Ge WR17X11653 Refrigerator Ice Dispenser Door Assembly OEM Part

My refrigerator is 13 yrs old and began to build up frost in the ice cube shoot and the water tube began to freeze up over night. The flapper door was not closing completely. I simply removed the control panel by pulling up and out on the bottom edge, the edge is only about 1/8 inch thick, so don't reach in to far. You should be able to feel a small division line between the control panel and the refrigerator. No screw driver was needed to expose the 4 mounting screws of the inner dispenser panel. Remove this inner panel to expose the solenoid and flapper assembly. The solenoid was rusted and not operational. It only took about 20 min to complete the repair. After removing the control panel and inner dispenser panel, First disconnect the solenoid wire connector from the back of the control panel. There is a small snap finger that may need to be lifted to release the electrical connector from the control panel. Now remove the solenoid from the freezer door by removing three screws. The two bottom screws must be taken out completely, the top screw needs only to be loosened. The top screw has a slot in the solenoid bracket. Now remove two screws which held the recess door crank assembly in place. This frees up the spring, door crank and flapper. Now replaced the new solenoid, then reassembled the door crank, flapper and recess spring outside of the refrigerator on a counter top. The flapper simply snaps onto the crack arm and remember to replace the spring at this time. Then I placed this assembly back into the refrigerator using two screws and the retaining clips. First you must rotate the crank arm into the slot provided in the actuator of the solenoid. Remember that the recess spring needs to be compressed during the installation of the door crank. This spring provides assistance to closing the flapper door. Make sure to use the two retaining clips with the screws to lock in the crank arm assembly. The crank arm and flapper should be free to rotate. Test by pulling out on the bottom of the flapper about 1/2 inch and then release. The flapper should snap close. Now you are ready to plug in the solenoid into the back of the control panel. At this point place a glass under the ice shoot and try the water and ice dispenser at this time. You should see the flapper door open and close . Now place the wires back into their correct location and replace the back portion of the control with the 4 screws. Now replace the control panel by placing the top edge in first then rotating in the bottom edge to re-seat the control panel into place. An easy repair to fix a very annoying problem. Thanks

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.