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31861-1 General Electric Refrigerator - Instructions

All Instructions for the 31861-1
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Noisey Motor, Bearings Out, Dying
Remove back cover, exposing fan motor. Turn off power, remove nut on fan blades. Remove fan carefully, do not bend. Unhook wiring harness. Remove three screws that hold the motor on the back frame. Remove old motor, install new. Carefully, reinstall fan blades, hook up wiring, and your ready for tryout. Also do some cleaning while your there. Clean old fan blades with hot soapy water or contact cleaner. Everything runs better clean!
Parts Used:
Condenser Fan Motor - 115V
  • PERRY from VANDERBILT, MI
  • Difficulty Level:
    Easy
  • Total Repair Time:
    More than 2 hours
  • Tools:
    Nutdriver, Wrench set
12 of 13 people found this instruction helpful.
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Light in the refrigerator went out
After I bought what I thought I needed for the repair. I asked a friend to come over and look at it. He changed the
the light socket and put the same light bulb in and it works great. I am returning the light switch but decided to keep the light bulb.

Getting on the internet was so easy. This was really very simple. Thank you for making what I thought would be a big ordeal into something very simple.

Paulette Johnson
Parts Used:
Light Socket
  • Paulette B. from Santa Ana, CA
  • Difficulty Level:
    Really Easy
  • Total Repair Time:
    15 - 30 mins
13 of 18 people found this instruction helpful.
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Twice I ordered the oven light bulb & each time the light bulb was defected
I had to call for a appointment for repair with GE Appliance because I thought then it . .was something electrical. The technician came out & checked everything out, turned out it was not electrical, The technician went out to his truck got a light bulb from his truck, put it in & it worked. It cost me $121.00 for trip charge from GE appliance for a light bulb that worked, your light bulbs were defective twice. Very disappointed with your products, cost me alot of money for a good light bulb thru GE appliance
Parts Used:
Light Bulb - 40W
  • Barbara from BELLEVUE, WA
  • Difficulty Level:
    Very Difficult
  • Total Repair Time:
    Less than 15 mins
14 of 23 people found this instruction helpful.
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fridge quit coolingg / freezing
remove lower back cover - disconnect wires to fan motor - place 6" fan to blow on condenser - fridge began cooling & freezing again - ordered part - part arrived - removed fan motor & bracket - cleaned brackets & fan blade - cleaned lint & dust from condenser compartment (took longer to clean than anything else) - replaced fan motor - replaced cover - was hero with wife ... :-)
Parts Used:
Condenser Fan Motor - 115V
  • JEFF from HAMPTON, GA
  • Difficulty Level:
    Really Easy
  • Total Repair Time:
    30 - 60 mins
  • Tools:
    Nutdriver, Screw drivers
10 of 12 people found this instruction helpful.
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Interior light needed replaced
Unplugged the appliance for safety. Removed two 1/4" screws that held the assembly in place. Carefully removed the wire guard that retains the glass shield. Unscrewed old light bulb and replaced with new part. Reversed the steps after cleaning glass cover.
Parts Used:
Light Bulb - 40W
  • Leo from TWIN FALLS, ID
  • Difficulty Level:
    Really Easy
  • Total Repair Time:
    Less than 15 mins
  • Tools:
    Nutdriver
14 of 24 people found this instruction helpful.
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Switchlight was broken on tennant's refridge
as described, I used a thin screwdriver to wedge in and pull down existing, broken switch. I was able to pull it down about a 1/4 inch, but wasn't quit able to disegage it until I gripped it with pliers. I then pulled it out, unplugged the old switch, plugged in the new switch, and carefully tucked the wires back into the fridge and snapped the new switch into place.

10 minutes total.
Parts Used:
Light Switch
  • Mark from Somers Point, NJ
  • Difficulty Level:
    Easy
  • Total Repair Time:
    Less than 15 mins
  • Tools:
    Pliers, Screw drivers
10 of 12 people found this instruction helpful.
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gasket needed to be replaced
first started with the bottom corner then went across the bottom and proceeded to go around the refrigerator. this made it hard to get the last corner in the track. I redid it by getting all four corners set in the track then worked on pushing the sides of the gasket in. This worked much better.
Parts Used:
Fresh Food Door Gasket
  • nora from bristol, PA
  • Difficulty Level:
    Easy
  • Total Repair Time:
    15 - 30 mins
9 of 9 people found this instruction helpful.
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refrigerator did not cool
i put a new evaporator motor in and now it works fine
Parts Used:
EVAPORATOR FAN MOTOR KIT
  • Carl from Kent City, MI
  • Difficulty Level:
    Really Easy
  • Total Repair Time:
    15 - 30 mins
  • Tools:
    Nutdriver, Pliers, Screw drivers
10 of 14 people found this instruction helpful.
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Fan had quit; needed replacement.
The fan was the correct part. It arrived one day after my well trained son-in-law had left for Texas. I had to install the motor myself. He had trained me well; it was not hard. the most difficult was getting the two tabs on the fan housing to fit back into the frame of the refrigerator where they belonged. Thanks. the part & delivery were overpriced, but I needed seed and convenience. Thanks for getting it right the first time.
John Moragues
Parts Used:
Condenser Fan Motor - 115V
  • John from Divide, CO
  • Difficulty Level:
    A Bit Difficult
  • Total Repair Time:
    30 - 60 mins
  • Tools:
    Nutdriver, Pliers, Screw drivers
10 of 15 people found this instruction helpful.
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Noisy freezer evaporator fan, bearings worn out
UNPLUG UNIT. Open freezer compartment, top door. You may want to let it warm up a bit before beginning work. Next remove single screw from small square plastic grate at top left back of freezer compartment with phillips screw driver. Remove green ground wire connection behind removed grate with nut driver. Next remove 2 screws at top of freezer compartment holding plastic air diffuser bracket in place and holding back panel. Remove metal back panel of freezer by pulling top towards you, then angle out of compartment. Evap. fan is now exposed. I inspected and removed fan by removing two screws with nutdriver on bracket behind fan blade. I inserted nutdriver (with long socket driver)between fan blades to screws on bracket behind blade - 1 each side. After these two screws are removed, pull fan and bracket assembly out from plenum. Remove wiring from motor and remove motor to workbench. Remove round metal clamp from fan hub with needle nose pliers and slide off fan blade from motor. Also remove bracket and rubber bushing. Disgard old motor. Inspect and clean blade. Replace if necessary. Reattach rubber bushing, bracket THEN fan blade to new motor. New fan has atleast one terminal in new location and I had to use one wire extension that came with kit. Route wire behind motor and plug in new wires to back of motor. Insert fan and bracket to plenum, hold in place with one hand while reattaching screws with nutdriver between fan blades. Once fan is in place and nuts secure, I tested operation by plugging unit back in to make sure new motor ran and fan spun freely. Reattach back panel, top diffuser bracket and small grate with 3 screws. Shut door, set temp. and wait 24 hours before loading freezer. Unit good as new!
Parts Used:
EVAPORATOR FAN MOTOR KIT
  • Todd from Saint Paul, MN
  • Difficulty Level:
    Easy
  • Total Repair Time:
    15 - 30 mins
  • Tools:
    Nutdriver, Pliers, Screw drivers
8 of 10 people found this instruction helpful.
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noise from condenser fan
disconnect the power to the unit. remove the retainer sctrews on the mounting bracket. remove fan motor from unit. using the rerquired tools remove the fan from the old motor and install on the new one. torque the nut until all slack is out then 1/4 turn. reinstall motor assy. and reconnect power. test the system .
Parts Used:
Condenser Fan Motor - 115V
  • donald from opelousas, LA
  • Difficulty Level:
    A Bit Difficult
  • Total Repair Time:
    30 - 60 mins
  • Tools:
    Nutdriver, Pliers, Screw drivers
10 of 17 people found this instruction helpful.
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Refrigerator and freezer were not cooling
Vacuumed the area around the compressor, removed the PTC relay switch cover, pried the broken relay switch off the unit with a screw driver and replaced with the new relay switch. Replaced the backing of the refrigerator and tested, within minutes the work was confirmed.
Parts Used:
Refrigerator Compressor Start Relay
  • Michael from NEW BERN, NC
  • Difficulty Level:
    A Bit Difficult
  • Total Repair Time:
    1- 2 hours
  • Tools:
    Pliers, Screw drivers
6 of 6 people found this instruction helpful.
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stopped making ice
First I turned off the water supply. Then I removed the ice bin and the ice maker by removing 4 screws and 3 electrical connections. This allowed access to the evaporator fan which was not moving. To remove the evap fan I removed two screws that hold the fan bracket. The fan assembly now had to be pushed back and rotated to remove from hole. There are 3 electrical connections that have to be disconnected from the fan, one ground wire that also is connected to the fan bracket and 2 power connections. Installing the new fan was the reverse of the above except the power connections were in a different location and i had to use the extension wires provided with the new fan to have the length needed to make the connection.
Parts Used:
EVAPORATOR FAN MOTOR KIT
  • Timothy from Orange Park, FL
  • Difficulty Level:
    Easy
  • Total Repair Time:
    15 - 30 mins
  • Tools:
    Nutdriver
7 of 9 people found this instruction helpful.
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Broken rails - drawers do not close well
Very easy. Removed all the parts from the fridge. Removed the glass. Unscrewed the two screws holding the rails to the front and rear support. The front support that has the "fruit" and veggie" settings, you have to remove the plastic name cover off to expose the front screws. The install is the reverse of the removal. The only "tricky" part is remembering the configuration (left from right) and removing the vinyl edging that the glass rests on from the old left and right rails and placing it on the new rails. Good Luck to all! "Quality is not an act, it is a habit" - Aristotle
Parts Used:
Vegetable Drawer Slide Rail - Left Side Vegetable Drawer Slide Rail - Right Side
  • Stephen from Charlotte, NC
  • Difficulty Level:
    Easy
  • Total Repair Time:
    30 - 60 mins
  • Tools:
    Screw drivers
6 of 6 people found this instruction helpful.
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broken fan blade in the freezer compartment
Unplugged frige, removed top shelf, pulled broken fan blade off. Replaced with fan blade just purchased from PartSelect. Very simple repair. Orderd and recieved the right part.
Parts Used:
Evaporator Fan Blade Kit
  • John from Cumberland, MD
  • Difficulty Level:
    Really Easy
  • Total Repair Time:
    Less than 15 mins
  • Tools:
    Pliers
7 of 9 people found this instruction helpful.
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All Instructions for the 31861-1
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