How to Troubleshoot & Replace Ge AP3672582 / WR17X11653 Ice Door Assembly

After watching the video I was able to determine how to access the internal components. After that, I concluded my problem stemmed from the solenoid which was all rusty and corroded. It sure looked like it needed replacement. I ordered one along with a new door flapper, crank and spring. Again watched the video and installation was relatively easy. However after getting it all installed I tried manually operating the door flapper, and it would never close. I thought I had installed something wrong. So I disassembled everything and started over. Same result. The door just would not snap closed. It appeared the crank rod was binding in the little recessed groove. I was going to "modify" the crank rod, but decided to install the circuit board and door trim, plug it back in and give it a try. Guess what? It worked like a champ. I couldn't figure out why it would work with power, but not work manually without power. Then I remembered reading somewhere on here about a 5 second delay before the door snaps shut. Obviously that was it. It needs power to operate correctly. Oh, one more thing. The water line. I disconnected it at the coupling down at the bottom on the outside of the door (remove the grill plate - 2 screws) and pushed the paddle and water flowed. So, that indicated it was just a frozen line somewhere in the freezer door. Probably caused from the cold air leaking out around the flapper. Unplugged unit and let it unthaw overnight. Next morning, water again. All fixed. Turned out I didn't need a new flapper, crank, or spring. Just the solenoid. The old ones cleaned up nice. Now I have a few spare parts for next time. An assistant with a good flashlight helps too. ; >) 

The ice dispenser door was not closing tightly. As a result, there was frost build up in the ice chute, which also was allowing ambient air and temperature into the freezer compartment. Upon further inspection, there was black “schmutz” on the ice door, and the rubber ice funnel and deflector parts were deteriorating. Because the door was not closing tightly, I also assumed that the door-closing spring was week. The parts I ordered were: ice door assembly, ice funnel, ice deflector, spring and actuator pad. They all arrived 2 days earlier than estimated. Upon gaining access to the freezer door ice dispenser mechanism and area, I also found that this black “schmutz” was actually wet mold. This mold was hiding on and behind the mechanism assembly; there was also dry mold on the mechanism, which is hazardous to human health. With all these parts removed, and before I installed the new parts, I thoroughly cleaned the freezer door ice dispenser area and the parts being retained. The videos provided by appliancepartspros.com, which are embedded in most of their parts’ descriptions, were very helpful, showing how to gain access to, and remove and replace, these parts. Upon testing, after everything was reassembled back into the freezer door, I noticed that the new ice dispenser door was not closing fully. The door was caught under the ice chute lip at the 12-o’clock position as the solenoid was de-energized and the spring was trying to close it. The ice door disk assembly clips onto the actuating arm via a couple of small, delicate, plastic fingers. By design, these little clip fingers allow the door disk assembly to “float” so it will settle into place when closed. To correct this, I fabricated a retaining clip out of a paperclip and installed it into these clip fingers to hold the ice door disk assembly back a little so it would not catch on the ice chute. (For a quicker, easier solution, a wire twist tie, such as one used to close the bag for a loaf of bread, will work just as well.) After final reassembly, the ice dispenser is working perfectly. Note: the actuator pad I received is black in color. I was not happy with this color, so I cleaned up the original almond-colored pad and reinstalled it. 

Firstly, the Ice Door had a kink in the edge, which caused it to stay open and create lots of frost on the coils. $5.00 part, highly recommend it. (By the way, the new door was little too big and it too stay propped open and left a gap so I had to trim the top edge of the rubber with scissors to get it to fully close.) Secondly, there are two heaters for the defrost cycle, one that goes around the coils and another attached to a collector pan beneath the coils. When the cycle hits, those heaters come on and turn the ice to water. The water in the pan was supposed to then drain out the hose. But the hose in my unit kept getting clogged. At first I cleared out a bunch of gunk. But then after going through this a few times I realized it was getting clogged with ice. Turns out that the defrost heater around the coils worked fine but the one attached to the collector pan was failing. Ice would melt off of the coils and drip into the pan where it would remain frozen. Ice got so thick that it blocked the drain hose. The water would pour over the edge of the pan and down into the freezer compartment. Granted, I had excess frost build up, but without the pan heater it just overflowed instead of going out the drain. So, from inside the freezer I had to remove all the metal panels, break apart the styrofoam up inside the freezer (and beneath the coil), remove the old pan and put in a new one. The replacement heater pan came with styrofoam, but I had to trim it here and there to get it to fit. I hope you found this note helpful. I rated the repair a 4 not because the actual process was difficult but the diagnosis stumped me for so long. Had to do it over and over several times before I figured it out. Most DIYers should be able to complete the replacement in less than two hours. 

*NOTE: These comments regard my experience with GE model PSHS6PGZBESS. *Searched the web and reviewed several sites for water flow issue and diagnostic/repair and found Appliance Parts Pros. Watched their video for water-issue repair. The review validated the MWF Manifold repair part and its installation. In doing this research, I made a serendipitous discovery to repair the ice dispenser drip by replacing the Ice Door Assembly Flap part. Ordered both parts at standard shipping and handling charges on Tuesday and they arrived the following Thursday via a FedEx-class starship freighter (warp 5 engines). *Preparation, installation, and clean-up just under 45 minutes. No special tools—used a pair of slip-joint pliers and needle-nose pliers, a quarter-inch nut driver, and a flat head screwdriver. *Installing the manifold head required twisting and manipulating the foam sleeve portion though the cabinet hole. I had to use needle-nose pliers to grip the sleeve and work it from the back outside of the cabinet. Once through you can see the sleeve creates a tight seal. *Replacing the door assembly flap was a snap. My model differs from the one in the video as it does not have a trim kit around the door assembly. Inserted the flat head screwdriver into the left and right slots located in the front underside of the main door panel. This releases the two retention clips. As you release each clip, pull the panel forward to fully disengage then pull up and out to remove. Follow the video on removing the wire connections and mounting assembly. Then you can see and access the Ice Door Assembly Flap. It is not necessary to remove the door recess assembly crank and spring (the video shows loosening the left screw and removing the right screw to remove the assembly). You can easily unsnap the flap from the assembly’s retention clips then snap the new flap into place. *As noted by other contributors, allow some time for cleaning. Toothbrush, pipe cleaner, and a bent paper clip along with some disinfectant were used to clean the visible accumulation of dirt in the water dispenser assembly area. *A comment on my diagnostics. I was certain the water flow issue was the manifold, but it could be the solenoid located in the back and bottom of the refrigerator. I did not have an ohm meter to test the solenoid. When I pressed the water/ice door paddle, I could hear a soft click and hum coming from the back of the refrigerator. Knowing what a solenoid is and how it works, I knew the issue was not the solenoid. The click and hum would be the sound of an operational solenoid. When you have normal water flow, you cannot hear the solenoid engage as the flowing water sound cloaks the solenoid click and hum. *For all the DIY bros who like saving dough, go to Appliance Parts Pros. 

Ice was constantly getting caught in the disk-shaped ice door assembly. This would cause ice to pile up behind the door. Sometimes it would drop a huge amount of ice when the logjam cleared. Sometimes it would just get completed packed and have to be cleared manually. The exact cause was a mystery at first. The solenoid was working and the ice door was opening, remaining open for a few seconds, and the closing when the ice dispenser button was pressed, as it should. However, ice was still getting caught when the door closed about 70% of the time. Closer inspection revealed that the rubber that makes up the outer portion of the disk-shaped ice door was warped. This had initially unnoticed effects. First, because the door was warped, the opening through which the ice fell wasn't wide enough, causing ice cubes to get caught and jamming the door in a partially open position. Second, we were never getting a good seal. Warm air was always getting into the freezer through the ice dispenser door, resulting in excessive frost. This extra frost collected mostly around the ice maker, which compounded the first problem since ice built up inside the chute that the ice cubes fall through to be dispensed. I knew that the warping of the rubber on the little door as a big factor. The dispenser door recess crank also looked warped and the plastic was worn down where it links to the ice dispenser solenoid. I also thought the door recess spring might have lost some of its springiness over time, resulting in less force pushing the ice door closed. Finally, I noticed that the linkage between the solenoid and the dispenser door recess crank was rusty and worn. Replacing the door might have been enough. The refrigerator is very old though so I decided to just proactively replace the solenoid, spring, and dispenser door recess crank in addition to the door. Shipping isn't free and I didn't want to order parts one at a time. More importantly, my wife did not want to continue suffering with the problem while I replaced the parts one by one. This is a key consideration in any repair. The parts are all easy to replace so I only have 4 tips: 1. Be sure to turn off the power or unplug the appliance. There's line voltage running to the control panel that you have to remove to get to these parts. You can get a shock if you try this repair without cutting power. You can also short out something on that control panel, resulting in needing to buy another part. 2. Be careful with the wires going to the control panel. They plug in with locking connectors and that plastic gets brittle. Be gentle unplugging them. 3. Note the path that the wires take through the other parts before unplugging them from the control board. You have to feed them through the same way or they'll get crushed or cut when you reassemble everything. 4. If you're new to DIY repairs and are afraid of taking the fridge apart and having trouble getting it back together then take cell phone pics at every step of disassembly. Then you don't have to worry about remembering where things go. 

I first replaced the water valve in the bottom of the fridge thinking that was the defective. That didn't solve the problem. After looking at some possible causes, I looked into the chute that dispenses ice in the freezer door. I noticed what appeared to an incomplete seal from the flapper seal. I put some paper towels in the top of the chute to cut off any cold air that might migrate down past this seal and freeze the water tube. Low and behold, the water dispensed worked with no problem. I took the rubber off the seal assemble and found it was very warped. I ordered and put on a new Ice Door Assembly and installed it in place of the old one. No more water dispense problems., Now with a good seal no cold air migrates down to freeze the water tube. Thanks to all the tutorial videos on the website, I fixed the problem with ease and saving me tons of money to boot. 

When diagnosing the problem, I discovered that the ice door was not properly sealing and that the solenoid had appeared to rust/corrode forcing the door open. I replaced most of the ice dispenser internals (solenoid, crank, door, and spring) following the video. The door will now open when dispensing ice (which it does!), and will oddly stay open for a few seconds once I am finished, but does seal properly and the chute/container no longer frosts over. 

I didn't bother to determine which part was at issue so I bought everything that could be a problem (solenoid, ice door, spring, and door recess crank) since the total cost was only about $40. As I took everything apart, I'm glad I ordered all pieces as solenoid was corroded and everything else was showing signs of wear along with mold build-up. The replacement was simple as all that was required was philips screwdriver. Online instructions were great. The only thing I would add to online instructions would be to let people know that there is a delay on the closing of the ice door (5 seconds). At first, I thought door was still getting stuck open but after reviewing install manual of fridge, I found where it mentioned the 5 second delay. 

Narrowed problem to incoming water valve or filter head assembly. Noise was emanating from filter head assembly so I started there. Advice from appliance parts pros site certainly helped with the troubleshooting. Also ordered the Ice door flap as that's been a recurring (but easy and cheap) problem with my GE. Parts came in 2 days and the video helped nail down the job quickly! Thanks again APP!! You've probably saved me $500 over 3 repairs on this fridge and kept me from buying a new one! 

Followed your video and used this part. Problem is fixed.