F44N21GSW0 Frigidaire Refrigerator - Instructions

Traced issue to defrost timer ( burned compressor & element contacts). This unit is mounted next to the temperature adjustment control in the refridgerator area - right in front. Removal of plastic cover provided easy access to the timer. Unit unscrews from the mounting then unplugs. Installation is reverse of removal.

I used the tool at Partselect that in theory allows diagnostic of the problem to be repaired. The result was that more tan 90% of the time with the introduced symptoms it had to be the thermostat. I order the part, got it quickly and installed. It did not fix the problem. So, be careful with the diagnostic tool, because it is just based on what most people buy when they have a particular problem. Videos for installation are great. If diagnosis was better, this would be fantastic. In my case there might be a different problem.

The repair took less then 15 minutes,my husband put the new rail on,he used a screwdriver,now I have a folder just for partselect/fridge.My
grandson is 4years old,and he can do some stuff.

Thank You

It came within 5 days.

Took about an hour previously to deice freezer, timer was running,drain was open, jumped defrost thermostat out and heater was O.K. Defrost thermostat was just a plug and play item, the time involved was in taking the freezer apart to get to it.

My husband did the repair, it was so easy, and of course because you made the broken parts available it saved us the money for a new refridgerator. It took him less than half an hour to get the job done. Thanks for making this easy for us.

First of all thanks to all who posted their stories, because those stories helped me to narrow down what could have gone wrong with my fridge. I did not know how frost-free refrigerators worked at all, reading your stories and doing some on_line research I understood the theory behind the work. My freezer was working constantly, but fridge was warm, cold air would not reach to fridge because freezer was completely frosted.
I had ordered defrost heater, defrost timer and thermostat. I was sure one of these parts was the problem.
First I used flat screwdriver to turn the timer manually untill frdge stopped running(timer is on the left bottom corner behind the black decoratve plastic under the door) . Waited about 20-30 min, checked ,freezer was still frosted. I disconnected the fridge from the wall socket and took shelves out from freezer compartment. This is where hair-dryer came in handy or you could wait till ice would melt on its own, which could take long time.Then loosend 2 screws on left wall that were holding icemaker unit half-way , unplugged the icemaker and took it out. Then took the light-bulb and cover off. Next I unscrewed and took the posts out that were holding shelves in place. Then I took remaining screws from back wall out and gently pulled back cover up then forward a little until I could see electrical connectors behind the cover and unpluged them. Back wall cover was ready to come out. I discovered thick wall of ice covering entire cooling unit. Used handy hair dryer again. When the ice melted, I saw the thermostat was busted open ( Iguess water or moisture got into the unit, then froze and ice pop-openned the cover damaging one of the connecting wires). I diconnected wires and changed the thermostat , which was very easy, just one clip holding it in place . Then plugged the fridge and checked if heating unit was working by touching it. Negative. Closed the door and let fridge run for 15 min, turn timer with screwdriver until fridge stopped working, cheked heater again- wallah it was warm and then it got really HOT! and melted all of the new frost build-up(a sign that thermostat was working). Closed the door waited another 15-20 min, fridge came-on on its own. Unplugged the fridge, pulled it forward from the wall and used sponge to drain the water from holding tray- about one half gallon of it. This is a good time to use a vacuum clener to undust the back and under the fridge. Then put everything back, in reverse order, ofcourse. Cleaned fridge and freezer compartments with warm soap and winneger solution (really good- this was a present to my wife who took our two little daughters to grandmmas and out of my way), put everything back and turned the fridge on recommended settings. Its been 5 days allready and it works great ( I used thermometr to check temperature inside the fridge and freezer). I'm thinking of returning defrost heater and timer back.Thanks PartSelect.Com, I saved lots of money. Hope this story will be helpfull to someone.Thanks for your time!

I used a flat head screwdriver to pry open the front of the socket as I pushed the socket toward the freezer side. I unplugged the two wires connected to the socket then re-connected the two wires to the new socket and popped the new socket back in. I then put a new light bulb in and we had light again in the fridge.

It snapped in place.

Just removed the two screws and unpluged it.
Then I pluged the new one in and replaced the screws. It runs like a brand new reffrigerator.
Thanks for the fast delevery. Will do busness with you in the future.

Removed front low grill, removed the two screws that hold the element in place. I then pulled the element out about 3 inches and disconnected the wires. Reversed process to install new timer.

took 4 screws out of the discharge vent on top of the refrigerator section and unpluged the wiring harness and put the section on the counter and unscrewed the timer and put the new one in and reinstalled the assembly and plugged the Jack and put the 4 screws back in, and rotated the timer and put it on defrost removed the back and check the heaters and drain .

Removed two screws to get to defrost time pull panel down remove two screws holding time and reinstall

We were looking for a new freezer --thinking it wouldn't be worth calling a repairman. I was trying to determine the size of the freezer and couldn't find it in the manual. So I googled the model number and stumbled upon this site. Thought it would be worth a try and $12 plus shipping to replace the thermostat. Got the thermostat a couple days later, followed the video directions to replace it--not hard! Plugged it in and it is working great!!! SOOOOO glad I stumbled on your site! You saved us $700-$800!! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

just like the video showed...it was excellent!!!

Parts Select is an excellent source for help and parts identification. I highly recomend them.
My first option was to replace the defrost timer.
After still getting ice and frost buildup in freezer I decided to replace the defrost thermostat.
Remove all shelves. Losen icemaker if applicable. Remove light cover and bulb. Remove all screws securing rear vertical cover. Carefully move back panel, disconnect icemaker and bulb assembly. carefully remove styrofoam cover at upper left and remove defrost thermostat. I tested the thermostat and found it was defective. It would not close circuit after being placed in a working freezer. Reverse procedure to replace thermostat.
This solved the problem