PCF25MGWC General Electric Refrigerator - Instructions

I replaced the motor that runs the fan in the freezer compartment. Had to remove a number of shields to get to the fan and then some wires and screws to get at the motor. It came with a plug with 4 wires in it and I was supposed to pull 2 wires out of the old plug and place them in the new plug. Long story short the pins would not extract from the plug and the wiring harness was molded in solid plastic, so I ended up cutting the 4 wires to the motor and splicing in the new one and taping them with electrical tape. So far no more moaning and the ice cream is still hard, so I think we nailed it.

Installed the new stripper arm per instructions - an easy installation. After a few cycles the original problem happened again, the stripper arm tine caught under an opposing tine stopping the unit from operating. I removed the stripper arm, after marking where it was caught, and filed it down so it wouldn't catch anymore. Icemaker works fine now. Troubleshooting tip. If a stripper arm tine is caught under an opposing tine, gently slide a screwdriver between them to release it without breaking the tine. Remove the arm, file it down 1-3 mm, and reinstall.

Once I got the correct part, (the expanded view of the icemaker is confusing as it shows the partition at the back of the diagram) I removed the ice dispenser from the tub by removing the screws and disengage the tabs holding the dispenser assembly in the tub. The most difficult step was getting the disenser disengaged from the tub. I used two kitchen knives to wedge between the walls of the tub. It was then easy to remove and replace the broken inside partition and reassemble the dispenser. Works like new.

Removed the ice bin and maker, then removed cover from the rear that covered the solenoid that controls the dispensing mechanism. Replace solenoid. The tricky part here is that there is a styrofoam cover around the solenoid pin that needs to be superglued into place and oriented properly during replacement. All electrical feeds snap out neatly and are easily replaced. Reassemble ice dispenser and bin, and viola, your back in business.

Removed shelves from freezer section and removed protective cover using a screwdriver and nutdriver. 5 screws.
Upon removal of the cover, I noticed the coils totally cover with ice. At this point I noticed that the defrost heater was burnt out. I removed the heater using screwdriver and pliers and tested the heater according to instructions from Parts Select website.
Since the coil was exposed, I also tested the defrost thermostat according to Parts select instructions and found it to be working properly. i also tested the defrost timer and found it OK.
I replaced the heater, closed the protective cover, replaced the shelves and plugged the unit on.
It has been working just fine since then..
In addition to saving money, i saved myself the agravation of looking for a repairman and having to wait for THEIR convenience to to the work.

Took panel off back of inside of freezer section, took off old sensor from the evaporator, spliced new sensor into the existing wires, waterproofed spliced connections, snapped sensor back onto evaporator, then put panel back on the inside of the freezer. Really, it took only 10 minutes to fix. Now refrigerator defrosts like it used to, and temps have settled in at specified temps.

I have unlock the black panel. With a screw driver I have removed 2 screws and removed 3 conectors from circuit board. So, I had access to solenoid set. From this point on was intuitive. Very easy.

I recomend these parts be replaced once time for each two years.

Noticed the problem in November 2009. Replaced Hi Limit Sesor for Defrost thinking it was the freezor temperature sensor. Did not fix the problem. Replaced Motherboard. Did not fix the problem. Called Sears Repair. They mis-diagnosed the problem and told me it was the sealed system. I doubted them and sent them home. Replaced the correct freezer temperature sensor that connects to the motherboard. FIXED.
Removed a panel, cut two wires, soldered and insulated two wries, reinstalled panel.

Replaced main control board, located at the rear of unit.

Actually this was a two part repair of which I purchased both parts. The micro switch Pt # PS296176 and also a double outlet water valve Pt # PS304374 from Parts Select as well.

The difficult part was accessing the area to get to the micro switch.

The trim had to be removed, then the cover.

Then one unplugs the board and removed the face plate which also contains the micro switch.

Once removed the two electrical terminals had to be disconnected, the micro switch installed and terminal reconnected.

Then reverse the removal procedure.

Then on to the double outlet replacement.

Suggest watching the installation video for the replacement although it was really a straight forward repair.

Two things to remember.

1. Unplug the fridge

2. Shut off the water to the dispenser

Overall it was not bad at all.

This was my first attempt at refrigerator repair and it went well.

Good luck on yours.

John

After having replaced the main control board and three thermistors, the fridge was still having difficulting getting cold enough - it wouldn't get colder than 15F / 42 F. Uniform frost on the evaporator coil ruled out a sealed system leak, so the remaining culprits were the either the evaporator fan motor or the compressor.

I read that a failed control board is almost always the fault of a bad evaporator fan motor, so this item was the most likely suspect.

To get to the evaporator fan motor, I had to remove, in this order:

1) Icemaker
2) Auger motor and brackets
3) Icemaker bracket
4) Freezer lights and bulb sockets
5) Evaporator panel
6) Evaporator plenum cover
7) Evaporator fan motor bracket

The greatest difficulty lay in swapping the new fan motor harness. Two pins in the harness connector were used for the evaporator thermistor.

I had to carefully cut through the old connector (using a Dremel) to extract the crimped-on pins for the thermistor, then reuse them on the new connector.

The fridge is now maintaining -5 F / 35 F in the freezer / fresh food sections.

Replacing the heater is very easy. Remove the wire racks and the two lower rack bracket screws. Remove the two screws to the back panel, unclip the ground wire and remove the panel. Two screws hold he heater on and two wires for the connection.
However, this did not solve my problem. The story is this. The fridge was getting warm because the coils were freezing over. I called the local repair guys "poncho and lefty" and they came out and replace the themostat and charged me $150. It still froze over a week later. They came back and said it must be the circuit board and charged me just for the $125 part. Nope, it still froze over in a week. So I thought I would take things into my own hands and tell poncho and left to hit the trail. I then ordered a new heater because the old one looked bad even though it checked out okay with an ohm meter. Unfortunately, that didn't solve the problem either. The last thing is to replace are the temp sensors. But before I ordered anything I submitted my problem to a "fix it" forum and someone suggested to check the part number of the themostat that was put in. This turned out to be a brilliant observation. It seems poncho and lefty replace the thermostate with one that is used with a timer. This fridge has the timer built into the circuit board and has a very different temp range than the one they replace it with. Their first clue should have been that the wires were a different color than the one they were replacing and that the part number was totally different than the one they took out. So I ordered a new thermostat and the three temp sensors and replace all of this and the unit works as good as new. The forum also told me that the bullet shaped temp sensor were faulty and should all be replaced, which I did.
Now I have all new parts, so it should be good to go until the compressor takes a nose dive. Hopefully, that will not be for 5 or 6 more years.

The repair is easy, just pop the grill off around the ice and water door, then there are 4 screwws to take out so the touch pad can be moved out of the way to unsnap the old door assm. and snap in the new one and wait about a year and a hald to order another one!!!!!

Of course, the first thing I did was remove the ice cube container from the freezer, and dump the ice cubes. (Conservation note: If you're in a place with water conservation rules, dump the cubes in a big pot and save them. If they melt, use the water for your house plants.) Following the advice from another DIYer, I let the container warm up before doing anything further.
Turned the container (I'll call it the "tray" from now on) over, removed the two screws holding the front cover with the Phillips screwdriver, gently pulled the cover out to disengage it from the rest of the machine.
Getting the next part out was tricky because it didn't want to release just by pushing in on the tabs on either side of the front assembly. That's where the two table knives came in, courtesy another reviewer. Be careful here not to jam or twist too energetically because the plastic housing is still quite breakable.
Just to be safe, I unscrewed one more screw that held the little bracket holding the rod with the spring on it and disengaged it. Then I discovered that I had to unclip the part that holds the auger in the front part of the assembly and slide the auger out of the way so I could pull the broken part out.
Having done all that, putting the new part in and reassembling the whole thing was pretty easy.
Slide the new part in, carefully rotate the auger back into its place, slide that assembly back into place, replace the clip holding the end of the auger, be sure the long rod engages the ice crusher gizmo, replace the screw that holds the rod in place, hook the front of the drawer back into the proper slots, rotate the cover back into position and replace and tighten the two screws.
You're done! The ice cubes you took out will probably still be frozen, so you can dump them back into the tray and slide the tray back into the freezer.
If you're cleverer than I am, maybe you won't need to do all the little things I did, but even so the whole exercise took less than 15 minutes--the ice cubes didn't even melt!

First I hired a repairman and he said that it was in the unit and would not be worth the expense to fix.

I started to research on the net and this was one possible source. ( evaporator fan). I had to take it apart to verify it. Then put it back together to use until the part came.

The next time went much faster as I did not have to take near as many screws out to access the fan motor. Very Happy to have it working fine again as a new relacement would cost $1200. Thanks much. Ron