This part assembly has 2 functions: The defrost heater keeps the cooling coils from frosting over and the thermostat senses that the heat near the cooling coils has reached the desired temperature.
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Troubleshooting
This part fixes the following symptoms:
Fridge too warm | Freezer section too warm | Freezer not defrosting
Average Repair Rating: 3.6 / 5.0, 22 reviews.
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My freezer was working, but the fridge was warm.
After doing some research, I found that this problem is due to a defrost issue, and the easiest way to make sure you get it fixed is by replacing the defrost timer, defrost heaters, and defrost thermostat. The defrost timer is in the compartment in the fridge on the top level, behind the temperature settings panel. The defrost heaters were behind the back panel in the freezer section, and are long glass tubes that are only attached by a couple screws. When you buy the parts, dont buy the heaters and a defrost thermostat seperately, because the heaters come with a new defrost thermostat already wired to them. Once you get the back panel off, its pretty self explanatory how to remove the heaters.
Other Parts Used:
Kyle from Westfield, IN
Difficulty Level:
Easy
Total Repair Time:
30 - 60 mins
Tools:
Pliers, Screw drivers
47 of 50 peoplefound this instruction helpful.
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Freezer wasn't keeping food frozen
First I turned the freezer off and took out all of the shelves in the freezer section. I then removed the guides that the shelves go into. I removed these only from one side of the freezer - the left side actually. Now I removed the plastic piece that keeps the bulb in the freezer protected. Removed the bulb. Removed the three screws on the top and the two in the bottom that keep the rear panel of the freezer attached. This exposed the header cable and the coils. The coils had ice on the lower section, I used a hair dryer to melt the ice. Removed the cable assembly that has the two heater elements and the thermostat. The thermostat had to be plucked off the the metal pipe of coils. Replaced the assembly with the purchased assembly. Clipped the thermostat onto the metal pipe of the coils. COnnected the wires at the white connector. Attached the real panel using the five screws, put the bulb back in, installed the bulb cover, installed the shelf guides, put the shelves back in.
Freezer freezes very well now.
Other Parts Used:
Alok from Alpharetta, GA
Difficulty Level:
Really Easy
Total Repair Time:
30 - 60 mins
Tools:
Screw drivers
24 of 25 peoplefound this instruction helpful.
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Freezer would ice up and refrigerator stop cooling
First i unpluged the power then cleaned everything out of freezer and removed all the drawers and racks them removed the 2 screws at bottem of freezerand removed panel then removed 4 screws on the bulbs and unpluged the wire and took off the sensor and replaced with new one put everthing back. Then on the top of refigerator side on the top behind the adjuster is the defrost timer pulled handle out and off removed plastic shield and removed 2 screws and unplug the timer and change it then put everything back and pluged back in and everything worked in a few minutes
The refrigerator was leaking water from the freezer section.
First remove all food from the freezer section, disconnect the power to the refrigerator and then remove all the shelves in the freezer.
Then remove the back panel inside the freezer by taking out the screws holding it in and then simply lifting it out. A Philips screwdriver and 1/4" driver was needed.
After the panel is removed, you can see the defrost heater screwed to the refrigerator coils. It's in two sections wired together. One section is screwed to the bottom of the coil and the top section is screwed half way up the coils.
Unplug the wires and thermostat (coming from the defrost heater) from the wire assembly located above the coils.
Next, remove the screws holding the old defrost heater (there are two screws for each element of the defroster)and lift the heater out. Pay close attention as to how the old heater is situated in the freezer in order to put the new one in the same way.
Attach the new heater by putting the bottom element on first and replacing the two screws to secure it. Be careful to keep the wires from tangling and attach the top element the same way.
Next, carefully connect the wires and thermostat from the heater back to the wire assembly the same way they were connected from the old defrost heater.
Place the panel back in place in the back of the freezer section, replace the shelves, and connect the power. You're finished!!
P.S. Don't forget to put the food back in the freezer.
Other Parts Used:
Joe from Summerton, SC
Difficulty Level:
Easy
Total Repair Time:
15 - 30 mins
Tools:
Nutdriver, Screw drivers
14 of 17 peoplefound this instruction helpful.
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de light flasing on freezer door electronic disply
I removed the back wall panel inside the freezer compartment(approx. 6 screws). The coils were very iced up. I manually defrosted the the coils with a hand hair dryer. I then removed the 2 screws from each heater element and the clip-on thermostat from the coil. I pulled the elements, thermostat and wiring harness(item 230 on parts diagram) out of the freezer compartment and installed the new assembly. Electronic self-check of the defroster indicated normal. Further checks indicated the lower heating element was open.
Other Parts Used:
Sherri from Atlanta, TX
Difficulty Level:
A Bit Difficult
Total Repair Time:
30 - 60 mins
Tools:
Screw drivers
12 of 12 peoplefound this instruction helpful.
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Refrigerator warm / Freezer iced over
I began by turning off the refridgerator and then removing all of the drawers/bins and icemaker from the freezer.
I removed the three phillips-head screws across the top of the rear access panel. (same height as the light bulb) I then removed the two phillips-head screws from the bottom of the access panel.
I removed the access panel by swinging the left side forward to clear the drawer slides, while keeping the right side back against itsattaching points. (Like a door swinging on its hinges.)
I followed the wire harness from the upper heating element up to its connector and unplugged the defrosting heaters from the plug. I then gently removed the little (just smaller than a tea light candle) thermostat from the top of the coils. (Not far from where the wire connector was.)
I removed two phillips head screws for each heater unit and removed the whole thing as on big assembly.
I installed the new parts from the bottom up, careful not to damage anything. I installed the new thermostat carefully and then reconnected the wire harness. Next I reinstalled the access panel, starting twith the top center screw to hold it in place during the installation of the other 4 screws in the corners.
Lastly, I put the drawers / bins and icemaker back in and turned the refrigerator back on. DONE.
It corrected the problem. THANKS for the Great Customer Service, too!
Other Parts Used:
David from Lynnwood, WA
Difficulty Level:
Easy
Total Repair Time:
15 - 30 mins
Tools:
Screw drivers
10 of 10 peoplefound this instruction helpful.
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Burnt out heater defront unit
1. Turned unit off and removed freezer shelving 2. Removed 5 screws on back pannel to expose heaters 3. Deforsted coils with a hair dryer and removed ice cubes 4. Compaired new defrost harness to the existing 5. Removed 4 screws holding the defective harness 6. Installed new heater harness with 4 screws and elec. plug 7. Reinstalled back pannel and shelving 8. Turned unit back on
Other Parts Used:
Fred from Martinez, CA
Difficulty Level:
Really Easy
Total Repair Time:
15 - 30 mins
Tools:
Screw drivers
8 of 8 peoplefound this instruction helpful.
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Top of refrigerator and freezer are warmer than bottom. Also, a large amoutnt of ice build up in the back of the freezer.
**Before you order a new part make sure you get the FULL model number off of the back of the refrigerator** To even get to the back panel I had to melt the ice in the back of the freezer with a hair dryer. Once the ice was gone I removed 5 screws that held the panel that covers the coils. I melted more ice from the coils. I disconnected the connector for the old heater wiring harness and pooped the thermosat off. Then, removed the screws that held the heaters (2 per heater). Installed new heaters and connected wiring harness. Snapped new thermosat on. Replaced coil cover and plugged it back in.
Other Parts Used:
Andrew from Decatur, AL
Difficulty Level:
Easy
Total Repair Time:
15 - 30 mins
Tools:
Screw drivers
7 of 7 peoplefound this instruction helpful.
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would not defrost
First I removed the light cover, one screw. Then I removed the rear coil cover, three Phillips screws and two hex head screws. I then defrosted the coils and removed the old defrost element and wiring harness, two hex head screws held in the element, wiring harness just unplugs. I the installed the new defrost coils ( new one had two coils but had a previously designed area for the second element ) and ran the wiring harness up to where the plug was. I then reinstalled the coil cover plate, and light guard and started the refridgerator. Frige runs like new. Thank you PartSelect for the extremely propmt delivery and the correct part. part
Other Parts Used:
Richard from Quakertown, PA
Difficulty Level:
Really Easy
Total Repair Time:
15 - 30 mins
Tools:
Screw drivers, Socket set
7 of 7 peoplefound this instruction helpful.
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freezer coil iceing up
removed freezer racks and back panel. removed and relaced defrosting harness. reassembled compartment PartSelect rocks! easy to locate needed parts. price is fair and quick shipping. saved me $$$$
Other Parts Used:
Paul from Palmdale, CA
Difficulty Level:
Easy
Total Repair Time:
30 - 60 mins
Tools:
Screw drivers
7 of 7 peoplefound this instruction helpful.
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Questions and Answers
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4 questions answered by our experts.
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Perry
May 28, 2019
Not clear on how to re-mount these and it seems that the bottom heater is too far away from the evaporator coils. It has good continuity and heats up during defrost cycle but isn’t defrosting the coils. The upper one is between the coils and is working well to defrost the upper part of the coils but the water from them drips and freezes on the bottom coils. I need to see exactly how these are suppose to be mounted if possible. Thank you!
For model number 363.9534711
Hello Perry, Thank you for the question. Here is a link to How to Video that may help. Good luck with the repair!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fb8iz56hcEo&t=4s
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Tom
May 6, 2019
Thank you for responding to my earlier question. I have replaced the start relay and overload about a year ago, and the temperature control is working. Would the run capacitor affect refrigerant flow?
For model number TFX25CRBB BB
Hi Tom, thank you for your follow up question. It can, the run capacitor helps run the compressor which provides the freon into the tubing and up through your appliance. However that part can be tested with a multi meter to double check if it is working or not. When testing the part it should deflect to 0 ohms and then return to infinite ohms of resistance to be working correctly. I hope that helps. Good luck with your repair.
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Tom
May 6, 2019
Evap coils were freezing up. I replaced the two defrost heaters, thermostat cut-out for heaters, and defrost timer. I also replaced evaporator fan motor, but transferred over the original evap fan blade. I am still occasionally get ice-up on the lower evaporator coil section. I verified the resistance of the two heaters (they put out different amounts of heat) and they are up to spec. What could be causing my on-going icing? It takes about a month before the lower coil ices up. Any help is appreciated.
For model number TFX25CRBBBB
Hi Tom, thank you for your question. It seems like you have changed out the parts that generally cause that issue. Those parts being the defrost timer, defrost thermostat, and the defrost heater. You may need to check to see if perhaps your temperature switch is working correctly and that it is not set too low. If that part is fine you could go on to check the run capacitor and start relay on your compressor as well. I hope that helps. Good luck with your repair.
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Patricia
August 29, 2019
If I am ordering the defrost heater with thermostat should I also order the control/timer WR9X489? Can I have shipped to receive tomorrow?
For model number TPX24BRYEBB
Hi Patricia,
Thank you for your question. If it is just the defrost heater with thermostat that is not working, then you do not need to replace the timer. If you are unsure which part is causing the issue, you will need to test the parts with a multimeter. Here is a link to one of our videos on YouTube that you may reference on how to use one, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWC44fHn0As. We do offer next business day shipping. If the order is placed before 4pm EST Mondays to Fridays, it will be delivered on the next business day. If the order is placed on a Friday before 4pm EST, the order will be delivered on the following Monday unless that Monday is a holiday then it will be delivered on Tuesday. I hope this helps. Thank you and have a great day!
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