CSX20EMA Hotpoint Refrigerator - Instructions

Symptom: Door did not close automatically. Also had found small chunks of black plastic on the floor. Refrigerator door was slightly lower than the freezer door.

One false start because I did not realize both of the door-closing cams had disintegrated and I had only ordered the cam without the hinge.

Purchased part 290199 Hinge Assembly. It came with matching door-closing cam. (Had not known so I also purchased the cam 297995 separately). Next time I will know to only purchase the Hinge Assembly.

Replacement procedure took about 20 minutes including removing and replacing door shelves and their contents. Two people involved.

1. Remove all door shelves with contents and other contents on door.

2. Remove the top Phillips head screw holding the decorative plastic on the top.

3. Remove the two top hinge screws on top of refrigerator using metric #8 socket wrench. Second person made sure door did not fall off.

4. Lift the door off the bottom hinge pin. Second person holds door on it’s side.

5. Take off the bottom refrigerator cover

6. Remove the bottom hinge assembly screws using metric #8 socket wrench.

7. Mount the replacement bottom hinge assembly and tighten the two screws.

8. On the door bottom, remove the outer screw and loosen the inner screw using metric #8 socket wrench.

9. Replace the door-closing cam (or what is left of it) with the cam in line with the door and cam bumps away from the door.

10. Place the door back on the hinge pin (one person holds while the other person maneuvers the door bottom).

11. Replace the top hinge and reinsert the screws on top of the refrigerator. Dress the door so that it does not press hard on the rubber door gaskets (or the door will fail to shut automatically). Tighten the screws.

12. Replace the decorative plastic over the top hinge.

13. Open the door and replace the bottom refrigerator cover.

14. Replace the door shelves and all contents.

15 Close the door.

I applied some tips learned by reading other reviews. So before I started I grabbed my trusty vise grip pliers and a small screw driver. I locked onto the switch actuator, the part that the refrigerator door pushes in, with the vise grips and pulled on it just hard enough to get the screw driver inserted in the right side to push in the catch clip so the switch could be pulled out further each time the catch clip was depressed to the next detent. Then I used the screw driver on the left site to encourage the switch past the detents on the left and very quickly the switch was out of the mount. The wires from the refrigerator pulled out with the old switch. I unplugged the old switch from the wires and plugged in the new switch and shoved the new switch back into the mount, wiggled it a couple of times to make sure it was secure and the job was done. Once I applied the vise gripes at first, the whole job took less than a minute.

My husband put on the defrost timer. At first I thought the part was not going to fix the problem. After about 5 hours my refrigerator was still warm. I went to work and when I got home that evening my refrigerator was cooling and down to 28 degrees. So if you replace this part wait at least 12-24 hours. Give it time to stablize. My husband says it has to go through its cycle. It works on a 24 hour timer. My refrigerator is working fine and this has saved me alot of money. My husband says, once you put on the timer you may have to use a flat screwdriver and turn the small dial clockwise one click to start it. He removed the kick grill and replaced the part. Dont forget to shut breaker off to replace this part. Turn power back on and start the timer. We are so happy that we now have a working refrigerator.

popped off front grille, removed 2 screws for bracket, then had to remove one screw for timer. unplugged old timer, reversed procedure, all works.

Our refrigerator is a double door unit with ice and water in the left door. The right door was the one with the problem. It was 5:15 AM when the problem occured. I could see that the door was out of alighnment and had dropped down - preventing it from closing. I lifted the door and closed it. I wrote down the model number and found a detailed drawing of the appliance on the web site "partselect.com". When the hing earrived I compared it to the broken one. I removed all the food stored on the door, put several pieces of wood under the door to shim it to the same height as the adjacent door. I then removed two bolts from the refrigerator with a 1/4" socket set. I put the shim from the old hing aside for later. I removed two bolts from the door with the same socket -Note a metal tab had to be bent silghtly so the wrench could go on the head of the bolt- I removed the plastic cam and made note of its orientation and that of the shim above it on the door. I put the shim and new cam in place on the door and installed the 2 bolts. I inserted the pin of the new hing into the hole in the cam (I had just mounted) on the door. I put the shim (the one put aside earlyer) behind the hing and replaced the two bolts. I held the shim and hing up against the door as I tightened the two bolts. When I was satisfied that the bolts were tight I removed the wooden blocks that were holding the door up so the door was supported by the new bottom hing assembly. The door now opperates perfectly and the refrigerator was not taken out of service for the repair. Total time including cleanup was a little over 15 minutes.

unplugged refrigerator. removed light bulb from old socket. unsnapped old light socket and pulled it out just enough to diconnect the electrical plug that plugs into the socket . discarded the old socket and plugged in new socket. snapped in new socket into refrigerator. i watched how to do this simple procedure on you tube and decided to do it myself. easy easy easy

Reading other after action write-ups I diagnosed the problem to be either the defrost timer or defrost thermostat so I decided to replace both. The timer was hard to find. Turns out it was inside the kickplate grill which made it hard to demount and remount while maneuvering the wire connector around. Just took a few minutes longer than expected. The thermostat was inside the freezer compartment requiring the refrig to be off and defrosted (heavy ice buildup on the coils confirmed diagnosis). Had to cut old thermostat wires and reattach new with crimp style wire nuts (provided with thermostat). Directions said to use silicone sealant in wire nuts - NOT provided. Need to attach new thermostat on top of coils with tie wrap (not provided). Overall reasonably easy with great results. Parts arrived very fast.

Removed 2 phillips head screws to remove ice maker (could have just loosened them)
Pulled fan off of shaft
Removed 2 phillips head screws on motor bracket , disconnected three motor wires & removed motor.
reversed process to install new motor & fan blade.
Space was a little tight for two hand and arms, but do-able.

Unplugged refrigerator, removed three screws to take out part, disconnected the wires and removed bad unit. Removed fan blade from old unit and attached to the new unit. Attached wires, placed the new motor back in. Plugged it back in, within 20 minutes panel between freezer and refrigerator was cool to touch.

Order 2 cams as recommended in other posts.
I didn't realize until the project was finished that the 2 cams fit together to tilt the door toward the refrigerator and force the door to catch.
1. Removed all items from door storage.
2. Removed top hinge cover held by single screw and top hinge plate held by two bolts.
3. Lifted up door to clear bottom hinge pin and removed door.
4. Turned door upside down and removed bottom hinge assembly held on by two bolts.
5. Replaced upper cam located on bottom of door and screwed the hinge assembly back on to bottom of door.
6. Drilled out the rivet that holds the lower cam to the bottom hinge pin.
7. Removed old lower cam and and replaced with new cam and secured to lower hinge assembly with pan head screw and nut (instead of rivet).
NOTE: The metal shim that goes between the cam riser & door was also broken, we used a small washer instead of the replacement shim.
8. Replaced door back onto lower hinge pin and secured upper hinge pin with original bolts.
9. Placed cover on upper hinge assembly and secured with original screw.
This is a project my husband and I completed together :)
Perhaps we will store lighter items on the door to lessen the chances of the cams deteriorating again.

First turned off power and removed top shelf.
Then I used a flathead to slowly pry the switch out by the two sides. You just anlge ita bit and it slideds out easily. Then I disconnected the wires from the old switch, connected the new one and installed the new switch by snapping it back into the cutout.

I read over the other posts here and went with jacking up the fridge door and setting it on (2) 2x4 studs. A nut driver was used to remove the bottom hinge. I then drilled out the rivet that held the old cam in place and then used a 3/16 rivet to secure the new cam. A rivet is not necessary as you can also use a nut and bolt to hold the cam in place. It took less time to order the part and install it than it did to drive over to the appliance parts store and pick it up. I ordered around 10 am and the part was here the next day at 2:00 (without special delivery costs). By 2:30 it was on my fridge.

repairman came looked it over said problem was thermostat control which was not made anymore and left charging service call $190.00 I went online found the control for $160.00 received it in 3 days put it in 30 mins later working fine.

This is a sibe-by-side refrigerator/freezer that needed a new lower hinge set for the fridge door.

First I removed everything from inside the fridge door, closed it, then loosened the top hinge bolts with an 8mm socket on a 1/4-inch ratchet. Using an 8mm nutdriver, I removed one bolt and loosed the other just far enough to be able to lift the hinge and swing it out of the way. (These bolts are long. The nutdriver is faster than the ratchet but you need a ratchet or a wrench to first break them loose.) Then I just lifted the door off the bottom hinge and set it aside.

The plastic lower front grill was covering the lower hinge but that grill is just held at the ends by spring clamps -- popped off easily so I could get to the hinge bolts. Again, 8mm bolts, just remove & replace hinge. I also had to replace the upper half of the door closer cam, which is screwed to the bottom of the door, being careful that the holes lined up: cam, shim, door holes.

Now the tricky part was lifitng the door back on the lower hinge. (It helps to have an assistant at the bottom to locate the hole for you.) Once the door was up, I swung the top hinge over, ran the two bolts in finger tight with my nutdriver, checked & adjusted the spacing* of the fridge door and tightened the bolts. This was all very easy! (*^_^*)

*On a side-by-side, you'll want the door to be straight up & down with a consistent gap top to bottom with the freezer door. The hinge has some slack for adjustment by positioning the door, then tightening the bolts. You'll see what I mean.

Look were timer was located, in my refigerator is next to the dial to ajust the temperature. used a screwdriver to get panel off. replaced timer then used a straight screwdriver to advance timer to turn on compessor . monitor temperature . checked out.