FFSS2315TE2 Frigidaire Refrigerator - Instructions

PURCHASE:
Buy the terminator from the site because they sell the
terminator (thermostat) separately. Other places have it with the
wiring harness for more money. Changing it with the harness attached
is a very, very involved project. It includes removing the entire inner
liner of the freezer. The one the site sells requires only a simple
crimp splice and shrink tube.

TEST- If you have another freezer, ice or a friend's freezer available,
it is highly recommended that the new part be tested:
You will need an Ohm meter or a continuity tester. You can make one
very easily per instructions found on line.
TEST RESULTS-
a) At room temperature. An Ohm meter should show "Open".
b) After being in a freezer or submerged in ice water for at least an
hour, the Ohm meter should show "Closed".

I have installed hundreds of defrost thermostats. Very occasionally
one is defective. This project is a bit involved, so it is wise to pre-test.

HOW TO INSTALL THE DEFROST TERMINATOR (THERMOSTAT):
A) Prep
Remove Food & Be sure the freezer is warm.
Parts need to be pried upon & cold plastic breaks easily.
Tip: Put the screws in separate cups with labels. This will make
re-installing the many components easier.
Gather tools from the attached list.

B) Unplug Unit (Turning it off is not sufficient protection against shock.)

C) Remove Light Bulb (If it gets broken while working, glass may
get in the eyes.)

D) Remove Drawers (This is a bottom freezer unit with 2 drawers)
1) ) Upper Drawer:
a) Locate the 2 rectangular boxes covering the gears. They are
on each side, toward the rear of the drawer.
b) With a nylon spudger, push in the 2 clips on each box and
lift the boxes 1/4". They will stop at 1/4".
c) At the front of each track, remove 2 hex head screws with a
5/15" nut driver or a 1/4" flat bladed screwdriver.
d) Lift the front of the drawer a small amount while pulling drawer.
Lifting allows the 2 stops on the drawer to clear the track tabs.
e) When near the end of the drawer, lift the gear wheels slightly
to clear the track.
f) Put the drawer out of the way.

2) Lower Drawer With Front Door
*Leaving the door attached makes it easier to align the drawer when
reinstalling it later. It must be straight or the gasket will gap.
a) Put a thick towel on the floor, in front of the unit, so the door
can be laid upon in without scratching the handle or the floor.
b) Pull the drawer out and look at each track about 2/3 of the way
to the back of the freezer. You will see two long, white tabs.
c) Push a tab in while pulling the track slightly forward. Firm pulling
is required. Repeat on the other side.
d) Drag the towel and door out of the way

D) Remove the air grill at the top, rear of the freezer.
1) There is a clip in the center to push with a spudger.
It is easy to see in a photo of a replacement fan bracket.
2) On the right side, in the top row of square holes, is another clip
to press with a spudger while pulling that side of the grill out.
3) On the left, there is an air chute blocking the clip. It can not be
removed. With the right side pulled free, gently wiggle & pull the
left side until the clip clears & the grill is free to leave.

E) Remove the Ice Maker (Water does not have to be turned off)
1) Loosen, but do not remove, 2 screws above the ice mold.
2) Remove the one lower screw & put it aside.
3) Lift the ice maker & store it out of the way.
4) Do Not turn any wheels by hand, nor bend the bail wire.

F) Remove the Thermistor Cover (Upper Right Back Wall)
1) Gently squeeze the sides while pulling. Stop as soon as it's free.
2) Note how the thermistor & wires are installed in the cover &
thread the thermistor free.
3) Set the cover aside.

G) Remove The back Wall
1) Remove all visible hex head screws.
2) The back wall can now be removed.
3) Set it aside where it will not scratch any surfaces, as the edges
are a little sharp

H) De-Ice the evaporator with a heat gun or hair dryer.
Don't hold the heat source in one spot for long or wire insulation
or plastic components will be damaged.

I) Note the permanent ice ball in the upper-right corner.
The defrost thermostat is under this ball. Melt it with heat.

J) Install The New Thermostat
Hint- Take the thermostat to a hardware store to buy the
correct size shrink tube and crimp sleeves (butt connectors)

Easy to remove the auger Motor and Solenoid, however, it didn't fix the problem. $300.00 into it I now have to purchase a circuit board for $382.00. Not a happy camper.

Easy

Repair was easy. Unplug refrigerator, turn off water to ice maker, remove back panel, disconnect water inlet valve, disconnect water supplies and electrical connections. Cut ends off tubing to modify to new part connections, connect tubing, connect electrical supplies, reinstall back panel, plug refrigerator in, turn water supply back on. We made sure that there was no ice build up in the supply tube into the ice maker and made sure that everything worked correctly before putting it all back together. It was an easy repair.

Followed the online video from this site

Old valve comes out with 2 screws, water lines removed and reinstalled on new valve just as they came off the old valve. Entire job took less than 10 minutes. Very easy replacement.

Disconnect the two water supply tubes at the base of the Water Filter Base. Using a 7/16" open end wrench, press up on the blue "O" rings to disconnect the tubes. Use a Using an 8" long magnetic phillips head screw driver I was able to unscrew the 4 short screws holding the original water filter base and the immovable attached water filter. Replacement was easy. Simply slide the new base into the fixed slot on the refrigerator and reinstall the 4 holding screws. Reconnect the water supply tubes to the Water Filter Base. Install a new water filter.

Removed old broken pan cover and replaced with new pan cover..

WAS SO EASY, THE PART WAS PERFECT IN SIZE AND EVERYTHING.

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. :)

Removed old water valve w/ screwdriver, cut threads off old hose (as they just plug straight into new valve) & pushed hoses into new water valve. Solved both problems!!!!

DID IT JUST LIKE THE VIDEO SHOWED. UNHOOKED ELECTRICS, CUT TUBING, HOOKED UP ELECTRICS THEN TUBES TO NEW PART. PIECE OF CAKE.

I watched the video and followed every step as outlined. It worked perfect, until I reconnected the supply line to my triple water valve. I used the old compression fitting and the compression nut. I should have cut the line and installed a new fitting and nut. The water on the floor the next morning reminded me of that. So back out I went and replaced the compression fitting and it has been as good as new. The ice maker took a few cycles to work again, I think it needed to fill the line with water first. But I have a huge sense of pride every time I hear water dispenced or ice dump in the freezer. Thanks for the help and encouragement!

I was able to replace the housing by only removing the front cover, the e-ring and washer and the 3 hex-head screws. I was able to work the old housing around to get the actuator arm off and then get it properly inserted into the new housing. Attach the new housing, IMPORTANT: make sure you get the fixed-blades and spacer assembly in the slot of the housing that holds them in place, replace the e-ring and washer, check that the actuator arm operates the door properly and replace the front cover. The videos can be helpful but these shortcuts will save some time.

Followed install instructions on utube. Once freezer was empty, back panel was easily removed, and defrost thermostat was in plain sight, and easy to replace. Hope that solved my problem. Refrigerator has been plugged in for four days now, and is cooling properly so far.