WRT17CVAZ0 Frigidaire Refrigerator - Instructions

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.

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.

First, I unplugged the appliance. Safety, first.
Than I removed the shield which was held in by screws. This covered the fan, thermometer.
The defrost thermostat was taken out, with a little extra force. The wires on the defective part were no longer attached to the part. The instructions were easy to follow in replacing the defrost thermostat. I stripped the coating on the wire, attached it with the enclosed electical bugs. The assy was able to follow, and the part went back on. The refrigerator is working perfectly. I couldn't have done it without the help in diagnosing the problem and with the speedy delivery of the new part. Thanks for all your help and the ease of the installing the new part!

The BIG problem was getting the old drip pan off. The bolt on top of the compressor was too long to allow the removal of the old drip pan. I removed the old drip pan by cutting most of it away with tin shears then cutting the remaining part of the pan around the bolt with a hack saw (taking care not to damage freon lines and raising the pan above the threads of the bolt so as not to damage the threads). I still had to cut half the bolt away with a hack saw by replacing the nut and cutting a third of the bolt away (above the nut), so the new pan would fit. Putting the new pan on was a breeze after that. It may be easier to just cut the bolt off altogether on top of the compressor and use the wire clips per the instructions supplied with the kit to install the new one.

Simple switch repair: Unplug fridge, pull down to remove switch assembly, slip contacts off. Reverse with replacement switch. HOWEVER, check first to see if the bulb filament might be broken, as this could cause the same symptom. OR in my case, the light socket connection was the culprit. Check that too before ordering a replacement switch.

I opened the fridge door and lifted up the old gasket to investigate the situation. I saw that the inside door panel (the one that has the butter compartment and additional shelves for condiments) had screws every few inches. I determined that this was holding the smaller lip of the gasket in. I got out my trusty cordless drill and went to work. After a few mild cuss words, I did manage to get the very last corner on, as that is the trickiest part of the installation. Note that I am an almost "60" year old woman who has many other tools, including a chain saw, which I utilize every now and then. So if I can do it myself, I certainly will! The best thing of it all was that I ordered the part on 8/22/08 and when I arrived home the evening of 8/24/08, the box with the part was sitting on the back deck. Thank you partselect for a great product and great service.

Wasn't sure if it was the derost timer or the heating element. Since the timer was much cheaper, I bought it and crossed my fingers.
My story is like the others. Unplug the refrigerator, snip the old wires, strip back the wire insulation, use the supplied connectors to attach the new defrost timer to the existing wiring.
Success! My coils no longer freeze up.
Only difficulty is I am a large guy, and fitting my upper body into the freezer was challenging.

Removed old thermostat and replaced. really easy.

Removed numerous screws, be careful removing old gasket to not crack door.

First I remove the back panel which had 4 screws. Then I removed the ice maker. The icemaker is held in place by the 2 screws that requires backing the screws out just a litter, than lift up and remove the electrical connector. Used a volt ohm meter to check the resisitant in the heater element and the defrost timing switch. Both tested good and that left only the thermostat. Removed and replaced the thermastat swich. I cut the ends of the old switch and crimp the ends of wire with the crimps that came with the swict i purchased from parts select. My refrigerator is working properly and making ice like normal.

tested defrost timer and heater. And then tested defrost timer with ohm test($6 at hard ware store) Closed and would not open replace and tested freezer take 30mins to get switch cold and retest.

i simply snaped one end cap in put retainer in on sie put other end cap on retainer then snaped end cap in place --job done parts where perfect thanks

I should have read everyone else's experiences before attempting. I did view a youtube video and thought I had it set. However, if I had it to do over, the door would have been removed. The door shelf (inner door) taken off and cleaned before attempting to put the gasket on. I did it while the door was still attached and probably lost a good 45mns along with my fingers cramping, knee's flat spotting, and lower back catching fire. TAKE THE DOOR OFF if at all possible, you wont regret it.

Top freezer took off the panel in freezer and melted the ice around coils and found the defrost thermostat and replaced with the new one. Just followed the instructions from your video on line. Freezer works just fine now. Refrigerator is 38 years old.

My fridge side had warmed up to 70 degrees but the freezer side was still cold. The coils inside had iced up. After thawing with a hair dryer, it froze back after another week. I removed the old defrost thermostat and wired the heater strip directly and turned on the defrost timer. It began melting the ice so that ruled out the heater strip being bad. I couldn't get a reading with my ohm meter on the defrost thermostat so I took a chance and bought the part. Installation was a breeze and it fixed the problem.