

The OEM auger pitted and rusted. My ice was coming out brown. I had cleaned it before, but in no time is was back to 'spiced' ice cubes. I cleaned the entire ice bucket and disassembled, ordered the part and re-assembled. Now the disassembly was a different day than the assembly. It's a good thing the parts diagram was on the web, I am no Thomas Edison when putting things back together. It is pretty general though. I sand blasted the tin cover and re-painted before buying a new one. That had rusted too. Before that expense, I thought I would try it. Be careful of the bucket as it can crack. I am not sure when mine was cracked, but I noticed it this time. If you are contemplating the purchase of a new auger - don't. The new one is stainless and the old steel and chrome is a joke. The inside of the freezer where the bracket spins the auger is rusty too and the old auger will rust again in no time. Buy a new one for under $50 shipped to your door. Another note, be sure to remember what screws came from what hole. It will eliminate the guess work when assembling. Also, the spring on the arm that controls the crushed ice function, note the position before tearing apart.

First I removed the face plate by lightly prying . Once removed noticed 4 screws. Removing the screws allows you to gain access to the two plugs, one for the solenoid and the other for the switch that energizes the solenoid . Unplug the connectors and carefully lower the piece enough to reach the 3 screws that hold the solenoid in place. The 4th screw in the center at the bottom of the solenoid is the ground wire. If it is rusted like mine was just re-attatch it to one of the solenoids holding screw. It must be grounded!
Just re-assemble, just dont forget to replug the connectors. Also a little hint, If you open the freezer door a little you wont trigger the solenoid.

The repair is easy, just pop the grill off around the ice and water door, then there are 4 screwws to take out so the touch pad can be moved out of the way to unsnap the old door assm. and snap in the new one and wait about a year and a hald to order another one!!!!!

First i unpluged the power then cleaned everything out of freezer and removed all the drawers and racks them removed the 2 screws at bottem of freezerand removed panel then removed 4 screws on the bulbs and unpluged the wire and took off the sensor and replaced with new one put everthing back. Then on the top of refigerator side on the top behind the adjuster is the defrost timer pulled handle out and off removed plastic shield and removed 2 screws and unplug the timer and change it then put everything back and pluged back in and everything worked in a few minutes

Shut off power to the refrige. Removed old icemaker, using large hammer. Installed new unit.

1. Unplug, remove control knob from both temp control sliders, remove upper light bulb and light shield from refrigerator compartment. 2. Remove screw holding top of bracket control mod in place. 3. Lift bottom tab from slot and remove control mod from ref compartment. 3. Unplug temperature control and defrost timer and replace. (Each are held in place with two screws.) 4. Replace control mod. This part took me the longest because the space between the top of the control mod and the top of the ref. compartment is very small and replacing the nut was difficult. Use a nut driver with a long shaft. 5. Use screw driver to turn control button of defrost timer to start cycle. 6. Replace bulb cover and light bulb. 7. Set temp control to initial setting. 8. Have a Margarita and celebrate. It's been over a week and the refrigerator/freezer is working perfectly.