F45WJ26HW1 Frigidaire Refrigerator - Instructions

I purchased the replacement part (no instructions sheet) from another company, not this one, that cost 2X's a much as this company. So I sent it back and ordered from this company. Got it faster then the post office sends us the stamps we order by internet and this ice maker had instructions.
Our's is a side by side refrig, so working space is limited but do-able. The old ice maker has made a clicking noise for years while trying to push the cubes out of the tray. They would get stuck and refreeze, sticking half way out of the tray.
I loosened the 2 screws with a socket driver (which are difficult to see), raised the unit up and off the screws. Unplugged the power & out it came. Removed the bracket on the side as instructed to attach to the new ice maker and in the trash the ol' ice maker went. Set the new ice maker on the screws, plugged in the power, tightened the screws and walla. A quiet ice maker. In fact, it would startle us the first day as we didn't hear the clicking noise indicating it was stuck. All of a sudden the cubes just dropped into the container. Alright! Don't know why I didn't do this years ago.

I want to first say that before I ordered this part from "Part Select" I first went and talked with a local appliance repair shop. They quoted me a $120 charge to come out and check the problem. Then $30 and hour service fee, plus parts. He provided me a quote of about $250 for the job.
I found this part easily on the web site $77. It was very easy to instal. The only problem I had was the fact that in the side by side it was very difficult for me to get two hands inside the freezer to install it. (I have wide shoulders). Two screws loosened, no need to remove them. Just life the entire unit straight up. Unplug wire harness. Then just reverse order. Could not be easier. If you can change a light bulb you can do this.

Noticed no cool air was coming from the vent on the refrigerator side. After cleaning out the freezer side, I noticed that the air intake at the bottom of the freezer was frosted over.I removed the metal panel and discovered the coils were completely frosted over so I found the defrost timer located at the bottom left corner of the refrigerator. took a screwdriver and turned it very slowly to force a defrost. i watched the coils for awhile and noticed that the heat element would never deice. so I thought it may be the thermostat clamped to the top of the coil might be bad. I unplugged the thermostat and plugged the heat element coil directly to wires feeding to the thermostat. On my refrigerator the wire connectors will allow to bypass thermostat. After waiting twenty minutes, I forced another defrost cycle with the timer and noticed the heat element would still not defrost. So i unplugged the heat element and took a test meter and checked the wire connectors and found one twenty volt at the connectors. So, therefore, I determined it must be the heat element itself. Even though they rarely give trouble. I found the service diagram on the back of the refrigerator in a plastic pouch, and it said the ohm resistance should be twenty two. My element read 145 so that also pointed to a bad heat element. I took the screw out that holds the coil in, lifted it about two inches, and pulled the bottom of the coil out just enough to remove the heat element from the coil and discovered it had a crack in it. It must have been a Monday at the factory, because the heat element looked like it had been warped while being installed.I ordered a replacement element and installed it. I works as good as new. I do electrical work for a living, so this was pretty easy for me to figure out.

Removing the old unit was easy enough, just loosened two screws that attach unit to side of freezer and disconnected the wiring harness. But the new unit never goes in quite as easily because it's always just a little different from the original. In this case, the wiring ended up being about six inches longer and the excess had to be stuffed behind a shield at the rear of the unit. Theoretically, the wire could have been pushed back through the opening, but it got jammed and wouldn't go. I had to remove side rails and pry the shield forward in order to get the wiring back out of the way. The unit is a narrow side by side, so there wasn't a lot of room to move around. But it wasn't difficult, just tedious. I had to make sure the wiring did not come into contact with the heating element at the bottom of the icemaker. Once installed it worked great.

Followed the steps in the video on your site, really easy to do.

Pulled unit away from the wall. Removed backing from lower controls and compressor. Unhooked water lines and wires to solonoids and removed malfunctioning valve. Hooked new valve to the the plastic water lines, connected wires and mounted new valve to the back support plate.

I removed the old gate by using a flat head screw driver to pry open mouth. I then removed 2 bolts that held on the cage that hols the ice crushing blades. Then I inserted the new gate and used a screw driver to pry the mouth open again (it was more difficult to insert than remove). I then popped in the new gate and re-assembled the cage. It worked on the first shot with no problems!

This is the 3rd time I have attemped and successfully repaired major home appliances myself after the warrenty ran out. I'm sure I could buy a new appliance for the money I saved.

un plug fridge. removed ice maker from fridge. loosen 2 mounting screws. lift unit in slots to get over heads of screws. unplug wire harness. remove cover. remove 3 screws from control housing. remove 2 motor mounting screws. unplug motor wires from switches w/needle nose. installation is the reverse. plug in fridge turn on icemaker. takes 10 to 15 min to start to cycle.
easy and cheaper than new fridge or ice maker

Popped off the front plastic cover on the bottom of the fridge, under the doors. Two screws held the defrost timer on under the front side of fridge (below freezer door). You can't really see the timer except for the adjustment knob that is accessible through a hole. Once the screws are removed, disconnect the wire plug and remove and replaced unit. Works fine ever since.

First I remove protection cover,then removed the elbow pressing in on the gray coupling housing at each end of the elbow.Mark each piece of water hose before removing the elbow with marker(black)it helps when replacing new elbow.The new elbow slides on each end of water hose ,connect the end to the hose coming out of the door first. Replace protection cover. No more leak.

I first unplugged the refirgerator. Note the time because the refrigerator should be unplugged at least 30 minutes before plugging back in (see end for why). A trouble light is necessary to see adequately. I removed the shelves and draws and put food in a picnic cooler. I took off the lower panel in the back of the freezer, and defrosted the coils with a hair dryer. I unplugged the wires to the defroster, and then the screw holding the coil to the back of the freezer side. I lifted up on the coil unit to clear the blade that inserts into the drain. I removed the bands on the top of the coil that hold the heating unit in place. I tilted the bottom out when there was clearance, and pulled the defrosting unit down and out. I replaced the new one, and reversed the procedure, and then plugged the wires back into the new defroster unit. The bands on the top should be secured before putting the coil back in place, as well as the foam spacers on top of coil, put the two wires back in the plastic clip that keeps them away from the fan and pipes. Replace lower freezer cover panel and screws. Put shelves and food back in. If at least 30 minutes have passed, plug the refrigerator back in. If you don't wait that long, their will still be pressure in the compressor and it will not start to cool properly right away. It works perfectly now. TIP: check the end of the drain hose periodically by taking off the lower back cover and pull th hose out - not hard to do. Mine plugged from dust and lint build up backing up into the end of the hose so water didn't drain out, and ice built up causing the defroster coil to burn out. I cut a little off the hose so the water level would not rise up into the hose, but the hose would still stay in place in the plastic holder.

removed back cover from freezer to replace defrost stat. removed cover from refrigerator to replace defrost timer

I called Part Select and ordered a new drawer. They got the item to me within 3 days! I would definitely recommend them to a friend.

Remove back panel inside Freezer compartment remove 2 screws that hold (small) fan motor. Unplug electric motor supply and install new motor in reverse order

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!