GSS20IEPHWW General Electric Refrigerator - Instructions

After further diagnosis decided the main circuit board was the likely culprit. Ordered a new one from PartSelect. It came in 2 days and took less than 30 minutes to install. Unplugged the refrig. Removed the old board cover with a nut driver. Removed the wiring cables (note their location on the board) and also there were a couple of cable plugs on my refrig that were not not hooked to anything on the board. Snapped the old board out and the new board in. Reinstalled the cables and then the board cover. Plugged the refrig in and back in business. PartSelect is a great website! The speed of delivery and available information just saved me $500 to $600 from a appliance repair shop.

Removed the ice bucket assembly and attempted to dismantle and re-assemble it the same as new
after replacing the auger. I wish the part was shipped with replacement instructions because a simple job turned into a major headache for me because of the following:
1) I did not realize that the the nylon nut at the end of the auger rod assembly has a reverse thread. By the time I had it removed using vice-grip pliers and a bench vice.....the nut threads were stripped.
2) When removing the nylon washers, spacers, metal cutters from the old auger rod, I grabbed the entire grouping hoping to drop them on the new auger rod as a group. While doing so, the pieces slipped out of my hand and It was very difficult to find the correct order of configuration even with the on-line parts photo. I would recommend that you number each part before removing them from the rod because there is only 1 way all of these pieces can be re-assembled to work as designed.

Turned off the water supply valve to the refrigerator. Removed the rear access panel (6 screws) and the one screw mounting the water valve. Slid the water valve out and disconnected the two electrical plugs and two outlet tubes (slip/lock fit) and the inlet supply (ferrel nut). Connected the three tubes to the new valve, the two power plugs, slid valve back in place and reinstalled the mounting screw. Turned on the water supply valve back on and checked for leaks - none. Reinstalled the rear access panel and tightened all screws.
Checked the icemaker and cleaned the input tube and tray, ensured all were properly mounted and aligned. Restarted icemaker and and checked the operation periodically over the next day. All worked properly.

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.

After advise from the expert, he was adamant the motherboard was the (via symptoms)problem. After receiving the replacement board (via FEDEX), I followed the easy to understand instructions. I did number the electrical plugs and mapped the connections on paper. The key to the rapid fix was to carefully read all of the instructions to verify which (if any) wires needed elimination, which in my case was none. I will definitely use this service in the future as the expense was affordable and after research, I estimate a savings between 55% to 60%.

Unplugged refrigerator and used a screwdriver to remove access panel on rear of refrigerator to expose "mother board". Unplugged connectors (6 total) and using needle nose pliers released two retainers to remove mother board. Installed new mother board snapping it onto the two retainers and plugged the connectors onto the new mother board. Plugged refrigerator into outlet, refrigerator came back on, automatically reset it's temperature settings and has been working fine since. Total time, less than 15 minutes. Money saved, hundreds of dollars!

Things I learned...remove only the two far left screws and one far right screw from the ice auger motor mounting plate. Disconnect both wiring harness connectors. With the assembly removed from the freezer, you'll need to get the motor seperated from the drive mechanism (fork). This was the most difficult part of the repair. The reason is that the fork (which is reverse threaded) cannot be unthreaded independantly of the motor shaft (ie. they both turn together). Locking pliers on the shaft only stripped metal from the shaft and did not supply enough torque to remove the fork. The way I finally did it was to take the old motor partially apart, then lock the gear case (keeping the shaft from rotating) with the motor's own splined internal rotor shaft. Once I finally got the fork apart from the motor shaft, swapping out motors was simple. You'll need to put the old plastic glove on the new motor to keep it dry. Also, the replacement motor I got from partselect.com did not come with threaded mounting bolt holes. Therefore, I had to use slightly larger self tapping screws I got from the hardware store. I also used locking washers as the assembly is subject to vibration.

My problem began with having to replace the auger due to damage (broken blade). Unknown at that time the unit was having a defrost cycle issue. Once auger was repaired, then the motor to auger failed. Once repaired the GE unit then began shutting down without warning. Mother board replaced. All was fine for two weeks then noticed odd performance by ice-maker (chunks of Ice again)and frozen package containers showing signs of dampness and then refreezing. Read through the Parts Select web site to see what other users may have had gone wrong with their GE's and what the parts overview section may reveal for me. Found that the defrost thermo and temp-sensor controlled defrost functions. The parts were cheap, $20.00 for the pair so I replaced them both since they are both located next to one another in the freezer compartment. The repair video furnished on the P/S web was great and very accurate. The entire job only took about an hour. The repair video indicated using wire-nuts and electircal tape Instead, I chose to solder the wires and use shrink-tubing to provide the moisture barrier. PartSelect folks are great not only for their parts pricing but also for the informative videos. The GE works better than ever

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!

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.

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!

My teenage daughter and myself (2 women!)completed this task with little issue! I first made sure to read others stories as not to repeat any issues they had. Just member the threads are backwards with taking the washer end off and everything will go easy. We are both kinda handy with repair items so if that describes you than you should be fine.