CSX22GASAWH 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.

Fridge was not really cold. Fan was working at back of freezer. Romoved the drawers and back panel of freezer compartment. Melted ice with a blow dryer and collected water with a towel so that it would not overflow the drip pan. Installed the new defroster units with 4 screws and the easy plug in wiring harness. Bingo! Defrost timer was probably OK but new one is easy to do.

Fixed in one day vs waiting for service call & payng $$$.

Per the trouble shooting guide on the home page of the website. I suspected the defrost timer was bad because ice had heavily accumulated on the back wall of the freezer compartment and the temperature inside the refrigerator was warm. First, I removed all the freezer racks. Then removed the (4) screws on the back wall in the freezer compartment. I then removed the ben from the ice maker to allow more room. Once I saw all the ice, I unplugged the refrigerator, and used a hair dryer to defrost ( it took about an hour to get it all). Once the ice was all gone, I then moved into the refrigerator compartment and removed the top shelve. This allowed me more room and access to the defrost timer which was behind the back panel. I used the trouble shooting guide to test the old timer prior to removing the new one from the package, (just in case I needed to send it back). Through this test I determined that the timer was bad, it wasn't the heating element or the t-stat. It was very easy to access, I removed the two knobs and lifted up the panel. I located the defrost timer and removed the screws as directed. I replaced the timer just as I had removed it, plugging in the electrical terminals per the removal process. I then reversed the order and put the panel and top shelve back on. Once all complete, I then moved back into the freezer compartment and replace the back panel and then the ice ben. I plugged it in and haven't had a problem since. This site has saved me a tremendous amount of money, a service contractor quoted us $300, to determine the problem. I ordered the part and it was sitting on our door stoop the next morning.

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.

Disconnected the power to the refrigerator/freezer. Removed the shelving in the freezer. Had to remove the light cover (1 screw in center top of light, slide to left and cover is removed) located in the top of freezer to obtain access to the screw in the back panel. Removed the back panel (using nut driver). Four screws (2 at the top and 2 at the bottom). Used a heat gun to defrost the coils enough to remove the screws and wiring harness. I started at the bottom unit by removing 2 screws with a #2 phillip screwdriver to remove the lower defrosting element. Carefully pulling the wiring forward from the sides of the cooling coils until I reached the next defrost coil. Repeat removing 2 screws to remove the next defrost element. Continue to carefully pull wiring harness toward yourself. Remove the Thermostat (just clipped on the upper left side of coil. Remove the plug. Carefully reverse the process to complete the process.

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.

The appliance is relatively old. Sears estimated the cost around $300 dollars after diagnosing a thermostat problem. Looked online for model and part number and found Partselect.com. Good reputation on BBB. Site was very easy to use, good customer service and quick delivery.

Replacement was easy. Temp control and timer located inside the appliance. Removed temp knob, plastic cover, light bulb and 1 screw to dislodge housing and unplug power. 4 screws to remove temp control unit and timer from metal housing. Took images before disconnecting connectors.

Replaced parts, plugged power and re-screwed onto housing. Put back the housing, bulb, plastic cover and knob.

Plugged in the appliance and turn on the temp control. NOTE: defrost timer needs to be adjusted with flathead to enable the appliance. Once the timer was enabled, unit is functioning normally.

Saved myself $200.

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

Removed back panel. Opened cover to relay attached to the compressor and pulled off replacing with new relay. No problem.

Better than paying $250 for someone else to do it.

I removed the back panel held in place by 5 screws. I located the thermostat and disconnected it from the wire connection to another part. Due to the connection requirement, I had to cut the wires from the original part and splice the connector with wires to the new part. After securing the spliced wires and covering in electrical tape, I replaced the panel and all screws.

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.

Had to use a hair dryer to manually defrost the refrigerator before I could replace the heater assembly . I had to remove the aluminum mounting brackets and reverse them before mounting the assembly so that the wiring would run the same as the old assembly . Overall time spent from start to finish, including manual defrost was about 2 hours.
Thanks for the timer troubleshooting tips, they helped to narrow down the problem.

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.