ZIS420NRH General Electric Refrigerator - Instructions

I pulled-out & unplugged the refrigerator. Removed the screws to gain access through the lower back panel. The water valve is on the left side as I face the back of the fridge. It has one screw holding it to the frame of the fridge. Once it is free, the main water hose is unscrewed and the two out-let lines were pulled-out. If your valve was not ruined prior to this, it is ruined now, as the lines will not re-seat. Then everything is done in reverse order. I did cut 1/2 inch off of the two lines so that they reseat into the new valve. Just push into the valve and they are good.

I tried to quite the noisey evap motor with special liquid motor grease from Radio Shack. It did not work, so I ordered the evap motor. My freezer motor was wired slightly different than the motor I received. The replacement motor had a male plug attached to the four wires, the original motor was different, so I cut the wires and spliced them into the original freezer wires (colors were the same). Remounted motor. Works great, and no more groaning motor
Peter

Ordered the icemaker replacement. unplugged the unit, followed the simple instructions and got it done in less than 30 minutes. It did take a LONG time to start making ice. But it's working now.

I used pliers to pull lightly on the head of the switch, while I inserted a small flat head screw driver into the base of switch and gently worked around the edges to free it from the panel.

The very first symptom here is important! The door water dispenser is not working but the ice macine is working. You may only have a frozen water tube in the door so do the following before diagnosing that your solenoid valve is bad: 1) the tube usually runs under the front of the refrigerator and usually has a quick disconnect. Undo the connection and press the dispenser. If water comes out of the tube you have a frozen or blocked tube in the door. 2) Immediately adjust the temperature in the freezer and warm the freezer compartment as much as you can without destroying the freezer contents. Wait 24 hours. This will usually unfreeze the line. Do not waste your time with a hair dryer. NOW, if this doesn't work and you are convinced you need to order and replace the solenoid, follow these steps. Assemble your tools first. I needed a good ratchet set and a screwdriver. A shop towel is helpful for spilled water. A light is handy. Pull out the refrigerator to gain access to the rear of the unit. Unplug the power and close the water valve (older homes, you may need to actually shut the house water supply). Remove the screws which hold the cover over the lower half of the refrigerator. On the left you will see the solenoid. It's always good to see that your new part matches the one you feel needs replaced. They may not match perfectly due to changing design but they should be very similar. One screw holds this part in place and access is very simple. Now simply unplug the electrical connections. In my case, one blue "blade" type connection (powering the water) and one red "blade" type connection powering the ice maker. They are not the same size and this coupled with the coloring means you will not accidently switch them. pull the tubes clear of the solenoid. This is simple and needs no explanation. Grab your new solenoid and reattach both the electrical and water lines (two, remember, ice maker and drink dispencer). Replace the single screw. Re-attach the rear, lower refrigerator cover and go to the front of the unit to check the water. You can listen carefully and hear the power engage from the new part bringing you water. Clean up, replace the refrigerator back to its place and look really tired when your wife sees that you worked "so hard"! You probably saved at least $50-$80 from a service call.

Emptying the refrigerator and freezer and sliding that beast out of the cabinet was half the battle. Once the unit was out, it was a bit difficult removing the top and back panel to gain access to the fan motor (all of that is on top on our fridge). Once I gained access, replacing the fan motor was relatively simple. Although the video on Parts Select showed a model where the fan motor was located in the freezer compartment, the rest of the instructions in the video for changing out the fan motor and splicing the new motor wires to the existing wire harness (different connection) were very helpful. I was glad I purchased new rubber bumpers and grommets and a new compression ring to hold the fan in place. The old rubber grommets were pretty worn. I also took the opportunity to vacuum out all the dust that had accumulated over the years in areas that aren't accessible from the front. The next most difficult part of the repair was maneuvering the unit back into the cabinet. Probably would have been easier if I had a helper. The new fan has been running well and quietly since the repair. Thanks Parts Select!

After lots of research online, i narrowed my problem down to be the double outlet water valve, behind the fridge. My biggest problem was getting the refridgerator out of its spot, but after that it was pretty simple to change. I took the cover off the bottom, in the back of the fridge, then i removed the inlet waterline (after i turned off the water supply to the fridge). After that i removed the screw that holds the valve to the framework. Now i pulled off the two other waterlines from the old valve and moved them, one at a time, over to the new valve, along with the wire harness. The rest of the instalation was reverse order. Simple fix that im glad i didn't pay an expert to do!

I visually inspected the compressor and narrowed down the source of the noise to the freezer area. Then I removed the doors and the screws securing the divider panel. Next I removed the bottom panel of the freezer, the styrofoam insullation panel and the evaporator motor. The motor is mounted between two grommets. I replaced the grommet facing the fan blades. The aluminum reflector below the styrofoam insulation panel had also come loose. I reattached it and reassembled the refrigerator in reverse order. The noise is gone!

Turn off the water.
Unplug the refrigerator
Take the back off of the refrigerator
use socket wrenchs to undo and take off the water valve in the lower left corner of refrigerator.
Pull out and disconnect electrical connections
Pull out the 2 water tubes one for ice and 1 for water-white is water and black is ice.
install the new valve and connect the water and ice back in the new unit
connect the two power cords and reattach unit to the frame Turn water on and check for leaks.
If no leaks put back on refrigerator and plug in.
Wait 30 min to an hour for water to begin to flow back into the unit.

I ordered the wrong part, the ice maker assembly, because your diagram was not marked properly. I returned the part and you credited my account. Thanks. Ordered the new bucket. It worked fine. Now I have ice and crushed Ice whenever I want. Thanks.

p.s. I didnt use any tools, but to satisfy you I select nut driver.

Background: My refrigerator was part of the class action law suit back in 2006. As a result both doors, the auger in the ice maker and a heating element in the freezer were all replaced.

Problem this time: Water was not dispensing.

Solution: Replaced the double outlet water valve in the back lower left portion of the refergerator. Water was coming into it from the water filter hose, but not coming out of it when the water dispenser in the front was engaged.

Further, I found that the coils in the back of the freezer were iced up and I therefore defrosted them with a heater. Thus, the original problem encountered with the law suit, did not get fixed by simply replacing the doors. That problem is still there. I think the defroster/heating element in the freezer is again not working.

However, I do now have water flowing again and the installation was, as others have described, very easy. Thanks for the online help.

Was concerned that new icemaker was quite a bit different than the one we were replacing. Called GE to confirm it was correct.

Went ahead and installed the unit, using the supplied electric cable adapter.

A little difficult to deal with the extra cable, but everything worked OK and it's making ice normally.

Moved refrigerator out from wall, unplugged from electric, removed plate at bottom back with 1/4 nut driver, turned incoming water valve off, disconnected water line from water valve on refrigerator, removed mounting screw, remove water lines from valve and electrical plugs, set old valve aside and replace with new valve, reconnecting water lines and electrical plugs then remount bracket, reconnect water line from source, open water valve and check for leaks, replugged refrigerator and depressed the door button to check to see if working. It worked and there was not any leaks. Replaced back plate and placed refrigerator against wall. Job completed.

Moved refrigerator forward, this allowed me to work on the back panel. Unplugged the refrigerator power cord. Released all 6 screws, removed panel then release an additional screw that was holding the water valve and the two (red & blue) connectors. Then installed the new part in reverse steps. Plug the unit and job well done. I had purchase the water filter already after several minutes push for water from the dispensing front part of the refrigerator and good to go, later in the evening we notice the ice maker working fine and producing ice. Thank you parts select.

I pulled the refrigerator away from the wall and turned off the water to the refrigerator and unplugged it from the wall. After removing the icebucket from the freezer I located the mounting screws, loosened them, unplugged the electrical connection below the icemaker and carefully removed it from the freezer. I unpacked the replacement icemaker, matched it against the original and attached the electrical connection adapter. Using the slots provided on the new icemaker I placed it over the mounting screws after aligning the water inlet pipe properly. I tightened the mounting screws while maintaining the icemaker in a level position. I plugged in the electrical connector. Then I replaced the icebucket, plugged in the refigerator back into the 110VAC outlet, turned on the water and repositioned the refrigerator in it's normal position.