CFHT1713LZ1 Frigidaire Refrigerator - Instructions

Discovered the coil was covered with 1/2 inch of ice because defrost cycle had not been working. Replacing the defrost timer and melting ice with hair dryer fixed problem. Hooray!

1.unpack box.
2. slide out of plastic bag.
3. open refirgheratior door.
4. slide in shelves.
5. fill with stuff.
6.figure out a way to reuse packing.

It just snaps in place, no biggie. What was a big deal was... that I ordered the part one day at like 2pm and got it the next day by about 2pm. That was very strange!!! Never expected that sort of delivery. Very nice!

I started look inside ,disconnected power, and open all possible compartments to see any burned part. Fortunately I fined a small part look like melted and then i went online and make my research .Then i ordered that part and change it.

The knob came in the plastic package. It was the correct part. I opened the package and placed the knob on the prongs. Now it works fine.

Thanks
John S.

New handle was easy to obtain from you and had the new one on in ten minutes. Thank you Very easy repaired.

I watched the video on how to change the defrost thermostat. I removed the back cover inside the freezer then I pulled off the old defrost thermostat and then using a pair of wire cutters I cut it off and then bared a little of both of the wires and then slid the heat sherink and wire connectors on the existing wires and then slid the other ends of the wires into the wire connectors then crimped the ends of the connectors and then tried using heat on the heat shrinks but still used rubber electric tape over it. I clipped the new thermostat were the old one was and then reattached the freezer wall cover and plugged the refrigerator back in. 24 hours later I checked the temperature in the refrigerator and freezer and both are running a lot colder.

inside the freezer compartment, remove four hex head screws from rear panel,lift panel forward and unplug wire assembly from panel. find old defrost thermostat attached to copper tube by clip on back of thermostat, unclip, snip two wires to thermostat, take new thermostat, strip 1/4"of wire from wires in freezer (thermostat is prestripped),insert light blue wire from thermostat and light blue wire from freezer into opposite ends of crimp connector and crimp securely. repeat with dark blue wires. set panel back in freezer,connect plug to back of panel, refasten screws and you are go to go! save yourself the price of a new refrigerator or $300 repair by repairman!

I watched the instructional video and did what it said.

Just screw new one on again. All done, like new

Snaps right into place, easy as can be.

Disconnect the power. To install the Defrost timer which is located inside the console at the top of the fridge I followed a YouTube video. It is very easy. Keep in mind that the Defrost timer comes settled in defrost mode so the compressor will not start after the power is reconnected.There is a hole in the console just behind the Defrost timer where you engaged it with a flat driver and rotate the clock until the compresor start. Now the compressor works for 6 hours and stop for 20 minutes for the defrosting cicle. The freezer now is freezing the meat!!

Easy to install. It is self explanatory. You do not even need a manual or video explanation.

Turned off fridge circuit breaker
Removed all food from freezer and put in cooler.
Removed shelves from freezer
Removed ice maker
Removed 2 hex head screws
Tilted back evaporator cover and tried to unplug connection.
Found connection was iced over with a huge block of ice coming from water inlet to ice maker
Spent several hours trying to melt and chip away ice without damaging fridge.
Finally was able to break up ice with long flat head screwdriver and hammer.
Unplugged connector and was able to remove evaporator cover.
Cut wires near thermostat and removed
Stripped wire as needed and crimped new thermostat in place.
Used heat gun and lighter to melt heat shrink. This took a long time and required a lot more heat than expected.
Reconnected evaporator cover connection and reattached cover.
Reinstalled ice maker
Reinstalled shelves.
Put food back in
Turned circuit breaker back on.

The repair itself total time was quick and easy. Since the original fan blade blew apart, it was only a matter of putting the new one on in it's place. This can be done by feeding the blade between the cowling and Condenser coil and applying pressure to get it on the shaft.

If your fan is still on the shaft, simply push it off and extract it the same way. Then place the new one on the shaft.

In my case, since the part would take a couple days to get, and I had food both in the fridge and the freezer, I removed and unplugged the Condenser Fan Motor and the cowling frame and temporarily spliced a small fan I had into the line for the condenser motor. This kept the fridge working long enough to get the replacement part.

Side note. Direction of airflow is towards the Compressor, and draws air across the Condenser coils.

Hope this helps someone. :)