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GSS20DBTW General Electric Refrigerator - Instructions

All Instructions for the GSS20DBTW
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Fridge too warm, evaporator icing up
After replacing the defrost heater, main board and thermistor I still had the same problem. Called a repair guy and he (with the help of GE on the phone) diagnosed that the temperature sensor was bad. So I ordered from partselect and installed it and it fixed the problem. Been good for a couple months (knocking on wood). To install I had to cut the 2 wires to the old sensor, crimp the 2 new wires on and snap the new sensor to the clip on the evaporator. Very easy. Make sure you seal the ends of the wire crimps so moisture doesn't get in and corrode the connection.
Parts Used:
Temperature Sensor Evaporator Thermistor Clip
  • Gerald from San Clemente, CA
  • Difficulty Level:
    Easy
  • Total Repair Time:
    15 - 30 mins
  • Tools:
    Screw drivers
600 of 720 people found this instruction helpful.
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my refigerator was warm but the freezer was cold and working correcttly
I went to a GE repair center to explain my problem, the service center reccomended that I have a techinician come out o look at it. $75.00 for the visit and what ever labor and materials wuld cost.

I went on line to see if there were others having this same problem and found that there were many with the same problem.

After reading some of the ways that people found out what was wrong ...it became a matter of three components, the timer, heater or thermostat.

I tried the most common component and the less expensive one first , the thermostat switch I installed it very easily snipping two wires and attaching the news using wire nuts I used the diagram on this website to pinpoint the component and there has not been a problem since.
Parts Used:
Temperature Sensor
  • michele from North Smithfield, RI
  • Difficulty Level:
    Really Easy
  • Total Repair Time:
    15 - 30 mins
  • Tools:
    Pliers
275 of 345 people found this instruction helpful.
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refrigerator was getting too cold
I removed the old temperature sensor by cutting the wires. I attached the wires of the new sensor with wire nuts and mounted it in the same bracket.
Parts Used:
Temperature Sensor
  • Larry from Menomonie, WI
  • Difficulty Level:
    A Bit Difficult
  • Total Repair Time:
    15 - 30 mins
144 of 200 people found this instruction helpful.
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Evaporator motor sounded like wind in the trees howling
I had to remove all of the shelves.....part of the ice maker.....the rear cover over the freezer coils.....There were two wires that came from the back of the freezer that were also incorporated with the fan motor plug from the factory....This caused me to cut all of the wires from the new motor and soider them to the existing plug and shrink wrap the connections. If GE would have supplied two new ends I could have cut only those wires added the ends and inserted them into the new motor plug thus eliminating an extra hour and a soildering iron,,,,In my case not a big deal however not a project for those who have trouble with repairs using these type of tools.
Parts Used:
Evaporator Fan Motor
  • DOUG from MARYSVILLE, OH
  • Difficulty Level:
    A Bit Difficult
  • Total Repair Time:
    30 - 60 mins
  • Tools:
    Nutdriver, Screw drivers
111 of 137 people found this instruction helpful.
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The evaporator fan motor stopped running, freezer was warmer than normal
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.
Parts Used:
Evaporator Fan Motor
  • David from Romeo, MI
  • Difficulty Level:
    Really Easy
  • Total Repair Time:
    15 - 30 mins
  • Tools:
    Nutdriver, Pliers
65 of 87 people found this instruction helpful.
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Fan motor making noise due to broken fan blade
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.
Parts Used:
EVAPORATOR FAN BLADE Evaporator Fan Motor
  • James from Gainesville, VA
  • Difficulty Level:
    Easy
  • Total Repair Time:
    15 - 30 mins
  • Tools:
    Nutdriver
64 of 93 people found this instruction helpful.
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Fridge smelled like something electronic was burning
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.
Parts Used:
Overload/Start Relay Combination
  • BENJAMIN from LAKESIDE, CA
  • Difficulty Level:
    Easy
  • Total Repair Time:
    15 - 30 mins
  • Tools:
    Nutdriver
50 of 59 people found this instruction helpful.
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fridge side freezes some items
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.
Parts Used:
Temperature Sensor
  • Anthony from Murfreesboro, TN
  • Difficulty Level:
    Really Easy
  • Total Repair Time:
    Less than 15 mins
  • Tools:
    Screw drivers
54 of 75 people found this instruction helpful.
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freezer cold / fridge warm
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
Parts Used:
Temperature Sensor
  • Mark from Mancos, CO
  • Difficulty Level:
    Easy
  • Total Repair Time:
    30 - 60 mins
  • Tools:
    Screw drivers
46 of 54 people found this instruction helpful.
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The freezer was whining and growling like a baby
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.
Parts Used:
Evaporator Fan Motor
  • James from Madison, CT
  • Difficulty Level:
    A Bit Difficult
  • Total Repair Time:
    1- 2 hours
  • Tools:
    Nutdriver
43 of 54 people found this instruction helpful.
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Freezer would not defrost correctly
Took panel off back of inside of freezer section, took off old sensor from the evaporator, spliced new sensor into the existing wires, waterproofed spliced connections, snapped sensor back onto evaporator, then put panel back on the inside of the freezer. Really, it took only 10 minutes to fix. Now refrigerator defrosts like it used to, and temps have settled in at specified temps.
Parts Used:
Temperature Sensor
  • Michael from Milton, FL
  • Difficulty Level:
    Really Easy
  • Total Repair Time:
    Less than 15 mins
  • Tools:
    Pliers
32 of 34 people found this instruction helpful.
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Ice & Ice Cream would melt and refreeze
Noticed the problem in November 2009. Replaced Hi Limit Sesor for Defrost thinking it was the freezor temperature sensor. Did not fix the problem. Replaced Motherboard. Did not fix the problem. Called Sears Repair. They mis-diagnosed the problem and told me it was the sealed system. I doubted them and sent them home. Replaced the correct freezer temperature sensor that connects to the motherboard. FIXED.
Removed a panel, cut two wires, soldered and insulated two wries, reinstalled panel.
Parts Used:
Temperature Sensor
  • Joe from Suffolk, VA
  • Difficulty Level:
    Really Easy
  • Total Repair Time:
    30 - 60 mins
  • Tools:
    Nutdriver, Pliers, Screw drivers
30 of 34 people found this instruction helpful.
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Very high pitch whine. Not real loud but really annoying.
First I hired a repairman and he said that it was in the unit and would not be worth the expense to fix.

I started to research on the net and this was one possible source. ( evaporator fan). I had to take it apart to verify it. Then put it back together to use until the part came.

The next time went much faster as I did not have to take near as many screws out to access the fan motor. Very Happy to have it working fine again as a new relacement would cost $1200. Thanks much. Ron
Parts Used:
Evaporator Fan Motor
  • ronald from kissimmee, FL
  • Difficulty Level:
    A Bit Difficult
  • Total Repair Time:
    1- 2 hours
  • Tools:
    Nutdriver, Screw drivers
22 of 25 people found this instruction helpful.
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Freezer and fresh food section getting warm due to inside coils frosting over.
No self defrost. Measured heater coil with ohm meter which was OK (not open). Ordered 2 temp sensors (there are 2 in freezer, 2 in fresh food sections). The original and the new all meaured ~150 ohms. Replaced one by one. This did not fix problem. Ordered defrost thermostat. Original measured ~150 ohms - new one was ~100 ohms. Unpluged refridgerator. Removed coil panel (4 nut screws) in freezer and light cover (1 small phillips screw). Locate defrost thermostat clipped to top of coils (orange / pink wires). Cut wires and unclipped thermostat. Stripped insulation off of wires and reconnect using wire nuts. Clipped thermostat back to coils. Ran refridgerator without panel on coils to see if coils frosted up again and listend for fans/compressor to stop ( took hours). Opened freezer and viewed glow of defrost heater. Problem resolved.
Parts Used:
Temperature Sensor
  • John from Windham, NH
  • Difficulty Level:
    A Bit Difficult
  • Total Repair Time:
    1- 2 hours
  • Tools:
    Pliers, Screw drivers, Socket set
23 of 29 people found this instruction helpful.
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Fan To Cool Condenser Not Working
1. Unplugged the refrigerator 2. Vacuum inside of dust 3. Unscrewed motor and fan 4. Replaced motor then fan 5. Plugged refrigerator bingo! :)
Parts Used:
Condenser Fan Motor Condenser Fans Blade Assembly
  • Wilbert from Fort Lauderdale, FL
  • Difficulty Level:
    A Bit Difficult
  • Total Repair Time:
    1- 2 hours
  • Tools:
    Screw drivers
19 of 22 people found this instruction helpful.
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All Instructions for the GSS20DBTW
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