Kitchen Large Electric Appliances - Help - Can't get ice out of the Refrig Door?

Refrigerator GE TFX22RJB - The device the glass pushes against in the door dispenser to turn it on: Started out as an intermittent problem, would seem to freeze up from time to time and now it is almost impossible to push. It moves a fraction of it's normal travel. The slide selector for Water, Crushed or Cubed seems to work fine. At any rate we can NOT get the dispenser to dispense anything. Could this possibly be as simple as replacing the Plunger and sleeve or do I have an electrical component problem, or both? I removed the small Solenoid micro switch and tested it. It is working fine. The arm that this plunger pushes on the inside, which is connected to the trap door pulley and wire seems to work fine when I push it out manually. Not knowing how the thing works I don't know if this is helpful but I pushed the door close switch on the bottom of the unit and pulled the arm. The pulley turned and it sounded normal but NO ICE comes out. Thanks in advance for your help, Ron

Hi b:

here's a parts breakdown:

http://www.appliancepartspros.com/partsearch/model.aspx?model_id=228252

There is a heater [#33, freezer door parts blowup} that encompasses the sleeve/plunger somewhat and also heats dispensor recess and the chute. Maybe the heater died and some moisture has the plunger frozen in place?

I really appreciate the info and think you are absolutely correct!

Can you give me an idea how to remove and replace it the easiest? ie does the whole unit come out of the door so I can get it on the bench. All I know to do at this point is follow the drawing as best I can and just start taking it apart from the back to the front until the heater blanket is entirely exposed?

Again, I really appreciate the help!

I haven't had one of these apart, so I'm going from the illustration as well. It looks like you could get the the inner section out and take it to a work bench. However, it looks like it will be tedious. You'll want to have the fridge off and emptied. The heater blanket is probably held on with some adhesive or tape that's sticky on both sides. Let us know the outcome. Thanks.

Daddy John...Thanks for your help on my dryer problem. This is just a quick update to keep the thread alive and let you know that I'm waiting on the heater to arrive. I'm still wondering if anyone reading this post knows how to remove the dispenser unit from the door. I'll post back with the final results! Thx, Ron

My part finally arrived and is fairly complex to install but I don't think I'll have a major problem EXCEPT! I can't get the door handle off and therefore can't gain access to do the repair. The handle is chrome looking plastic and has a screw at the top and bottom. Trouble is there is a black strip insert from the top of the handle to the bottom. This black strip hides the screw heads and adds a bit of eye appeal. All my efforts to remove it without major damage or disfiguration have failed. This is want I need help with...How do I remove this black insert? As always, thx, in advance, Ron