Defrost Thermostat Kit

refridgerater side warming, freezer warming
Appliance
General Electric Refrigerator

Model
TFXW20R

Level of Difficulty
Really easy

Time to do repair
1- 2 hours

Age of Appliance
More than 10 years

Tools
Pliers
Nutdriver
Screw drivers
Dilver From Milton, KY
Dec 05, 2011
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First I diagnosed the problem being a defrost timer as the symtoms are the same as the heater elements. I installed the timer and it worked great for about a week until the frost build up on the evaporator became too much again and then the symtoms returned. I then checked the heater elements and found that both were bad PLUS two clips to the elements were corroded. I then ordered the 2 heater elements. There is more than 1 heater element. Make sure you measure the length of each and then use the graph picture with "Parts Select" on the new ones before you order. There is about a 2" in length difference. Also one comes in a kit with thermostat and wires. Wrong for me. I really wanted that unit as I needed the harness for the bad terminals but it was the wrong heaters and it also came with a new thermostat. Luckly I did not order that one but did order a new thermostat to make sure I did not have to go through this ordeal again. When the parts came I had already replaced the terminals and was ready to go when FedX came. Just make sure you check your heaters before just buying the defrost timer as it may keep you from going back to redo your repair. Just doing your home work before ordering may save you much time in your repair. "PARTS SELECT" was one day on both orders and I just ordered standard shipping. They are great to do business with.

Initially I talked to local refrig repair man who told me to defrost the refrigerator and freezer for 6 hrs as well as to use a hot air dryer on the back wall of the freezer to defrost the freezer coils. I defrosted the refrigerator and freezer for twelve hours by unpluging it from the wall and using a fan to blow warm air into the frig/freezer. After 12 hrs., about 1 gallon of water collected in the pan below the refrigerator and I thought it was long enough.(I had defrosted the refrig well. The collection of water in the pan told me that the drainage tubes from the freezer and refrig compartments was working well and not obstructed. This made me think tthat one of three parts on the "no Frost" cycle may be defective and so ordered the Control, Thermostat and Heat assembly from PartSelect for our refrig/Freezer.
They have the most reasonable prices.
I then plugged in the refrigerator and monitored the temp. in the freezer compartment every twelve hours for the next three weeks and noted the temperature in the freezer compartment varied from o degrees to 10 degrees which is what it should do. I also watched for any frost build up in the freezer compartment and to date have not seen any.
The temp in the refrigerator compartment is as it should be. My impression is that all components are actually working as they should now and that the cause for our problem with the Hotpoint was due to the fact that the door was left open overnight. We will try to avoid doing that again.
I am holding the parts for one more week. If the refrig coninues to function normally till then, I plan to return the parts to partselect.com because they said I could do so.

Reading other after action write-ups I diagnosed the problem to be either the defrost timer or defrost thermostat so I decided to replace both. The timer was hard to find. Turns out it was inside the kickplate grill which made it hard to demount and remount while maneuvering the wire connector around. Just took a few minutes longer than expected. The thermostat was inside the freezer compartment requiring the refrig to be off and defrosted (heavy ice buildup on the coils confirmed diagnosis). Had to cut old thermostat wires and reattach new with crimp style wire nuts (provided with thermostat). Directions said to use silicone sealant in wire nuts - NOT provided. Need to attach new thermostat on top of coils with tie wrap (not provided). Overall reasonably easy with great results. Parts arrived very fast.