WRT5B1EW4 Westinghouse Refrigerator - Overview

This was the second part I tried. The defrost timer was first, but that did not fix it. To do this I had to remove the ice maker and the back plate of the freezer. Then I defrosted the coil and cut the wires. stripped them back and installed the new thermostat. re-assembled and tested. has been working great ever since.

I unplugged the refrigerator, then opened the door and removed four screws holding the plastic electrical panel to the interior top of the main refrigerator compartment and noticed the cold control was corroded badly, apparently from moisture in the panel. I ordered a new one from partselect.com. When it arrived the next day, I then pulled off the control knob, unclipped the cold control, unplugged the three wires to the control, then removed the styrofoam insulation blocks holding the thermocouple wire and then removed the thermocouple wire to complete the removal. I then reversed the process to install the new thermostat and control. That is repositioned the thermocouple wire, put the insulation blocks back to hold the wire, then replugged the three electrical wires, clipped the control back and pushed the control knob back on and finally screwed the panel back to the top of the main compartment and plugged the refrigerator electrical cord back in to provide current to the refrigerator. It immediately started up and ran fine. Total time - about 8 minutes.

I removed the fan housing in the freezer section by removing all the screws. (7) There are two screws behind the vents. I did not have an ice maker to contend with so this was very easy. There is only two wires to disconnect....the ground wire and the electricity supply. Then you remove the unit from the back of the housing cover by removing two screws. Then the motor is removed from it's housing by removing 2 more screws. 1...2...3 and you're ready to reverse the procedure. I am not mechanically inclined and this was easy. Saved myself perhaps $120.00. Repair folks wanted mininum of $60.00 just to come out. Part and shipping cost me 33 bucks.OH, DON'T FORGET TO UNPLUG THE FRIDGE. :>)