RT193GCF3 Frigidaire Refrigerator - Instructions

After reading other posts, I decided to change the defrost thermostat, so I watched the videos, and did that. It got better, but the problem persisted, and the ice was still building up in the freezer section. So I decided that the problem was with the defrost heater. I ordered a new one, that was here under 24hs (using the Fedex ground). I replaced it, measured the old one and saw that it was not passing any current at all (so it was really burnt). Now the fridge is good as new, maintaining the proper temperatures both at Freezer and Fridge sections. Thank you Parts Select ! With $ 70 in parts I was able to get back my appliance working !!!

Removed the lower trim panel from front of fridg. and loosened two screws enough to turn it about 1/4 inch so the screw heads were in the larger holes. Pulled it out disconnected the wire connector and transfered the heat shield and screws to the new clock, connected the wire connector and aligned the screws. tightened them and job done. Has worked like new sense. Thanks Roger

I watched the video you had on-line and it was simple. Thank you so much

there were three possible problems the timer, the thermostat, or the heating element.i replaced the timer first as that is the problem 65% of the time and that did not fix the problem, i replaced the thermostat and that did fix the problem. after watching the video on line from parts select i took the back off of the freezer from the inside, defrosted the coils with a hair blower and then swapped out the thermostat which pops right off and i spliced the old connectors to the new thermostat. the heat shrink tubing that came with the part was a little to big so i put a smaller peice on each side for water proofing. that is what the cigarette lighter is for to supply heat to the heat shrink tubing.now that i have fixed that problem i may tackle the ice maker next

Turned off Refrigerator by thermostat switch in Freezer Compartment,(allowing for light to work in freezer). Then removed all food from freezer side,then all shelves & basket drawer. Next, unplugged refrigerator from electrical source. Removed back of inside of the freezer. Located the Thermostat for defrosting cooling coil. Removed and replaced with new part.(Tip-unplugged the wires for the original thermostat, remove from freezer and cut off and splice with connectors provided with new part, it's easier because you're not trying to do this in the narrow space of the freezer). Then attach the thermostat with new bracket and plug thermostat wires back in, replace back panel, shelves, plug in power supply, turn thermostat switch in Freezer to normal setting. Wait for Freezer to cool and replace food. It's currently working like new. BTW I thought I need a defrost time as well...however after I ordered that part and received it, I turned the existing defroster timer manually with a straight ended screwdriver very slowly and it cycled and the defrost rods glowed/functioned just fine. Therefore I didn't replace defrost timer. I'll save the new timer for future repair if needed. All in all it was fairly easy, and I didn't have to buy another fridge. I was really pleased with the service of this website...and the parts arrived very quickly via Fedex. Thanks www.partselect.com ! KJ

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 the control panel, removed the control knob, removed the defrost timer and installed new one, and removed temp control, installed new one. Refrigerator working great!!!!! :)

All I had to do was change out motors, and the fam would spin right,and the freezer was alive again. With your older models you may have to re-mount the motor bracket in the back for the fan to clear,due to the fact that the motor sits alittle lower than the old model

Ordered new parts, removed old parts, put in new parts. Done.

Part Select suggested probable causes and supplied videos of how to make the repair of a 25 yr.old refrigerator along with the specific parts to order. I was about to trash the old refrigerator but after replacing the parts for a total of about $40 and 1 hour of time it works fine now.

1. Unplug the refrigerator.2. Remove the storage rack and back panel in the freezer. 3. Locate the thermostat. 4. Defrost the freezer coils , i used a hair dryer. 5. Remove the thermostat from the cooling coil and then clip the connecting wires close to the unit. 6. Strip the ends of these wires and connect these wires to the wires of the replacement unit using the supplied wire connectors. 6. Heat seal with a lighter the connections using the water shield sleeves provided and further wrap connections with electrical tape. 7. Reconnect the thermostat to the cooling coil at the location it was removed from. 8. Replace the freezer back panel removed earlierand the storage rack if you have one. 9. Plug the freezer back in. My refrigerator has been working ever since the repair. There are several YouTube videos available that walk you through the diagnoses and repair process. They are very good.

Unplug the refrigerator. You will ultimately need to remove the back panel of the freezer. But first, you will need to unscrew 2 screws on a small vertical fan vent and unscrew two screws on the fan. Maneuver the fan out of the round hole in the back panel and unplug the 3 prong wire connection. Then remove the fan. Unscrew the 4 remaining visible screwson the back pannel and remove the panel. This will expose the freon coils. On this model, the heater has two connections at the top of the coils. Unplug those wire connections. The heater extends down each side of the coils and along the bottom of the coils. Unhook two aluminum ties that connect the heater element to the coils. These ties stabilize the heater element and also prevents any current from flowing along the element because of the touching of two different metalic parts. Maneuver the heater element out of the coils. To install the new heater, reverse the above process beginning with installing the new heater element. If it hasn't already been done, it is good idea to test the old heater element with an ohm meter to make sure that the element is actually bad. The circuit should be open. This is the second heater element that I had to replace on this refrigerator, and it was actually burned in half both times, so I knew for sure the element was bad. Then test the new element to make sure it is good, and start the installation..

The instructions given to me by part Select were very good.I replaced the Timer- checked the heater with oham meter it was good- checked the door weather striping it was good and replaced the thermostat with new .So at this point I may need to call a professional unless some one has another solution.

I original tried to repair the motor but was not able to. I remove the screws on the back plate and removed the the back plate. Removed the shroud for the motor and screws, unplug the power connection and removed the fan motor. Installed the new fan motor and reassembled everything. The refrigerator is working great.