FRT21QRCD5 Frigidaire Refrigerator - Instructions

I removed the screw holding the assembly to the roof of the refrigerator and pulled it dow. I took out the two screws holding the Temp control, removed the three wires and reversed the process to reassemble. Works great now!

Popped off the front plastic cover on the bottom of the fridge, under the doors. Two screws held the defrost timer on under the front side of fridge (below freezer door). You can't really see the timer except for the adjustment knob that is accessible through a hole. Once the screws are removed, disconnect the wire plug and remove and replaced unit. Works fine ever since.

I located the part that was the culprit as it had buzzed very much before quitting. This is an easy removal as the part is in a two prong jack and just needs to be carefully removed with the new part inserted back in the jack provided. The refrigerator works fine now, but the run capacitor will still buzz on start up of the compressor. I do hope this is normal in this model? anyway it runs fine mow. Thank you.

removed back cover from freezer to replace defrost stat. removed cover from refrigerator to replace defrost timer

First, I unplugged the appliance. Safety, first.
Than I removed the shield which was held in by screws. This covered the fan, thermometer.
The defrost thermostat was taken out, with a little extra force. The wires on the defective part were no longer attached to the part. The instructions were easy to follow in replacing the defrost thermostat. I stripped the coating on the wire, attached it with the enclosed electical bugs. The assy was able to follow, and the part went back on. The refrigerator is working perfectly. I couldn't have done it without the help in diagnosing the problem and with the speedy delivery of the new part. Thanks for all your help and the ease of the installing the new part!

took cover off inside freezer control . removed old fan and unpluged wire harness plugged new one up and fastened back in place and put control cover back on.

Make sure unplugged the frig before doing any repair. Just like other DIYers. opened up the evaporator located inside the freezer. Replaced the defrost thermostat, there's only 2 wires, so just make sure which is positive, which is negative. Replaced the defrost timer located on the bottom front of the frig. There's on 2 screws to unscrew. All those work took me less than half hour. Turn on the frig., now it works like a champ again. Hope it will last another 10 years.

Tapping on the thermostat control would start the compressor, but after cycle was complete it would not start again on it's own. Seemed like a slam-dunk that the control contacts were worn out. PS had the right part in stock, and it arrived quickly. Nearly identical to the original part, it installed without any problems. One minor glitch, though - the mounting tabs are tapped for #6 screws, but the original screws were #4. Since no hardware was included, I had to dig up larger screws to make it work. Not a big deal at all - but it would be handy to include these screws. Works just like the original, maintains inside temp just fine. A no-brainer for 65 bucks. This fridge is 15+ years old, and now serves as a beer cave. Cold beers for everyone!

The BIG problem was getting the old drip pan off. The bolt on top of the compressor was too long to allow the removal of the old drip pan. I removed the old drip pan by cutting most of it away with tin shears then cutting the remaining part of the pan around the bolt with a hack saw (taking care not to damage freon lines and raising the pan above the threads of the bolt so as not to damage the threads). I still had to cut half the bolt away with a hack saw by replacing the nut and cutting a third of the bolt away (above the nut), so the new pan would fit. Putting the new pan on was a breeze after that. It may be easier to just cut the bolt off altogether on top of the compressor and use the wire clips per the instructions supplied with the kit to install the new one.

I started with the freezer door. I lifted the old gasket from the inside edge to get to the hex head screws that attach the plastic inside liner to the outer door. I did not need to start at any one point so I picked a screw and removed it then I worked my way around the door. I was careful to not drop the liner when I removed the last screw. I removed the liner and pulled the old seal out of its seating grove and replaced it with the new seal. Then I used a hair dryer to fix a few places where the seal was deformed from the packing. The heat helped to get the magnetic seal back into the correct shape. I only had one corner to fix the rest of the seal was fine right out of the box. I applyed a little sealer just as the instruction said to do and then reinstalled the linner and new seal. Then I went through the same process for the refrigerator door. Not a hard job just a lot of screws to remove and then put back. The seal its self took about five minutes. Thanks for the parts!

Chris

just took the back cover of the freezer of and then the fan. To do this, I just removed like four bolts at the corners and then four bolts that attached the fan to the cover. At the end, I just unplugged the cables. I got my new fan the very next day, which was like extremly fast, plug in the cables and attached the fan to the cover and then attached the cover to the original place. It's a pretty simple repair. My fridge is now working like it should be.

I secured the power to the fridge. I took the metal panel which covers the cooling coils in the freezer off by removing the the 6 sheet metal screws. I used a standard hair dryer to melt the ice block which had formed due to the failure of the defrost timer. I replace the defrost timer, which was located behind the left front wheel of the unit. Finding the timer was the hardest part of the job. Since I was having trouble with the defrost cycle I also decided to replace the defrost thermostat due to its age. The most important item I would like to share is once all the work is done and the panel is back in the freezer, the power is restored take a straight slot screw driver and give the defrost timer about an eighth of a turn clockwise to ensure it starts. Then mark it with a sharpe and check it in 3 or 4 hours to make sure it is running. I did not do this on the one I installed and the freezer did not go into the defrost cycle. Once I got the timer started, well the ice cream stay frozen. BE SURE NOT TO WORK ON YOUR EQUIPMENT WITH IT PLUGGED INTO POWER SOURCE!!!

Jim

The site offers a video for this part which worked perfectly. In addition to replacing the part, since the cardboard panel was off, we also cleaned all the dust off of the coils which someone recommended to do annually.

Simple switch repair: Unplug fridge, pull down to remove switch assembly, slip contacts off. Reverse with replacement switch. HOWEVER, check first to see if the bulb filament might be broken, as this could cause the same symptom. OR in my case, the light socket connection was the culprit. Check that too before ordering a replacement switch.

1. turn off the refrigerator using the inside temp dial
2. take all food out of the refrigerator door
3. pull up the gasket along the door frame and loosen all
the screws starting with the bottom and the sides
4. loosen the screws underneath the gasket on the top of
the door (be ready to lower the door frame when you
loosen the last screw!)
5. pull the old gasket off the door frame
6. put the door frame on the floor insulation side up
7. lay the new gasket out on the floor and use a blow
dryer to heat the new gasket to make it flexible
8. put the new gasket on the frame by fitting the crease
of the gasket over the edge of the frame making sure
that the magnet side of the new gasket is facing the
refrigerator when the frame is re-attached
9. apply RTV Silicone sealant along the entire lip of the
gasket (on the insulation side of the frame) and press
the gasket to the frame to form a bond ( I got a tube
of RTV silicone at Wal-Mart in the automotive dept. near
the motor oils)
10. wait 5-10 minutes to let the silicone bond to the frame
11. lift the frame up and re-attach to the door starting
with the top middle screw first, the side middle screws
next, the bottom middle screw last (you may want to get
a second person to help hold the frame while you are
attaching these initial screws)
12. go back and re-attach all remaining screws
13. close the refrigerator door and check for a good seal
all along the gasket
14. your done!

Note: you may want to close the refrigerator door and block
it with a chair to keep in some cold air after you
remove the frame to install the new gasket