PRT173HV0 Frigidaire Refrigerator - Instructions

1st. replaced the defrost thermostat pn 5303918214 did not fix it next replaced the defrost timmer pn 215846602 that did not fix it,next replaced the defrost heater pn 5303918247 still did not fix it,has the same problem as when I started I don't know what to do next guess will call for a service tech to come out,or get a new refridgerator. Looks like I wasted my money on these parts. Refridgerators are not as easy to fix as yall make them out to be. I have to say all the parts were easy to install and your instructions and videos were great, they just did not fix my refrigerator Thanks Tom

I followed the advice posted by others at parts select website. This made the repair process easier. Everything went very well, and my refrigerator is working just fine. I definitely will use parts select in the future for any appliance parts and repairs I may need.

Removed the old burned out evaporator fan, and with the model# was able to find a replacement at PartSelect. I was really surprised that you had the exact part on a fridge that old. Installed the new fan, and the fridge is working beautifully. Thanks to PartSelect I was able to save several hundred dollars.

This is a top and bottom frige. I unplugged the fridge and I took off the sheld in the freezer and removed the blower fan cover and unplugged the fan to remove the back freezer panel. Be careful when moving the fan. It looks sensitive. I used a hair dryer to melt the frost to get to the screws. Because it was frosted the back panel was hard to take off. Don't force it too much, just keep melting the ice. Once it was off the radiator looking thing was completely frosted and iced over and I couldnt even see the thermostat. I started blowing it with the hair dryer and it started melting. It took an hour to get the ice melted enough to actually see and remove the thermostat. You may want to leave the fridge off for a day. I didnt have a choice because I didnt have anywhere else to place the food. I was using the freezer as the fridge. Thats how cool the freezer was. I cut the wires for the thermostat. Im sure you could check which is positive and which is negative. I just looked at the direction the wires went. This works but it is not guaranteed. Check for ground. Google it if you need to know how. I used the clamp connector things but I didnt have a clamper so I used a plier. It works but I didnt like how it clamped. The little tubing didnt work for me becuase I didnt have a solder gun to warm it up and using a match is not good. You'll burn the wire. Buy electric tape and wrap it around. Dont use regular tape. Go to home depot it costs 99 cents. Make sure all ice is melted. Go over everything with the hairdryer to melt the ice. You dont want it to start freezing and clog up the vents, expsecially the one that goes from the fan to the fridge. Before I put everything back together I changed the defrost timer because I figured its best to change it since you never know. I loosened the two screws but first I took offf the screw holding the timer panel. I changed the defrost timer and connected it back. Then I screwed everything together. Then I screwed in the back freezer panel but not the fan cover so I could see if the fan is working. I plugged in the fridge and the fan didnt work. If you look under the defrost timer panel, the timer has a round part that you can move with a flathead screwdriver. Move it lightly clockwise and the fan will start. I read that the fan goes for 8 hours and then it turns off for a half hour. Seems like a lot of time to be on but its been a week and the fridge and freezer are working real good. This website is good and the aprts are cheaper than Sears.

Removed screws from bottom door hinge,,removed door,(don't lose washer from top door hinge when the door is removed),the new gasket wasn't too out of shape,i put fridge door on table top , loosened all the screws, pulled off the old gasket,,cleaned the surfaces, and installed the new gasket,,"Take yout time to make sure the gasket is completely and correctly under the door liner.If the new gasket is somewhat deformed,a hair dryer will work great to reshape,,"Be Careful-Do Not Overheat".I reinstalled the door , and it's working fine. NOTE; Since i removed the bottom hinge, i needed a second person to help keep the door from falling when i removed the lower hinge, and needed the second hand to do the reinstall. Have a tube of RTV Silicone Sealant on hand and follow supplied instructions.

Based on the diagnosis on this site I thought the 66% odds of the problem being the Defrost Timer looked pretty good, $30 including shipping versus a Sears tech phone estimate of $250-300. BINGO! Just follow the online installation instructions and don't forget to use the reset switch as described. Works like new! THANK YOU

Followed instruction vedeo from partselect. THANKS!!!!!

unplugged frig,removed bottom front cover and loosend 2 screws at bottom front left and slid defrost timer out from behind metal panel,unplugged the old and plugged in the new.frig works great.

pulled down the thermostat cover and unpluged the timer control and replaced it with the new part. total time to repair was about 15 min. there was a vidio on how to replace the new part that just informed me that I did it right!!!!very easy site to find what you are looking for!!!!

Just followed the online instruction video .It was very easy.

Diagnosis: used wiring diagram attached to frig and determined cause could be wiring, heater element, thermostat or timer. After completely defrosting the frig (turned it off) I removed the rear cover in the freezer and looked for an obvious problem. None seen. Removed temperature select pod from the frig box and looked for obvious problems. None seen but defrost timer appeared poorly made. Repair: Since I had no practical way of checking the defrost cycle in operation, I checked probable failures on the Part Select website and saw defrost timer as most probable. I ordered the timer. Installed it. Waited a few days to make sure the frig went through a few defrost cycles then removed the freezer rear cover. There was no excessive frost buildup so I'm reasonably sure the repair was successful.

Based on other problems listed I determined I had a bad thermostat, defrost timer, or defrost heater. Since my refrig is over 14 years old I decided to replace all three components since I don't have testing equipment. As a former aircraft mechanic in the Air Force who did a lot of removal and replacement of components I didn't have any problems. Your videos were very helpful and on point. My refrigerator is now working perfectly. My rational for replacing the three components was it was still cheaper than having a refrigeration person to come out and I received your parts the next day. By the way, the defrost timer is located outside in the bottom left front of the refrigerator while the videos suggested that it was inside under the control panel. Thanks!

It was fairly easy to replace the thermostat. Unplug the refrigerator first. Then remove the refrigertor light bulb and 3 screws on the plastic cover that houses the thermostat and defrost timer. Unplug the thermostat from the wiring on the refrigerator and remove the plastic housing holding the thermostat. Remove two screws holding the thermostat and replace with the new one. Put everything back together in reverse order. Unfortunately, this did not corrrect my problem. The refrigerator is well over 30 years old and I had narrowed down the problem to the thermostat because the old one was hard to turn to adjust. About 10 years ago, I replaced the defrost heater in the rear of the freezer compartment for the same problem, and didn't think that would be the problem this time. Well, as it turned out, I checked the resistance on the defrost heater and it was was bad again. I replaced the heater this week I got from PartSelect, and the refrigerator cycles fine now. Replacing the heater is a little more work that changing the thermostat. You have to remove the freezer compartment fan, fan vent, and back inside wall of the freezer section to expose the coils and the heater element. You just need a socket screw driver. Then you have to reach inside and unplug each end of the heater to check it with your ohm meter. A bad element will show up as an open circuit. Then to replace it, you have to maneuver it around to get if away from the coils and remove a couple of clips. Anyone with some common sense can do it, but it can be a bit challenging.

Replace evap fan motor. Take a close-up picture of the evaporator fan motor installation prior to removing. Take pictures as removing various components.

I went on partselect put in make and model number, a list showed the probable cause. I watched the how to video. When I received the part in short order I loosened 2 screws disconnected the wiring plug (sprayed it with contact cleaner) pluged it in, removed screws from old part put them in new one. Put timer back in its location and tightened the screws. Very eazy, works fine.