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GFD45ESSM1WW General Electric Dryer - Instructions

All Instructions for the GFD45ESSM1WW
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Drum belt broke
Removed the front Dryer panel. Left drum in place and lifted it up slightly to get access to motor drive. Slipped belt in place and put panel back on.
This was a first attempt ever at fixing an appliance and it was no big deal.
Parts Used:
Drive Belt
  • Adrian from Middletown, MD
  • Difficulty Level:
    A Bit Difficult
  • Total Repair Time:
    30 - 60 mins
  • Tools:
    Screw drivers
185 of 265 people found this instruction helpful.
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Dryer would not start
The end repair was very simple and took minimal effort. The time and difficulty was all in the testing. I disassembled the dryer and removed the drum and then hard wired each thermo-fuse to determine where the fault was. After test all of those I was stumped. When I opened the door the light would not come on so I assumed it was a power fault closer to the source. However after all of my testing I couldn't find anything wrong. I then removed the light bulb and realized it was burned out which led me to the door switch being the fault. I removed the switch and soldered the three wire together and the dryer started right up! All I had to do was order a new $15 part, unsolder the wires and plug them in. Would have been so much simpler if that light bulb hadn't of been burned out causing me to over think my diagnosis. This was my first major appliance repair and I did it with only the help of the parts diagram provided on the website.
Parts Used:
Door Switch
  • Joshua from Dallas, TX
  • Difficulty Level:
    A Bit Difficult
  • Total Repair Time:
    1- 2 hours
  • Tools:
    Pliers, Screw drivers, Socket set
88 of 131 people found this instruction helpful.
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Broken Dryer Belt
I had to take most of the dryer apart because there is no rear access to the motor. It turned out to be easy to dissasembel the dryer. The only problem that I had was that I could not figure out how to route the belt around the motor and the idol pullies. I could not find anywhere that gave instructions on how to properly tension the belt. I finally figured out that the idoler pulley needs to be locked in place on the right side of the engie mount. Then the belt needs to be routed over idoler pulley and under the motor pulley. Finally release the idoler pully from the locked postion to put tension on the belt. It really turned out to be pretty easy.
Parts Used:
Drive Belt
  • Richard from Ashton, MD
  • Difficulty Level:
    Easy
  • Total Repair Time:
    1- 2 hours
  • Tools:
    Nutdriver, Screw drivers
63 of 88 people found this instruction helpful.
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dryer cylinder wouldn't turn
Pryed off the top with a flat head screwdriver and removed the 2 screws holding the front panel to the sides. Then lifted the front panel off of the bottom brackets. Belt fit perfectly and followed the provided instructions to loop it around the motor and pulley. PartSelect got the part to me within a couple of days and the repair was a snap.
Parts Used:
Drive Belt
  • Christopher from Miami, FL
  • Difficulty Level:
    Easy
  • Total Repair Time:
    15 - 30 mins
  • Tools:
    Screw drivers, Wrench (Adjustable)
56 of 79 people found this instruction helpful.
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Broken belt
Removed the top of dryer two screws behind door at top then removed top two screws top corner lift dryer tub put belt around the tub then looped belt around the pullies.
Parts Used:
Drive Belt Light Bulb
  • James from Charleston, MS
  • Difficulty Level:
    Really Easy
  • Total Repair Time:
    15 - 30 mins
  • Tools:
    Screw drivers
58 of 89 people found this instruction helpful.
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The Dryer would not start
Doing some simple troubleshooting with the volt-ohm meter I determined that the door switch was failed.

The replacement door switch restored the motor circuit keeping my dryer in action.
Parts Used:
Door Switch
  • David from Curtice, OH
  • Difficulty Level:
    Really Easy
  • Total Repair Time:
    Less than 15 mins
  • Tools:
    Pliers
59 of 102 people found this instruction helpful.
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Deflector was covered in burnt something.
Deflector has 3 bolts attaching it. They require a star wrench. Had to purchase same to do the repair. Removed the bolts(they are sheet metal type screws(bolts). Installed the deflector and started dryer. Loud rubbing sound noted. Shut off and checked the drum and noted it was not running concentrically. Removed deflector and the found the 3 screws actually retained the drum to drive. Had to make alignment pins to allow proper alignment of the drive, drum, and deflector. Once the pins were used during installation of the deflector everything worked correctly. Turned on dryer and it operated normally.
Had I had the proper tools the repair would probably have taken 30 minutes or less.
Parts Used:
DIFFUSER
  • Richard from San Antonio, FL
  • Difficulty Level:
    Difficult
  • Total Repair Time:
    1- 2 hours
  • Tools:
    Wrench set
38 of 56 people found this instruction helpful.
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Heat deflector was covered in melted plastic
Someone I'm related to by marriage accidentally dried a plastic-coated tablecloth on high heat, and our heat deflector was hosed. I was very happy to find this part here for such a reasonable price; Sears wanted about $65 for it. Installation required a Torx bit, and removing the old one was easy, but the dryer's design made it difficult to reinstall the heat deflector while keeping the dryer running concentrically. I ended up cutting the heads off three screws, threading those into the plate behind the drum, sliding the new heat deflector on over those, and then one by one replacing them with the original Torx head screws. Once I figured it out it didn't take long but it took me a while to figure it out. That's probably more a reflection on me than the dryer!
Parts Used:
DIFFUSER
  • Charles from Alexandria, VA
  • Difficulty Level:
    A Bit Difficult
  • Total Repair Time:
    30 - 60 mins
  • Tools:
    Socket set
35 of 50 people found this instruction helpful.
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Needed to change the door opening position
I removed the door and "flipped" it to open right to left. Rather than remove the existing door latch I added the purchased latch on the right side to enable opening the door right to left or left to right.
Parts Used:
Door Latch
  • Robyn from Laguna Niguel, CA
  • Difficulty Level:
    Really Easy
  • Total Repair Time:
    Less than 15 mins
  • Tools:
    Screw drivers
23 of 34 people found this instruction helpful.
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door latch was broken
Pulled out the remnants of the old latch out with the pliers and then popped the new one in...less than 2 minutes. Oh, and the part was delivered in less than 2 days. Great job, Partselect !
Parts Used:
Door Latch
  • Kate from MULLINS, SC
  • Difficulty Level:
    Really Easy
  • Total Repair Time:
    Less than 15 mins
  • Tools:
    Pliers
20 of 26 people found this instruction helpful.
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Dryer not heating. When moving it away from wall it was sparking badly where the cord hooks up.
Removed case parts to expose internal wiring. Vacuumed up various types of mouse debris and plugged hole they were using. Ordered terminal block to replace the one that melted while sparks were flying. Replaced power cord with one I had in my basement from some other appliance that died a while ago. "Hey honey, ya know those old parts I saved..." :) Now it is heating to capacity and no spark-show! Oh yeah, the part I ordered from Partselect.com was delivered to my door the next day!!!!! Wow!
Parts Used:
Terminal Block and Grounding Strap
  • Vincent from Washington, PA
  • Difficulty Level:
    Easy
  • Total Repair Time:
    1- 2 hours
  • Tools:
    Nutdriver, Pliers, Screw drivers
22 of 37 people found this instruction helpful.
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Door wouldn't stay shut
When I went home at Christmas, I saw that my Mom had been using a small bench to keep her dryer door shut. I wrote the make / model of the dryer down and found your website. I ordered the part, and my sister snapped it into place. My mom was so happy to have her dryer door stay shut again!
Parts Used:
Door Latch
  • Catherine from Windber, PA
  • Difficulty Level:
    Really Easy
  • Total Repair Time:
    Less than 15 mins
  • Tools:
    Pliers
18 of 25 people found this instruction helpful.
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The belt borke after 10 years of use.
1st - removed the two screws inside the front door panel. They are somewhat hidden up underneath so you may have to look for them. 2nd - I removed the top of the dryer cabinet by lifting it out of the clips holding it in place. 3rd - removed the two screws (one on each side) in the o=uppper corner of where the side panels connect the front panel. These are about 3/4" phillips head screws. Then the front panel could be moved to one side of the dry. 4th - remove the drum by lifting it up and out the open top area. 5th - add the new belt to the dryer tub (rib side towards the drum) and replace dryer tub to its original position. 6th - reaching in underneath the tub you need to pull the ideler pulley toward the center of the cabinet while laying the belt on the "outer side" of the ideler pulley and at the same time fitting the belt over the small pulley located on the motor. Once that is done, you reassemble in reverse order and should be good to go.
Parts Used:
Drive Belt
  • Brad from Laguna Niguel, CA
  • Difficulty Level:
    Really Easy
  • Total Repair Time:
    15 - 30 mins
  • Tools:
    Screw drivers
16 of 22 people found this instruction helpful.
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dried something with a plastic coating-
Used an allen wrench to remove the heat deflector and used allen wrench to replace it with the new one. HINT!! Do not lean on the inside of the dryer!!!!!!
Parts Used:
DIFFUSER
  • MARY from AUGUSTA, GA
  • Difficulty Level:
    Really Easy
  • Total Repair Time:
    Less than 15 mins
18 of 29 people found this instruction helpful.
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blub burned out.
I first throwed the breaker then I took the old bulb out. Put new bulb in. Turned the breaker back on.
It worked great
Parts Used:
Light Bulb
  • Mary from Oak Point, TX
  • Difficulty Level:
    Really Easy
  • Total Repair Time:
    Less than 15 mins
14 of 20 people found this instruction helpful.
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All Instructions for the GFD45ESSM1WW
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