I've got a problem with my GE model GTH18EBTZRWW refrigerator compartment
door.

It won't close completely unless I lift up the door handle. The door's
slightly off and the new, hi-efficiency models fit very snugly between door
and frame. I only discovered this after a futile 20 minutes unloading
everything I thought could be blocking the door. Never occurred to me that
the door itself was blocking the door. Oddly enough, it seems to be
encountering the obstacle more towards the top than the bottom. I marked
around the door frame with a red wax pencil to see if I could detect any
contact points but nothing's showing.

I see what look like hinge adjustment screws, but they're not anything I am
used to and really don't look sturdy enough to support such a large door.
Although I have as many wrenches, probably, as a NASCAR mech does (crow's
foot, open-ended, deep socket, shallow socket, crescent and more) not one
will fit in the space around the refrigerator door hinge. It looks to take
some sort of bent-end wrench to allow tightening and loosening without
hitting the door.

I thought I'd ask here before I went Googling in case there's a trick to it
that someone else has discovered before. Also, what the heck is hitting?
Why does it seem to be at the top when a sagging door usually binds at the
bottom?

Any help, as always, will be appreciated. Amateur comedians will be
appropriately heckled. (-:

Manual seems to be he

http://www.searspartsdirect.com/part...r-Parts-manual

although current download is taking forever.

--
Bobby G.

On Fri, 19 Jul 2013 15:53:03 -0400, "Robert Green"
wrote:

Why does it seem to be at the top when a sagging door usually binds at the
bottom?


Hinge adjustments at the top?

Stick a long level on the vertical and find which direction the door
needs adjustments.

Any help, as always, will be appreciated. Amateur comedians will be
appropriately heckled. (-:

I'll heckle Yankees, too.

Robert,

Thanks for posting a link to the manual. The doors are discussed on pg
11-14. There aren't any adjustments.
I'd remove the doors and watch for missing hardware by comparing the
manual to your fridge hinges. Keep an eye out for the plastic washers. Look
at the hinge brackets, perhaps one is bent. Put everything back together and
hope for the best.

Dave M.

Dave M.
"Robert Green" wrote in message
...
I've got a problem with my GE model GTH18EBTZRWW refrigerator compartment
door.

It won't close completely unless I lift up the door handle. The door's
slightly off and the new, hi-efficiency models fit very snugly between
door
and frame. I only discovered this after a futile 20 minutes unloading
everything I thought could be blocking the door. Never occurred to me
that
the door itself was blocking the door. Oddly enough, it seems to be
encountering the obstacle more towards the top than the bottom. I marked
around the door frame with a red wax pencil to see if I could detect any
contact points but nothing's showing.

I see what look like hinge adjustment screws, but they're not anything I
am
used to and really don't look sturdy enough to support such a large door.
Although I have as many wrenches, probably, as a NASCAR mech does (crow's
foot, open-ended, deep socket, shallow socket, crescent and more) not one
will fit in the space around the refrigerator door hinge. It looks to
take
some sort of bent-end wrench to allow tightening and loosening without
hitting the door.

I thought I'd ask here before I went Googling in case there's a trick to
it
that someone else has discovered before. Also, what the heck is hitting?
Why does it seem to be at the top when a sagging door usually binds at the
bottom?

Any help, as always, will be appreciated. Amateur comedians will be
appropriately heckled. (-:

Manual seems to be he

http://www.searspartsdirect.com/part...r-Parts-manual

although current download is taking forever.

--
Bobby G.

"David L. Martel" wrote in message
...
Robert,

Thanks for posting a link to the manual. The doors are discussed on pg
11-14. There aren't any adjustments.

I'm glad you confirmed that for me. It does seem very odd that there's no
adjustment.

I'd remove the doors and watch for missing hardware by comparing the
manual to your fridge hinges. Keep an eye out for the plastic washers.
Look
at the hinge brackets, perhaps one is bent. Put everything back together
and
hope for the best.

Here's the latest result of my investigation. The door light switch seems
to be locking up and not retracting into the switch body on occasion. I
can't figure out why because it seems to work just fine by hand. It could be
that it's just at the angle where the mating part of the door could make it
stick by hitting the very end of the switch lever instead of the center.
Whatever the cause, liifting the door slightly moves the spot where the
switch contact the door but it seems so damn unlikely considering how
effectively it stopped the door from closing. It felt just like something
oversized was on the shelves (which is why I cleared them and stood
dumbfounded when it still happened).

When I went to look at the PDF I downloaded it said the file was damaged.
Apparently not for you. Just another problem to debug. This seems to have
been the day for them! Each time I fixed something, the very next thing I
touched went hinky on me.

I'm still a long way from popping the door although I did think, from
reading the manual that I eventually DL'ed from GE, that if that plastic
spacer cracked, the outcome would be a hosed door. I intend to do as the
manual suggested and check to see if the gap between the two doors is
consistent all the way across.

Thanks for your input, Dave.

--
Bobby G.

On Fri, 19 Jul 2013 18:58:38 -0400, "Robert Green"
wrote:


Here's the latest result of my investigation. The door light switch seems
to be locking up and not retracting into the switch body on occasion. I
can't figure out why because it seems to work just fine by hand.

When you push it by hand, you're pushing it straight back. When the
door hits it, it's at an angle and is pushed against the side as well
as towards the back.

Just spray the cracks that surround the moving part of the swtich with
some silicone spray (big can for $3 at HD) or if not that, WD-40. )I
don't think it will hurt the plastic, but if you do, buy the
silicone.) This will probably fix it.


If it still seem like the door, I still doubt it unless the screws
that hold the bracket to the main part of the fridge are loose.


It could be
that it's just at the angle where the mating part of the door could make it
stick by hitting the very end of the switch lever instead of the center.
Whatever the cause, liifting the door slightly moves the spot where the
switch contact the door but it seems so damn unlikely considering how
effectively it stopped the door from closing. It felt just like something
oversized was on the shelves (which is why I cleared them and stood
dumbfounded when it still happened).

When I went to look at the PDF I downloaded it said the file was damaged.
Apparently not for you. Just another problem to debug. This seems to have
been the day for them! Each time I fixed something, the very next thing I
touched went hinky on me.

I'm still a long way from popping the door although I did think, from
reading the manual that I eventually DL'ed from GE, that if that plastic
spacer cracked, the outcome would be a hosed door. I intend to do as the
manual suggested and check to see if the gap between the two doors is
consistent all the way across.

Thanks for your input, Dave.

--
Bobby G.

Robert,


Here's the latest result of my investigation. The door light switch seems
to be locking up and not retracting into the switch body on occasion. I
can't figure out why because it seems to work just fine by hand. It could
be
that it's just at the angle where the mating part of the door could make
it
stick by hitting the very end of the switch lever instead of the center.
Whatever the cause, liifting the door slightly moves the spot where the
switch contact the door but it seems so damn unlikely considering how
effectively it stopped the door from closing. It felt just like something
oversized was on the shelves (which is why I cleared them and stood
dumbfounded when it still happened).

A quick look didn't show the light switch listed on a few appliance
repair sites. At a guess here's a video of a replacement.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2juGyjXFpyk
I'd bet that the switch is an easy fix if it's the problem. The local
appliance parts store probably stocks something that will fit.

Dave M.

"micky" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 19 Jul 2013 18:58:38 -0400, "Robert Green"
wrote:


Here's the latest result of my investigation. The door light switch
seems
to be locking up and not retracting into the switch body on occasion. I
can't figure out why because it seems to work just fine by hand.

When you push it by hand, you're pushing it straight back. When the
door hits it, it's at an angle and is pushed against the side as well
as towards the back.

It seems the switch (which is pie-shaped) hits at precisely the wrong angle
against the part of the door that closes it so that it wedges in place
rather than retracting as designed. Who would have thunk it? The clue was
that the bottom part of the door could be pushed much closer to the
refrigerator body than the top half could. Lifting the door slightly
changed the contact point of the switch against the door so that the lever
swung into the switch properly instead of propping it open. Not sure what
corrective action to take other than Ye Olde Dremel Toole to slightly curve
the contact point.

Just spray the cracks that surround the moving part of the swtich with
some silicone spray (big can for $3 at HD) or if not that, WD-40. )I
don't think it will hurt the plastic, but if you do, buy the
silicone.) This will probably fix it.

What's really odd is that the switch is smooth as silk when operated with a
finger push. It's just the mechanics of how it hits the door. It's about
1/16" too low to keep from jamming against the door contact point. I'd take
a picture but I don't want to have to empty the fridge and sit inside it
humor alert. It's rare that I encounter a problem that can't be solved
with either hot melt glue, duct tape, heat shrink tubing or WD-40, but this
was one. I

What really irks me is that I followed two completely likely but completely
wrong pathways to the solution. It really felt like something like a meat
drawer wasn't pushed in all the way. When lifting the door handle fixed it,
then I was sure it was out of alignment. The lack of adjustments meant it
had to be something else.

Thanks to you, Dave and Oren for input.

--
Bobby G.

"David L. Martel" wrote in message
news:kscjpt$uks$1@dont-

stuff snipped

A quick look didn't show the light switch listed on a few appliance
repair sites. At a guess here's a video of a replacement.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2juGyjXFpyk
I'd bet that the switch is an easy fix if it's the problem. The local
appliance parts store probably stocks something that will fit.

The fix was simplicity itself - I hot melt glued a tiny strip of wood from
something that came on a stick - some sort of Thai food - to the leading
edge of the switch. This effectively lengthened the top edge of the "pie
slice" wedge-shaped lever and it no longer jams!

It may not last long and I may end up adding a small strip of plastic that I
screw on the switch, but we'll see. The new smoothness of the door
operation clearly confirms the dingbat switch as the culprit. Could have
really screwed up all the food in there had it happened at the wrong time.

This is the first wedge-shaped light switch I've seen on a refrigerator and
I hope it's the last. The traditional push button seemed to work well
enough. I can see that by mounting the switch right in the middle of the
cold control dials they don't have to run a wire to the door jamb and can
save 20 cents. They seem to have traded away a little reliability it that
deal, too.

Thanks for your help, Dave!

--
Bobby G.

On Friday, July 19, 2013 12:53:03 PM UTC-7, Robert Green wrote:
I've got a problem with my GE model GTH18EBTZRWW refrigerator compartment

door.



It won't close completely unless I lift up the door handle. The door's

slightly off and the new, hi-efficiency models fit very snugly between door

and frame. I only discovered this after a futile 20 minutes unloading

everything I thought could be blocking the door. Never occurred to me that

the door itself was blocking the door. Oddly enough, it seems to be

encountering the obstacle more towards the top than the bottom. I marked

around the door frame with a red wax pencil to see if I could detect any

contact points but nothing's showing.



I see what look like hinge adjustment screws, but they're not anything I am

used to and really don't look sturdy enough to support such a large door.

Although I have as many wrenches, probably, as a NASCAR mech does (crow's

foot, open-ended, deep socket, shallow socket, crescent and more) not one

will fit in the space around the refrigerator door hinge. It looks to take

some sort of bent-end wrench to allow tightening and loosening without

hitting the door.



I thought I'd ask here before I went Googling in case there's a trick to it

that someone else has discovered before. Also, what the heck is hitting?

Why does it seem to be at the top when a sagging door usually binds at the

bottom?



Any help, as always, will be appreciated. Amateur comedians will be

appropriately heckled. (-:



Manual seems to be he



http://www.searspartsdirect.com/part...r-Parts-manual



although current download is taking forever.



--

Bobby G.

Check out http://atbayappliance.com/news-and-tips/ for tips and news on appliance repair from a reliable company in California.