CWS21SSEAFSS General Electric Refrigerator - Instructions

1 unplug fridge
2 turn off supply line for ice maker
2 remove lower back panel of fridge
3 disconnect in and out line from valve
4 remove valve (one screw.)
5 disconnect power line to valve.
reverse to reinstall. Very easy.

This valve is a cheap, poor design. This is the second one in 5 years. I replaced the first one because the line in the freezer would "drip" creating an ice dam so the ice maker wouldn't work. This time, the water dispenser on the front of the fridge has been dripping for months - finally the valve just dissolved and was spraying water all over the floor. It ran down into the basement. Keep a eye out if you have a GE fridge.

This was so easy I think it took me 2 minutes. I am not very mechanically inclined but that didn't matter! Works perfect thank you!

Took old one out with my fingers. Put new one in with my fingers.

Pop out switch, pull wires, attach wires to new switch and pop back in. Easy smeasy!

installed the new door shelf

I watched a you tube video for 2 minutes & did the replacement in1 minute.

Removed ice bucket, and unplugged ice maker. Removed light cover. Removed ice maker. Pulled fan blades straight up and removed. Pushed new blades on to motor shaft. Fairly easy .

There were no instructions on how to relpace the divider guide so it took me a while to realize that I had to remove the guide under the ice maker first. Once that was done the metal bar that supports the front of the divider guide and the divider itself could be positioned. It did take a little force to push the guide into its proper vertical position. After that the the guide under the ice maker could be replaced.

In replacing the freezer door I wasn't careful to pull both glides out together so the geared tracking mechanism came apart. Once that was put back together and carefully pulled out the freezer door was able to be replaced.

First, turn off main water valve. Then, at the rear of refrigerator remove the rear panel exposing the water valve assembly. Cautiously, proceed by disconnecting the water hose and electrical connections. To complete the task, just worked in the reverse steps to exchange the faulty equipment.

0. As a safety precaution, unplug the range or hit the relevant fuse breaker before you start. You might also want to grab a flashlight. Definitely do not try to do this while the oven is hot.
1. Pinch the wire over the light bulb cap to remove it. This is inside the oven at the back.
2. Pop off the hemispherical glass cap.
3. Unscrew the old light bulb, and screw the new light bulb in its place.
4. Put the cap back.
5. Secure the cap by putting the wire back in its slots on the cap.

No tools needed, the cap is just held in place with pressure from the wire.

First, removed all items in the freezer, placed into a cooler. Removed basket and door from the glide rails. Installed new divider using two supplied screws with a nut driver. Be sure to install support bar first and align the divider by loading at an angle, push into place. Reinstalled shelf and icemaker tray, door, and basket. Can be a little tricky to install if you don't do the support bar first, and removing the door seemed necessary for adequate access to the interior of freezer.

The best instructions were several YouTube videos for replacing icemakers on GE french door bottom freezer refrigerators, but none fully described the process. The following difficulties were encountered: (1) Instructions for removing the freezer door showed three screws on each side that needed to be removed; in fact, there was only one screw on each side. It was smaller than the three depicted screws and its location was not exactly as shown in the videos. (2) None of the instructions adequately described the process for removing the mounting plate from the nonfunctioning icemaker so it could be attached to the replacement unit. The key was to forcibly pry open the cover over a screw that then needed to be loosened with a screw driver. It seemed that I risked breaking the unit when I tried to slide the tab, but it eventually moved and revealed the screw that was holding the original mounting plate in place. (3) Replacing the freezer door required lining up some metal studs with slots in the undercarriage; you need to get down on the floor to examine how this fits back together. (It might help to take some photos before removing the freezer door.) (4) Replacing the upper drawer was perhaps the trickiest. My first effort resulted in having the rod with gear pinions on each end pop out because some of the tabs holding the gear pinions on each end broke. That meant that I had to order two replacement gear pinions (left and right are identical). Then, as with the freezer door, it was necessary fo slide metal studs on each side into a vertical slot leading to a horizontal slot in order to seat the upper drawer properly. So the whole process took a few weeks; actual work time was perhaps 3-4 hours. This could have been shortened significantly had I taken photos as I disassembled everything and if the procedure for moving the mounting plate had been clearer (or even existing). All in all, though, this is a doable DIY project.

Replacement valve fit perfectly but didn't fix the problem. More troubleshooting found blockage through the water filter assy although I don't use a filter and just have the the bypass plug installed...7 years like this. Used compressed air to blow out the line and got some crud out. Works now but can't turn water pressure up full or line hammers and stops flow. Left supply valve open slightly which supplies ice maker fine and dispenser ok. Must be something wrong with internal spring stopper in filter assy...keeps water from pouring out if filter or bypass not installed.

I followed your video and completely dismantled the refrigerator evaporator motor, fan, brackets, and grommet, I completely cleaned the refrigerator including the cooling coils. I then ordered the evaporator motor ,fan, grommets, lid bumper, and brackets. The order would take a week to arrive. In the meantime I cleaned and reassembled all the old parts, waiting for the new ones to come. Guess what! The refrigerator was quiet as a mouse. I really did not need the new parts, but I kept them anyway just for good luck. Not bad for a refrigerator that's twenty four years old.

Easy