ESS22XGMCBB General Electric Refrigerator - Instructions

Had previously replace the plastic Water Tank, but when installing it I didn't realize how the quick connects worked. Instead of simply pushing inward in the direction of the blue part of the disconnect, I had pulled out the white ring on the outside of the disconnects. This ruined the inside connections and caused them to leak thus requiring these repairs. Had I known that I wouldnt have bought these parts too. Just Always REMEMBER to push in outside white ring on the quick disconnect and as you push it in pull out the hose when you remove it. To put the hose back in, just push it back in without pushing on ring this time at all and it will lock in place, and shouldn't be leaking. I had to run water into a glass to test if it was leaking, otherwise the line had no water pressure.

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.

First I posted the symptoms on appliance repair forum. Within a very short amount of time, an expert responded with suggestions (that ended up being right on!) and links to How-to articles, diagrams, and the correct parts catalog. They diagnosed it as a failed defrost heater or a bad defrost thermostat that caused the heater to go bad.

I removed all the food from the freezer, removed the shelving and ice maker tray, then removed the back panel (nut driver). The coils were severely iced over. I let the coils defrost (didn't take long in the summer heat). The water from the melted ice completely saturated about two full size bath towels. DO NOT let the coils drain into the normal drain hole. Then I removed the defrost heater (2 screws) and the glass element was dark and cloudy like a burnt-out light bulb.

I placed my order on Parts Select with normal priority shipping. The defrost thermostat was listed as in-stock and the defrost heater was listed as "on order". Both parts arrived 4 days later. The thermostat was a genuine GE part and the heater was a universal aftermarket. My original was a single element heater and the replacement was dual element. The wiring was slightly different, but they included instructions on how to wire up the dual element. The heater wires had to be re-routed and extended (wire cutting, stripping, and crimping are required). The extra length of wire and the wire crimp connector were included with the replacement heater. I also (per the instructions) sealed the crimp connector with RTV sealant. After completing the wiring, I re-attached the heater using the 2 factory screws. Then I had to cut the thermostat wires and splice in using wire nuts (not included) and RTV to seal the connection (not included).

Then I re-attached the back panel using the factory screws and attached the grounding clamp. I installed the shelves and ice maker tray and started the unit. It has been running fine for two weeks now.

The overall repair experience was fantastic. This fridge is only 3 years old and has broken twice in the last year costing me over $500 in food (total for both failures). I also bought a chest freezer last year when the fridge failed the first time. That minimized my frozen food loss this year. The failure last summer was the controller board. I paid the GE technician to come out and fix that because I did not know about this website. I am an engineer and I much prefer the DIY approach, especially when they make it so easy on this website to diagnose and get the right parts.

My only complaints (and they are so minor that complaint might be too harsh of a word) are:
The repair was easy, but would have been significantly easier if they had supplied a direct replacement single element heater.
I wish they would have included the RTV sealant in the repair kit. I happened to have it, but I have to imagine that not everybody will and they won't know that they need it until they read the instructions.
The replacement dual element heater was slightly wider and thus a slightly tighter fit than the original equipment.
Lastly (and this really is no big deal). I got my "Order Shipped" e-mail 6 days after the parts had arrived.

Overall 2 thumbs up!

I should state first that I am a DIYer and have no experience fixing appliances. The fan noise seems to be a common problem. It has something to do with the bearings. Mine was actually hitting the housing in front on the fan as well. Getting into the installation, I knew I had to take the back panel and fan housing off. But I found out that everything needs to come off. This is the ice maker, the housing underneath the ice maker as well as the fan housing and back panel. This isn't difficult but good to know before hand. A quick note, the light bulb housings come out by pulling them forward. It's a good idea to label the screws as you take them out as there are quite a few that need to come out. I replaced the evaporator fan the fan blade and one grommet. In hind sight I should have replaced both grommets as they both showed wear. They are both exactly the same so you can order two of the above. All in all this is a pretty easy fix. It takes a bit of time, but it's not to difficult. Th most difficult thing was the wiring. The fan comes with a six prong connector and has four prongs taken up. There is, what I think is a temperature sensor, that takes up the other two prongs. Since I didn't order that part, I had to cut it out of the old connector and insert it into the new evaporator fan connector. This was a bit difficult and would have been much easier if I had ordered the part. Unfortunately, I don't know what that part is called, but it must be some kind of temperature sensor as it clips on the coil. The wires also run through a blue rubber wire-run that needs to be sliced open. This was pretty easy to do with a small serrated pocket knife. SLice it on the back side of it and pull the old wires out. When you are ready to install, just run the new wires through the hole from the old wires. Once you have replaced the fan the new blade and the two new grommets, it's just a matter of replacing all the equipment. Fan housing first, then the upper housing followed by the ice maker and the back panel. Good luck

installed new double water outlet and tube assembly and it fixed the promblem. I think the water valve was leaking by causing the tube to freeze up inside.

Removed the cover on the bottom of the rear of the fridge and the top left of the fridge where the tubbes exit.. Then just simply disconnect the tube coming from the fridge and the supply line. Next go inside the fridge, remove the cover of the filter mount, and remove the 2 screws securing the filter mount in place. Now pull the tubes through the opening and reinstall in reverse order.

First remove about 30 screws w/nutdriver that are hidden under door seal then inside of freezer door will come off. Second remove about 10 screws that hold dispenser assy to the inside of door, then support the unit with tape so you don't damage the wires that connect it. Third, pop touchpad loose, then remove three sets of wires plugged into the circuit board. Fourth, remove four screws that hold the ice chute and light assy. Fifth, now remove the 3 screws that hold solenoid. These three screws that hold the solenoid will be very rusty, you may want to replace these also. I went ahead and replaced all the related parts because they are so hard to get to. Also took the opportunity to clean in here with bleach to remove all the black mold and rust.
NOTE: when reassembling the inside of the freezer door to the outside of the door you must loosely attach the door on both sides in the middle first, then the top and bottom. Add some more screws on each side and tighten them all. Now you must check to be sure that the door is not racked. If the door is not sealed at the top or bottom, loosen the screws and twist the door a little and tighten screws and check door again for proper seal. Spent more time adjusting door to seal right than doing the actual repair.

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.

Firt Removed the Ice Maker Tray and the full ice maker assembly. Removed the plastic shroud that sits over the fan assembly. Since the original connector (or the plug)for the motor had also a temperature sensor attached to it and did not know how to remove and trabsfer to the new motor connector I spliced the new motor to the old connector. It was fairly straight forward. Overall the job was not that difficult and since I was trying to be more meticulous it took a little longer. An average person can do it in around 30 to 45 minutes.

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

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!

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.

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.

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.