HMG191650 Admiral Refrigerator - Instructions

Researched this problem on the web. Disassembled the main refrigeration unit (slide out freezer floor panel). The cooling coils were completely iced up. Thawed overnight. Tested the coil thermostat with a multimeter and discovered it worked. Note that the activation temp on this thermostat is 15 degrees Fahrenheit so the ice-water bath test on many web videos will NOT work. My test was in another refrigerator freezer compartment (everyone has two, right?). When the temperature went below 15 and stayed there for 15 minutes, the thermostat opened the circuit. Further investigation revealed that the defrost heater was burnt and shorted. Replaced the defrost heater only to discover that the defrost timer was also broken. After replacing the defrost timer and testing each component thoroughly, the refrigerator is back in service. Freezer maintains about 8 F and the main refrigerator stays at about 36. The unit cycles off properly and the defrost timer is correctly initiating a defrost cycle. Further, when the defrost heater is cycled on, the thermostat correctly shuts it off once the coils are defrosted. Watch the youtube videos. Find your parts and note their specifications so you can test them properly. And good luck.

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.