GTH22SBSARSS General Electric Refrigerator - Instructions

While the switch did last for 9 years, the design is poor due to the failure mode. The failure should be to fail off or not able to turn on the lights which would be inconvenient but would not warm the refrigerator contents. Arcing at the contacts eventually caused the switch to "weld" closed. It is not obvious that this is occurring so it took some time to recognize why the temp inside the ref was high while the freezer was OK. Replacing the switch was easy once it was recognized as the problem. All that was required to replace the switch was to remove the screws holding a fiber cover and then pulling off the aluminum cap which covered the switches. Unplug the switch an squeeze the keeper on the switch to release it and pull down. Pop the replacement switch in place and plug the wires harness back in. All in all it took much less time to replace than it has to write this up. T Pope

First my wife and i took the panel off the back, unscrewed the old mainboard, unplugged all the switches from it and prayed that the new one would work. We were without a fridge for 2 weeks beginning 2 days before Christmas!!!!! Gingerly, we put the new board in place, screwed it into the fridge, connected the switches, attached the ground wire, and held our breath as we plugged it back in. Within seconds, the familiar sound of water filling the icemaker was hear and there were cheers all around!!!

Checked the internet for reports of similar problems and concluded that it was probably the main control board. Not being particularly handy, I would never have attempted to change the board myself if I had not read the comments and instructions from people on this site. Thanks.

The job was as straight forward as others have described. The only time I had a problem was pushing in the white tab to be able to pull the old board out. That was a bit of a fiddle.

The only thing I found different was the grounding wire. On the original board, this wire was at the bottom of the board and hooked into a wire that ran into the refrigerator. On the new board, the wire was at the top of the board and had a metal loop on it. If I understand it correctly, with the new grounding system the wire is pushed into the space above the board. Then when the back plate is reattached the metal loop makes contact with it , thus grounding the refrigerator.
I chose to run the grounding wire through the original wire into the refrigerator. That meant cutting off the metal loop, slicing in an extra piece of wire to connect the grounding wire on the board to the grounding wire into the refrigerator.

I also now use a surge suppressor for the refrigerator. The “Moaning Myrtle” syndrome started after Hurricane Ike. I suspect the surge when the power was restored damaged the control board. And as so many people seem to have this “Moaning Myrtle” problem, I suspect the control board has little or no surge protection.

The existing light switch was very hard to remove. I ended up having to grab it with a pair of pliers and pull it out. Once it was out, it was very easy to put in the replacement and it seems to be working fine.

I had Sears comre and check it out. They wanted $188. for the part and wanted $211 to put it in. They had the part in the truck. The fridg is a GE Profile and only 2 years old. Told them to forget it. Took me literally less than 10 minutes. They did a diagnostics, cost me $77. they told me the problem. I ordered the part here. It came in 3 days and the directions included were awesome. straight forward. Nice to know there is a place to go to avoid getting the shaft from appliance giants. Thank You !

The details: removed the 3 screws, took a picture of the board, didn't need it, unplugged the 6 plugs. pushed 3 clipds holding the board, unscrewed the ground, removed the board, lined up the 3 clips and snapped the new board in place, replugged the plugs and screwed in the ground. Plug the fridg in, done. Literally that easy.

The refrigerator was staying in defrost too long allowing the temperature to rise to the point that part of the ice (probably some of the food too) to melt then re-freeze. I first changed out the temp sensor and thermostat because I wanted to try the cheap stuff first but that didn't fix it, I should have gone with the mainboard first as it was the most likely cause. After putting in the new mainboard in the thing has worked perfectly since. The board was extremely easy to change, take the metal cover off with a nut driver. Carefully unplug the wires from old board and remove the board. The board is mounted on some plastic standoffs that expand after passing through the board, some of these came out while i was disconnecting the wires but some were there to stay until I figured out that I needed to squeeze the top of them to release the board. After getting the old board out just put the new one on the standoffs and connect the wires. Put the cover back on and DONE!

NOTES: The new board had some extra connectors that my old one did not, but the correct connectors were still in the old locations. The instructions that came with the board did talk about making some modifications to the refrigerator wiring on certain models, but that didn't apply to me. If I remember right the models requiring modification were all bottom freezer type. But even if you do have to do this the instrucions looked easy, just cut a couple of wires, no splicing or anything.

I ordered the part on Sunday and had it by Tuesday. It only took a few minutes to install. Basically, I unplugged the unit and removed the cover over the motherboard with a nutdriver. The wires were easy to unplug and reinstall. There was no way to incorrectly install since they could only fit in the correct position. I reinstalled the panel pluged it back in and now the fridge is working great.

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.

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

Took the three screws out of the cover, took the six plugs off of the board and removed board.

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.

As it turned out much of the electronics is driven by 13.5 volts off the Main Control Board. The Ice Dispenser caused the problem because it over currented the depleted board power. You could hear a clicking noise from the board which was the main relay short cycling and not staying energized. While waiting for the replacement board I unpluged the condenser fan which is a DC motor and uses the Board power. In place of that fan I use a small table top fan to keep the condenser cool. As it turned out I only needed it for 3 days because Parts Select did a super quick job of delivering the new board. Thanks for the super service!!!!!! Removal of the board only required unpluging the electrical connections squezing the retaining board pins with pliers and pulling the board out, pushing on the new board and connecting the electrical plugs. If the board locks like mine did, just unplug the main board power plug, let the memory clear and replug the power plug. The unit should then start and run with no problems.

I noticed that if I unplugged the refrigerator and plugged it back in a while later it would start working but eventually would stop. I deduced the problem was likely the defrost thermostat. I ordered the thermostat but it was in a difficult place behind the evaporator coil which I could not remove. While I was trying to work it into position my hand pressed against the defrost coil and shattered the glass sheath. I ordered the coil and finally managed to get it and the thermostat installed. The refrigerator seems to work fine now.

I watched the on live video. Piece of cake!

First, we called Sears Repair and had a technician come to our home. He stated the motherboard had gone bad probably due to a power surge (we had no surge protector on the appliance). His price for repair was $465.00. We opted to go online for the part and found it for $165.00 through PartSelect.com. It was a very simple procedure of removing the old and installing the new. A few turns with the nut driver to uncover the part, a few tugs with the pliers to disconnect and voila!.. The fridge was back to cooling in no time.