TRT16NRHD2 Tappan Refrigerator - Instructions

My freezer would freeze up and not allow cold air to refrigerator side. First I took off bottom face plate, located the timer on left side bottom, removed the two screws and unpluged the timer. Replaced the timer with new one. Second I removed all food from freezer. Took of back of freezer wall with nut driver. Located the thermostat which was very easy to remove. Just one clip holding thermostat. Unplugged the two wires from the old thermostat and plugged in new wires. Thanks to Partselect.com, the parts were an exact match. Very easy to do. Saved my tons of money. Freezer and refer works like new.

1. Removed the 7 nuts using the nut driver from the freezer back panel inside the freezer.
2. Remove the back panel. The evaporator motor and fan are located above the coils.
3. Unplug the wiring harness.
4. Remove the two gold mounting screws holding the motor and fan in place.
5. Remove the motor and fan including the brackets.
6. Install the new motor and fan onto the mounting bracket.
6a. Attach the green ground to the mounting bracket.
7. Screw the two gold screws back into the freezer.
8. Attach the new wiring harness. Note, the old harness had a mounting hole/space for it to connect to the wiring harness of the freezer. The new motor's harness was not long enough for this, so it is connected freely to the freezer harness.
9. Use the hair dryer to melt any ice that may have formed on the coils and hole where the fan goes.
10. Turn the freezer on to see if the fan turns on.
11. Reinstall the back panel.
All done!

First - I asked a person familiar in ref/freezer repair for assistance. This was the hardest issue - trying to find someone to offer "free" advise. He stated that when this problem occurs it is usually one of two things: 1) The defrost timer (underneath Refrigerator - Attached w/2 screws and plug-n connector) not functioning or 2) The defrost sensor (clipped-on to the coolant line (2-press-on wires) above the main coolant coil in in rear of freezer section behind panel secured w/5 1/4" hex-head screws) not properly sensing need for defrosting. The Tech. also stated that the defrost/heat coil, which surrounds the large coolant coil in the back of the freezer hardly ever goes bad unless it is the glass/clear type coil which often crack. (Mine was the black filament type element like found in an electric oven). I check the element with an ohm meter - 27 ohms of resistance which indicated it was okay). I replaced both defrost timer & defrost sensor at the same time and that fixed the problem. Parts ordered were an exact match to originals (dispite model number changes/upgrades) and everything went very well. NOTE: It is good to have the part numbers off of each original item and know what they are called before placing your order. All fixed for less than $50.00. A service call alone would be more than this. Took about 2 hours to do, due to having to defost the iced-up freezer coil w/a hair blower. Don't use sharp objects to chip away ice, let the blower do the work - Patience and a couple of towels to absorb water is important here. Hope this helps the other do-it-yourselfers.

After unsuccessfully trying to change the blown light bulb I discovered that the plastic light socket had gotten so hot that it melted and permanently fused with the blown bulb. After my new socket arrived in the mail I just popped the temp control assembly out with a screw driver and removed the old socket and placed the new one in. Whole operation to 5 minutes.

My freezer was frozen but my refrigerated side was not cooling, the temp was actually around 60-degrees. After inspecting i noticed no air was flowing through the vent from freezer side to fridge side. I removed everything from freezer and took the back wall panel off inside freezer section and immedietely noticed alot of ice on coils etc. After researching i found the defrost timer was not working and thus allowing frost and ice to build up on coils and block air flow. My defrost timer was located on the front bottom left behind kick panel, using a phillips screwdriver i removed 2 screws and then disconnected wire harness to the defrost timer. Then i inserted new defrost timer and connected wire harness and then put the 2 screws back in. My fridge is now working great and the ice build-up is gone and i am getting good air flow .. temps on fridge side are now between 32-34degrees. This was an easy project and saved me alot of money doing myself

There are quite a few bolts that needed to be loosened to remove the old gasket and put on the new one. We tried to do it by just loosening and leaving the door on the fridge...take my advice. Just remove the door, remove all the bolts, put the new gasket on and replace the bolts then the door. MUCH EASIER than trying to fit it on inch by inch and having it pull back out etc.

THERMOSTAT--First I removed the fours crews that hold the back of freezer (inside freezer) in place. I then pulled the thermostat out about 3 inches and disconnected the two wires. Plugged in the new one and put back in place. Replaced freezer back and installed the four screws that holds it in.(iIf your freezer has a ice maker just loosen the 2 screws that hold it and lift the ice maker up off the screws
DEFROST TIMER--- removed one screw inside fridge by light bulb that holds in the timer and setting knob, then took out the two screws that held in the timer unplugged the old timer and replaced with the new one put back in the two screws that holds the timer in then replaced the one screw that holds the unit in place

verifed temp cntrol by putting element in ice bath removed box and replaced both time and control

i removed the 4 screws holding cover. removed two screws holding timer. unplugged timer. plugged in new one. reassembled.

At top of refrigerator compartment, took out screws to cover (where temp control is) and to the right took out 2 screws to remove defrost timer and installed in reverse order. In freezer compartment, unscrewed back of freezer wall and took off completely. Removed old freezer thermostat, the body of freezer thermostat snapped onto coil and wire plugged in. Let run for 24 hrs, then made adjustments to temps, so far temps are back in normal range.

The fan motor all but caught the inside of the freezer on fire . Had to remove then clean, and I mean clean the walls of the freezer . Then had to pry out the old fan without breaking anything . Replacement of new fan was quick and easy because all the parts that I needed were in the bag

First, unplug the refrigerator since you're working with live wires.

Remove the 4 Philips sheet metal screws holding the plastic housing that holds the temperature control to the top of the refrigerator compartment. Pull the housing down then out since there is a tube on the housing where the water flows out the back of the refrigerator during the defrost cycle.

Remove the 2 Philips screws holding the defrost timer on the plastic housing. Pull the connectors off the old timer and attach them in exactly the same positions on the new defrost timer.

Attach the new defrost timer to the plastic housing with the 2 screws.

Reinstall the plastic housing, making sure the water tube is inserted into the back of the refrigerator wall.

Plug the refrigerator back in and you're done.

remove all freezer items and remove back panel covering the coils - about 8-10 nuts using a nut driver. The coils in my refridgerator were covered with a heavy frost - thermostat was also frozen over. Manually turn the defrost timer so the fan turns off to observe if the heating element is working (defrost timer is on the bottom front of the refrigerator on the left side). My heating element did work so I decided to replace the thermostat and defrost timer. Unplug the refrigerator. Disconnect 2 wires connecting the thermostat and unhook. Replacing with new thermostat - red and white wires that have male/female connectors and hook onto coil as before. Note that two parts with similar names were offered by PartsSelect and you really couldn't tell which was the right one - I got both but returning the unused one was very easy but cost a couple of bucks in shipping. Next, take out two screws and the bracket that holds the defrost timer in place and unplug it. Plug in the new one and screw it back in. Reinstall the back panel - throw out all that stuff in the freezer that you've had in there for 10 years and turn it back on - very simple and it worked perfectly. Very good experience with returning parts - excellent customer service.

Used exploded parts view to locate part. Removed old part and replaced with new defrost timer. Piece of cake.

I took a look at the web site where I purchased the parts, then I took a look at the paper enclosed with the order. Thankfully, I have a battery operated screw driver since there are so many screws. There are plenty of screws in my refrigerator and freezer doors. I thought that since my old door gaskets were all chewed up looking, if I changed them, the 10 year old air conditioners and the old fashioned light bulbs to instant on energy saver light bulbs, the electric bill would become more manageable.

The refrigerator and freezer door gaskets were the first step. They were easy to swap out. You just need to empty the door of all food items, then pull back the old gasket to see the screws. There are alot of them. You should leave 2 loosened screws on each side of the refrigerator door to hold the panel in place while you work and remove the rest. Then you can remove the old gasket and slide the new one into place. Make sure as you tighten the screws and replace the ones you removed, the new gasket fits into the door panel groove securely and is in place as you tighen the screws. Make sure it is in place all the way around the door as you work. You repeat the procedure for the freezer using only one loosened screw on each side to keep the interior panel in place while you work. It takes some time due to the number of screws, but the work is pretty easy. I never even broke a nail.

The end caps for the shelf bars just snap into place just as the old ones can be snapped out with a bit of pressure. They do not have to be wrestled and you need to work carefully so that you do not break them. (I ordered an extra just in case, but I didn't need it. I will have it in case I need it in the future)

My electric bill dropped from $450 to $110 a month with all the improvements I made. Thank you Part Select for taking the fear of screwing it up, out of the repair process and making it manageable. I can afford my electric bill now. Thanks for your help.