ESS25KSTBSS General Electric Refrigerator - Instructions

Ordered parts from another vendor - got wrong parts (1/4 in parts instead of 5/16 in parts). With your parts, I just cut out the bad portion of the tubing, and replaced it using the 2 union connectors. Thanks.

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!

Installed the new stripper arm per instructions - an easy installation. After a few cycles the original problem happened again, the stripper arm tine caught under an opposing tine stopping the unit from operating. I removed the stripper arm, after marking where it was caught, and filed it down so it wouldn't catch anymore. Icemaker works fine now. Troubleshooting tip. If a stripper arm tine is caught under an opposing tine, gently slide a screwdriver between them to release it without breaking the tine. Remove the arm, file it down 1-3 mm, and reinstall.

Symptom was water running out of bottom of fridge. Found water pooled up under bottom drawer. Removed (3) drawers and found water was "spraying" from the reservoir tank at back of fridge. Unboxed the new "tank" and confirmed it was the right one by holding it up to the one still in the fridge. Pulled fridge from the wall; removed the rear bottom cover panel on the back using the nutdriver. Removed the solenoid assy by taking that single hex screw out. Push down on the blue circular flange where tube supply enters solenoid, and release the tubing from the solenoid. Remove front bottom cover with phillips screwdriver. Located 2nd tubing connector below freezer (under the unit) and used the same procedure to release that tube from the coupling. Removed screws from tank on inside of fridge, after removing several shelves that were in front of it. Pulled the tubing from the old unit up and out. Discard. Got new unit and fed tubes through the hole the others came out of (back right corner of fridge) MAKE SURE THE NEW TUBES HAVE THEIR "stoppers" IN PLACE. You don't want to contaminate the new tubes with insulation or other debris. Make sure the "o" ring that seals the tubes on the inside of the fridge (supplied with new unit)and the styrofoam insulation stays in place to keep air from leaking through the holes the tubes go through. Installation of the (2) tubes is simple, simply push them into the connector on the solenoid, and the coupler under the freezer. You'll need to feed the longer tube from the back to the front left corner where this coupler is. After making the connection, I bolted the solenoid unit back to the fridge (only 1 screw) and then tested the unit to see there were no leaks before I buttoned everything up. NO LEAKS!! Put the front bottom grill back on with the (2) phillips screws, and the back bottom cover back on with the hex screws removed near the beginning. Probably took longer to write this than it did to make the repair.

the first thing i did was replace the water valve at the bottom of the refrigerator but that didn't work so then i spent more time researching the problem on your site and your diagnostic said to replace the ice maker so i ordered it, took the old one out, plugged the new one in and we had ice the next day.

Once I got the correct part, (the expanded view of the icemaker is confusing as it shows the partition at the back of the diagram) I removed the ice dispenser from the tub by removing the screws and disengage the tabs holding the dispenser assembly in the tub. The most difficult step was getting the disenser disengaged from the tub. I used two kitchen knives to wedge between the walls of the tub. It was then easy to remove and replace the broken inside partition and reassemble the dispenser. Works like new.

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.

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.

Removed shelves from freezer section and removed protective cover using a screwdriver and nutdriver. 5 screws.
Upon removal of the cover, I noticed the coils totally cover with ice. At this point I noticed that the defrost heater was burnt out. I removed the heater using screwdriver and pliers and tested the heater according to instructions from Parts Select website.
Since the coil was exposed, I also tested the defrost thermostat according to Parts select instructions and found it to be working properly. i also tested the defrost timer and found it OK.
I replaced the heater, closed the protective cover, replaced the shelves and plugged the unit on.
It has been working just fine since then..
In addition to saving money, i saved myself the agravation of looking for a repairman and having to wait for THEIR convenience to to the work.

Used by pass filter and problem disappeared. Of course wayer is now unfiltered. This is a GE design flaw. Also replacement filters are outrageously expensive and do not last long. We have good water here and I'll stick with the bypass.

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.

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.