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ZSGS420DMCSS General Electric Refrigerator - Instructions

All Instructions for the ZSGS420DMCSS
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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
265 of 332 people found this instruction helpful.
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Replace water filter
Unscrew old filter and remove(counterclockwise). Line up arrow on new filter with arrow on connection housing. Turn clockwise till resistance met. Do not overtighten. Follow directions. Simple.
Parts Used:
Refrigerator Ice and Water Filter
  • Alfred from Novato, CA
  • Difficulty Level:
    Really Easy
  • Total Repair Time:
    Less than 15 mins
223 of 337 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
139 of 194 people found this instruction helpful.
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Internal water lines brittle, cracked, leaking
First of all, the larger white plastic tubes in this thing are 5/16" OD, which no plumbing store seems to stock. At the lower left rear end there are 2 tubes, one for water and one for ice, that are doomed to fail being in proximity of a heat source - they essentially get cooked to the point of becoming brittle and cracking. The smaller tube and union can be easily found, but do yourself a favor if the larger one cracks and order the plastic tube and water tube union here, and just cut off the brittle part and amend the old tube using the union.
Parts Used:
Union Connector - 5/16 Inch to 5/16 Inch Plastic Tubing - 5/16 Inch
  • Marty from West Bloomfield, MI
  • Difficulty Level:
    Easy
  • Total Repair Time:
    30 - 60 mins
  • Tools:
    Nutdriver, Wrench (Adjustable)
118 of 136 people found this instruction helpful.
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Sticking Light Switch
I applied some tips learned by reading other reviews. So before I started I grabbed my trusty vise grip pliers and a small screw driver. I locked onto the switch actuator, the part that the refrigerator door pushes in, with the vise grips and pulled on it just hard enough to get the screw driver inserted in the right side to push in the catch clip so the switch could be pulled out further each time the catch clip was depressed to the next detent. Then I used the screw driver on the left site to encourage the switch past the detents on the left and very quickly the switch was out of the mount. The wires from the refrigerator pulled out with the old switch. I unplugged the old switch from the wires and plugged in the new switch and shoved the new switch back into the mount, wiggled it a couple of times to make sure it was secure and the job was done. Once I applied the vise gripes at first, the whole job took less than a minute.
Parts Used:
Light Switch
  • Jonathan from Lilburn, GA
  • Difficulty Level:
    Really Easy
  • Total Repair Time:
    Less than 15 mins
  • Tools:
    Pliers, Screw drivers
116 of 144 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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Warm freezer and no ice
This story starts with a GE side-by-side refrigerator that has always had wide temperature swings and a temperamental water dispenser. The ice maker was not making ice, and the built in digital thermometer showed it was running warm. I suspected that the heat exchanger was full of dust and so looked there. What I found was that the condenser tank was hot to the touch and the fan wasn’t running. As an experiment, I aimed a fan at the it for a while I saw that the freezer temperature dropped back to normal.
.The fan is marked as 11.2 DC so I checked for voltage at the fan and found some. With three wires and no wiring diagram I wasn’t sure this answered all the questions, but hooking the fan to a 12 volt power supply didn’t get it to spin.
I priced parts at a couple websites before using partselect.com . They also have a good diagram to look at (Sears diagrams are really poor). I ordered the part with 2-day shipping; it arrived on time, was correct and fixed the problem.
Parts Used:
DC Condenser Fan Motor - 12V
  • Paul from Suwanee, GA
  • Difficulty Level:
    Easy
  • Total Repair Time:
    30 - 60 mins
  • Tools:
    Nutdriver
94 of 124 people found this instruction helpful.
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fan not running
Removed rear and front grills,brushed and vacuumed area- probably caused the fan motor to fail- unplugged fan, removed fan,motor,and shroud in 1 piece, carefully slipped fan off motor shaft, unscrewed shroud and motor. assembled in reverse order. Frige is in tight area, .I'll now roll it out and clean often
Parts Used:
DC Condenser Fan Motor - 12V
  • Ray from Bensalem, PA
  • Difficulty Level:
    A Bit Difficult
  • Total Repair Time:
    15 - 30 mins
  • Tools:
    Nutdriver, Socket set
74 of 102 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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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
53 of 74 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
44 of 52 people found this instruction helpful.
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Water dispenser leaked - tubing broke
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.
Parts Used:
Union Connector - 5/16 Inch to 5/16 Inch Plastic Tubing - 5/16 Inch
  • Thomas from Poway, CA
  • Difficulty Level:
    Really Easy
  • Total Repair Time:
    15 - 30 mins
  • Tools:
    Screw drivers
48 of 65 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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Trying to defrost the water line in the refrigerator door I melted (deformed) the plastic parts.
I carefully removed the trim from around the dispenser area then freed the catches in the top of the electronic card. I leaned the card forward and disconnected the electrical connections, then removed the card. I removed the four screws holding the shield to the door and removed the shield. Then I removed the funnel from the shield and removed the spring from the old funnel and placed it on the new one. I removed the light and socket from the old shield and installed the in the new one, then installed the new funnel on the new shield, used the four screws to install the assembly on the door and replaced the trim piece.
Parts Used:
Ice Funnel Dispenser Housing Shield
  • STEVEN from CLARKSVILLE, TN
  • Difficulty Level:
    Easy
  • Total Repair Time:
    15 - 30 mins
  • Tools:
    Screw drivers
47 of 71 people found this instruction helpful.
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Halogen bulb beneath microwave lighting the stovetop burned out after 9 mo.
Unscrewed the light cover beneath the microwave with a phillips head screwdriver. The bulb is very tiny and has 2 straight parallel prongs that slide into 2 small holes. Grab bulb from both sides with each hand firmly and slide STRAIGHT out (no twisting or pushing). Don't worry about breaking even though it may take a fair amount of pressure to pull out. New bulb arrived within a couple of days. Due to high shipping cost, suggest buying 2 or more bulbs at once. Bulb is often used as a kitchen night light so that is probably why I only got 9 months out of it.
Parts Used:
Halogen Bulb - 20W - 12V
  • Edward from Averill Park, NY
  • Difficulty Level:
    Easy
  • Total Repair Time:
    Less than 15 mins
  • Tools:
    Screw drivers
40 of 51 people found this instruction helpful.
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All Instructions for the ZSGS420DMCSS
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