[cleveland_30]

Thanks especially to davette59 for his foam board idea.

[cleveland_30]

One month now and the foam board is still working well.

[wiz28]

Wanted to update everyone as well. I did successfully install the heater myself. I actually found a place that price matches internet prices and I got it for under $35. The price don't really matter though cause GE reimbursed me the purchase price. As far as installation goes, it was very easy (came with instructions) and took me longer then what I thought only because they tell you to wait a minute or 2 and test the heater with your finger to make sure it is heating up. I could not feel a difference in 2 minutes. You have to wait longer then that (at least 5 min. or more). And if you have an infrared thermometer, you can periodically check the temp. on the heater to make sure it is doing what it is supposed to. Worked great for me and it was the only way I could tell it was heating up. Works great and have not had a problem since. Keep plugging away at the GE reps on reimbursement and you should have the same luck I had. Good luck!

[wiz28]

Wanted to update everyone as well. I did successfully install the heater myself. I actually found a place that price matches internet prices and I got it for under $35. The price don't really matter though cause GE reimbursed me the purchase price. As far as installation goes, it was very easy (came with instructions) and took me longer then what I thought only because they tell you to wait a minute or 2 and test the heater with your finger to make sure it is heating up. I could not feel a difference in 2 minutes. You have to wait longer then that (at least 5 min. or more). And if you have an infrared thermometer, you can periodically check the temp. on the heater to make sure it is doing what it is supposed to. Worked great for me and it was the only way I could tell it was heating up. Works great and have not had a problem since. Keep plugging away at the GE reps on reimbursement and you should have the same luck I had. Good luck!

[planecrazy]

Wow - wish I would have found this website months ago! Our Hotpoint (GE) side-by-side frig is about 4 years old also. We have probably be dealing with the frozen water line issue for about year. Started happening every 4/5 months, then gradually went to freezing every other day! Used to put warm water up the line to unfreeze it, that worked - but was pretty annoying! Called GE they said there hadn't been any problems that they knew of! Well - two days ago woke up to water on the floor around the freezer side, the front panel had quit working, and it wasn't cooling anymore. Had a GE tech out today - blown circuit board (4 years old - seriously). Asked him about the water line - and he said if I fix the circuit board he would "throw in" a heater for the water line! So, after $266 our frig is working again... What a deal - ha! I am going to call the GE number that was listed in a previous post and complain again! If I knew earlier what I know now - I would order the line heater part #WR49X10173 AND FIX IT MYSELF! It didn't take the tech 10 minutes. You just pull off the front panel and take out a couple screws. Good luck to you all!

[MrFixIt25]

I also have a Hotpoint side-by-side purchased in Nov 05 that the water line just started freezing on. I just called GE and they are shipping the heating element for no charge, although I have to install it. They said that if it were under 3yrs old, they would send a tech out at no charge as well. My main board went bad about 3 months ago, was making a very loud howling noise, and GE came out and replaced it for no charge as well. As bad as this fridge has been, their service has been great!

[tgil]

We have an almost 2 yr. old GE side-by-side refrigerator. Our water line is frozen in our door. We've thawed it out once, but it froze back up a day later. I realize GE has a product to fix this issue. I called today to see what they would do and spoke with three different people-- supposedly got to the highest person that I could (a case manager in Headquarters) and they aren't willing to do anything other than we pay for a service call to diagnose the issue then they will decide if they are willing to help fix it or not at their cost. That's ridiculous. I have filed consumer complaints through several different avenues. GE is covering this issue up and doesn't seem to care to do anything about it. All three GE people I spoke with said they hadn't heard of this issue. One person even asked me to show it to them on their website.

[tgil]

For those that had success in contacting GE to have this issue corrected at GE's cost, please post whom you spoke with and what number you called. That would be great. Thanks.

[MrFixIt25]

I called GE Consumer Relations @ 800-386-1215, and asked for part WR49X10173. I can't remember the name of the person I spoke with. Hope this helps!

[Invenstor]

It took me only about 10 minutes to fix the same problem for my GE refrigerator (GSH25JFTAWW), which had stopped working for past several months. After reading a previous suggestion that one added manually additional isolation layer onto the flat internal surface of the door right behind the Dispenser, I attached a piece of foam with thickness of 0.5 inch, came in with a box for some electronic stuff, to the very same place using Scotch tape. Within about 5 minutes, the Dispenser came back. It was apparently warmed up by the room temperature. No dryer is necessary. It costs me $0.

[handymanknox]

Have tried many things. Mine has worked for as little as 4 hrs at a time and needed to be fixed other times it's OK for a month or so.

Fixes that don't work or have poor results:
1)lowering temp of freezer recommended by gen electric help desk
2)garden trimmer string up in water line to pull out when plug of ice freezes around it
3)disconnect at floor freezer side near floor and blow air through the line with compressor
4)hairdryer

Apparently there is a heating device developed by ge to resolve but they

Won't admit to it. They say call service tech. when I asked about it.

Best fix for me : If line freezes leave night light on at the water dispenser in a couple
Of hrs it will thaw it out. Thanks to whoever posted found at another website.

Handynmanknox

[cleveland_30]

handymanknox, I have tried all the other options and taping a piece of insulation to the inside of the fridge has worked for a couple of months now. Plus, all your fiends will think your McGuyver when you explain why you have insulation on the inside of your freezer.

[jmbreeze23]

As per other previous suggestions, I also taped some insulation to the inside of the freezer behind the dispenser. I used blue painters tape and some insulation that came with a computer component.

Within about 20 minutes, the dispenser was working. I'd replaced the filter and could not understand why there was no water, yet the ice maker was still working. I had no idea until searching this message board that it was frozen.

I hadn't used my water dispenser in a long time as the water does not taste good, even with the $35 replacement filter from Lowe's. So, I've been using a Brita water pitcher in the fridge for about the last 2 yrs. Maybe this time the water will taste better. :rolleyes:

Thanks to everyone for posting about this. Oh, and by the way, my fridge came with my new built house in Oct 2004. Funny how most of us have a 2004 or 2005 fridge. :)

[NausetWillie]

I've had this problem a few times and it usually cleared up after a few days. This time I remembered that I had a service contract so decided to take advantage of it. Surprise, surprise, The no-water problem is not covered. No good explanation but having found this web site I can see why they decided to exempt it. They can't afford to recognize it as a design flaw. This is sleaze at its worst. No more GE products for me.

Anyway I followed some advice here and taped a 11 x 11 x .5 inch piece of foam rubber to the back of the ice dispenser unit. Had water in 15 minutes. Thanks for the help.

Nauset Willie
Cape Cod, MA

[jmbreeze23]

I've had this problem a few times and it usually cleared up after a few days. This time I remembered that I had a service contract so decided to take advantage of it. Surprise, surprise, The no-water problem is not covered. No good explanation but having found this web site I can see why they decided to exempt it. They can't afford to recognize it as a design flaw. This is sleaze at its worst. No more GE products for me.

Anyway I followed some advice here and taped a 11 x 11 x .5 inch piece of foam rubber to the back of the ice dispenser unit. Had water in 15 minutes. Thanks for the help.

Nauset Willie
Cape Cod, MA

Glad it worked for you too! Yep, no more GE products for me either.

[rklingo]

I have a GE Monogram Side-by-side model ZISS420DRAS (built in stainless steel model) with the ice/water dispenser in the door. Have owned the house for two years and the fridge came with the house. Before moving in, the previous owner had dispatched GE repair to repair a cracked water tank. Other than that, I haven't had any problems with freezing water lines.

Had a independent repair guy come out yesterday and tell me that he wasn't too familiar with my model and said he couldn't help me and told me to call GE.

I consider myself to be pretty handy and discovered this website and forum and was glad I did.

Turns out I had a few problems that led to the water line freezing—which was why water wouldn't dispense. Icemaker worked fine—it just wouldn't dispense water. As it turns out, I discovered that I had a frozen water line in the back of the inside of the fridge—behind the vegetable storage drawer. The reason the line froze—which I'm still trying to figure out the cause of—was that the climate control drawer on the bottom of the fridge got really, really cold. So cold, that it was 16F. Way too colder that it should be. Anyway, this caused EVERYTHING on the lower portion of the fridge—including the water line behind the vegetable storage drawer to freeze. My initial assessment was that the climate control drawer was set on MEAT (34F) and with nothing in the drawer, caused the temp to drop. In fact, the GE troubleshooting website confirms that foods may start to freeze if the drawer is left empty and is set at the coolest setting (meat).

Once I was able to stabilize the temperature in the climate drawer to a chilly 42 degrees, I attempted to tackle the frozen water line.

My solution for the frozen water line was to remove the panel on the inside of the fridge behind the vegetable drawers. To remove the panel, you'll need to remove the climate control drawer, and veggie drawers first. Once the drawers are out, you'll need to remove the 4 phillips screws to access the water tank (or in my case, the coiled up tubing because I've already had my tank replaced because it cracked). BEFORE to unhook the water supply line in two places—where the water is supplied to the fridge to the tank or tubing and from the tank/tubing from the tubing that eventually leads to the dispenser door. BEFORE doing that, you'll need to turn your water off—wherever it tapped in to your water pipe or supply.

Once I unhooked the tubing connections, I submersed the tubing (or tank if you have a tank) in a sink filled with hot water. 5 minutes, it was thawed.

I hooked everything back up, turned on the water, checked for leaks, hit the dispenser and the water flowed freely. Repaced the panel, drawers and I was done.

Total time for this repair was 15 minutes and I save myself a expensive visit from GE repair.

[Sparkydog]

Thanks again to all who have posted regarding this problem. I ended up putting a piece of one inch foam insulation over the back (freezer) side of the door over the location where the line was freezing. I used silicon waterproof caulk to hold it in place, and it has held tight ever since. This solution has worked for me, as I have noted my previous posting was nearly 5 months ago. While I see that others have achieved success using the electric heater, why go to the bother if an easier approach will do the trick? Good luck to all who must deal with this problem.

[Cheezums2]

I installed the water line heater part last November (see post #98), and for the first 3-4 months it worked great. But problem came back in March, and I had to break out the hair dryer to fix it again. No problems until this week, when it started freezing up every day (fixed only by defrosting it with the hair dryer). The heater part is still working (I can put my finger on it and it's quit warm), but apparently it's no silver bullet. So now I'm going to try the insulation approach that the last few posters have recommended and see how that works.

Doug

[wiz28]

I installed the water line heater part last November (see post #98), and for the first 3-4 months it worked great. But problem came back in March, and I had to break out the hair dryer to fix it again. No problems until this week, when it started freezing up every day (fixed only by defrosting it with the hair dryer). The heater part is still working (I can put my finger on it and it's quit warm), but apparently it's no silver bullet. So now I'm going to try the insulation approach that the last few posters have recommended and see how that works.

Doug

I installed mine months ago as the posts show and I have had no problem whatsoever with it. Works great and still holding. I am keeping my fingers crossed!

[simpson140]

I must be the lucky one. I purchased a side by side at Lowe's they offered a 10 year extended policy for $115.95. I'am glad I took it. After water problems and ice freezing the entire ice dispense GE answer was to replace both doors, and a new heating system. Repair man said insulation failure was the main problem and that moisture would build up inside the door causing it to freeze solid from the bottom up. He also said in warm areas of the country the doors would start to rust out from the bottom. Why both doors ? So the color would match.
After several years of perfect operation unit lost refrigeration. Service man replaced a defroster heater part # wr51x10101. Part and service was also covered under extended policy. It runs out soon and I plan to renew it. I guess I have a good GE tech who cures my problems with the first call. Even though it took 5 working days for a repair man to show up to fix a fridge with no cooling at all.