F44P21ATD1 Frigidaire Refrigerator - Instructions

Based on other problems listed I determined I had a bad thermostat, defrost timer, or defrost heater. Since my refrig is over 14 years old I decided to replace all three components since I don't have testing equipment. As a former aircraft mechanic in the Air Force who did a lot of removal and replacement of components I didn't have any problems. Your videos were very helpful and on point. My refrigerator is now working perfectly. My rational for replacing the three components was it was still cheaper than having a refrigeration person to come out and I received your parts the next day. By the way, the defrost timer is located outside in the bottom left front of the refrigerator while the videos suggested that it was inside under the control panel. Thanks!

I should have ordered start kit instead of start capacitor. The start cap astir did not fix problem so I ordered kit. Compasator comes as part of kit. Followed enclosed instructions. Cut existing wires and reconnected new wiring. Simple as that. It's a plug in item. Now worried it may be working to good. Freezer down to 10 deg. Watching to see if compressor is running to long. Seems ok lol. Wife hates me now. She wanted new frige.

Unplug the refrigerator unit from wall. I removed freezer rack, plastic light cover, the ice rack shelf on the right side, then removed the plastic back cover panel, (4) retaining screws, gently tilting the panel toward me, unplug the wiring harness by depressing the clips on the side of the plug, removed panel from unit, set aside. If the unit was froze up, so I defrosted the cooling coils carefully with a common hair dryer until it was thawed. Be careful not to touch or bend the coils , since they are very fragile and SHARP! I located the old thermostat unit attached to a straight length of coolant line. The new unit looked like the old one, so it was easy to locate. I cut the two wires of the old unit close to the round base to make sure I would have enough wire to reconnect. Since my new unit did not indicate a polarity(Neg or Pos), I just wired each wire I cut to one of the new unit. I used the shrink tubing provided and heated the shrink till it was fully melted. I double ck'd to see if the wires were basically waterproof and a good connect. Also, before I replaced the rear panel, I made sure that both wires I had spliced had a drip loop to it so water would not drip down into the newly spliced union. Also made sure the wires will not interfere with the colling fan on the back of the rear panel. Reverse the procedure in reassembling. Plug in unit, and wait and listen for the unit coming back on..I kept a regular thermometer in the upper and lower compartments. Allow 24 hrs. for the unit to return to normal operation. It may defrost several times till the whole operation is back in sync.

Retainer bar clip was broken so ordered new ones from Partselect. Parts arrives in one day which was fantastic and two days ahead of what was expected. Spent about two minutes installing and everything is perfect now.

we removed the food from the freezer, disconnected the fridge , removed the cover, the evaporater fan was running, condeser fan was running, then we checked heater with multimeter and it was ok. next step we replaced the frostimer, and defrost thermostat . and then the refrigarater was working ok, problm was the frost thermastat damaged.

unplugged frig,removed bottom front cover and loosend 2 screws at bottom front left and slid defrost timer out from behind metal panel,unplugged the old and plugged in the new.frig works great.

First I removed the inner door which was easy and used a drill with a hex head driver to undo all of the screws behind the gasket. Trying to fit the new gasket on was a fidely nightmare. It's not too bad to get the sides on but the corners are very difficult. At first I had left the door on the fridge after an hours worth of swearing I took the door right off and laid it flat on a table. When I finally got the gasket all on, with a couple od small tears, I hit it with a heat gun and got most but not all of the wrinkels out. When I put the door back on the fridge it wouldn't close properly - gaps in the gasket. I leaned some weights against the door and it the gasket with the heat gun again. Gradually over 2 days it fit fairley well.

I watched the video you had on-line and it was simple. Thank you so much

Problem not consistent. OK for 2-3 weeks, then freeze coils. Mark and observe the defrost timers manual rotating adjuster. Timer would stop mid cycle. One revolution equals 8 hours of compressor run time followed by 30 minutes of defrost. Replacing timer took 5 minutes.

I needed to determine if the heating coil was ok. I bypassed the thermostat, rotated the defrost timer manually with a flat screwdriver until it clicked. The coil heated up and turned a glowing red. So the coil was ok. After looking at the wiring diagram located on the back, the only parts in line was the timer and the thermostat. So I ordered both, replaced them, and everything is working fine. I went online about noon on Thursday, placed the order. The shipping indicated 2-3 business days. To my surprise, they were delivered to my home on Friday, mid morning. Great service from Part Select.

1st. replaced the defrost thermostat pn 5303918214 did not fix it next replaced the defrost timmer pn 215846602 that did not fix it,next replaced the defrost heater pn 5303918247 still did not fix it,has the same problem as when I started I don't know what to do next guess will call for a service tech to come out,or get a new refridgerator. Looks like I wasted my money on these parts. Refridgerators are not as easy to fix as yall make them out to be. I have to say all the parts were easy to install and your instructions and videos were great, they just did not fix my refrigerator Thanks Tom

thanks to all of the people who had the same problems I was able to make a quick fix on my fridge. I pulled the back cover off and found the compressor not kicking on so I replaced the start cap. and im back in bussiness.

I followed the procedure online and found the thermostat was ok, it had continuity when cold, and the heater coil was also ok, it too had continuity, therefore the problem was a bad defrost timer. the refrigerator works great, thanks parts select!

According to the information from the parts select website the thermostat and the defrost timer where ranked number 1&2 as likely to fail and cause the condition experienced. To replace the Defrost thermostat just remove the freezer bins and the lower panel covering the evaporator. Remove the old thermostat, measure the wire lengths and install the provided crimp splices. Note: the heat shrink tubing is WAY over-sized and will not shrink to the size needed. You will need another means of sealing the wire connection. Install the thermostat and replace the panel and shelves. The timer is real easy. On my model it is located under the freezer door under the kick panel on the front. Simply remove 2 Phillips head screws, unplug the old unit and install the new one. Be sure to cycle the thermostat past the defrost cycle on the timer (rotate until an audible click is heard once for the beginning of the cycle and one at the end) so that the unit will start up when power is reconnected. This resolved my problem and the unit is working great!

Based on the diagnosis on this site I thought the 66% odds of the problem being the Defrost Timer looked pretty good, $30 including shipping versus a Sears tech phone estimate of $250-300. BINGO! Just follow the online installation instructions and don't forget to use the reset switch as described. Works like new! THANK YOU