M05A (V1) Frigidaire Freezer - Instructions

After receiving the new part almost immediately,using two screw drivers, removed the broken switch from the plastic frame. Be careful not to scratch or otherwise tear the plastic...very pliable. Since the original switch was factory installed and the wires were packed in fiberglass insulation, the switch came out but the wires and clips were still in place and could not reach the new switch. It was necessary to pull them down with bent long nose pliers...used a lot of "pull" but the wires held up.Connected the switch, turned the power on and there was light! Reports from other users really took the uncertainty out of the task.

All you need is a 1/4" nut driver or a 1/4" socket and ratchet. Remove the plastic cover to the freezer fan. remove cover to light fixture, bulb, pop out the light socket and remover 2 wires. Remove Ice maker by removing bottom screw and loosing the top 2 screws then lift up and out the ice maker enough to disconnect wiring harness. Revove 4 screws in back panel and the panel can be moved foward. Remove 2 screws holding the fan to the panel. Lay the fan on top of the cooling coil and remove ice maker electrical plug and the panel can be removed easely. Both the heating coil and thermostate switch are easly excessable.

I tried to remove the old light switch using a putty knife and a hammer. It was hard to compress the plastic tabs to pull it back through the hole, but all of a sudden, the lights came on. I guess banging on the switch freed-up the contacts. The new switch is now a spare part in case I need it.

The old light fixture and socket were easily removed. This was done with the power connected, but I already knew the switch didn't need to be handled. The solderless connectors are all insulated, so I just had to be careful. The new socket would not accept the connector for the "hot" (red) wire in the fridge, due to a design change. This is, of course, why you furnished a loose 3/16 inch crimpon connector. Rather than cutting the red wire (remember, the power is still connected), I obtained an insulated 3/16 connector of the opposite gender, and a short piece of red-insulated wire from an old fluorescent tube ballast, and made a jumper. The connector I provided (male) did not fit tightly in the original fridge connector, so I put a layer of resin-core solder on my male connector. You need tight connections. If the solder layer is too thick, it's easy to file down. Make sure to heat the solder sufficiently that the solidified solder is shiny and not dull gray. I used a 100-watt gun. 20 watts would probably work too. DO NOT USE ACID-CORE SOLDER OR FLUX ON ELECTRICAL WORK! I knew the switch was good, because I had checked for voltage at the socket terminals using my voltmeter, before I ordered the socket. It read 120 volts every time the door switch was open, and zero volts every time the door switch was pushed closed. A simple voltage tester would work here, too. Be very careful if you do this test or this repair with the power connected to the fridge; there is considerable potential to find yourself touching 120 volts with one hand while your other hand is touching a perfect "ground". There doesn't seem to be any choice if you want to test the switch. You do have a choice with the socket replacement - - the jumper described above. If you're not going to use the jumper approach, cut the power! If you are going to make a jumper and are not comfortable working on a "live" circuit, cut the power.

removed back sheet from inside of freezer unit. removed upper and lower coil brackets. undid clips and replaced coils. reattached wires to top , replaced back sheet.

Unplugged the unit. Removed items from the freezer. Remove 2 phillip head screws from the cover over the coils. Defrosted the unit with a blow dryer. Upon completion of defrosting, put everything back together. Removed items and top shelf in refrigerator to gain access to the controls. Removed a 1/4 inch nut head screw and loosened 2 each phillip head screws. Unplug the controls from unit and placed on kitchen counter. Removed 3 each phillip head screws holding the timer in place and unplugged the timer. Installed new timer, connected everything back together and placed everything back into the refrigerator. Plugged the unit back up and it is now cooling and defrosting properly. This whole process took approximately 45 minutes.