TFF19DPB General Electric Refrigerator - Instructions

repairman came looked it over said problem was thermostat control which was not made anymore and left charging service call $190.00 I went online found the control for $160.00 received it in 3 days put it in 30 mins later working fine.

refridgerater side warming, freezer warming
Appliance
General Electric Refrigerator

Model
TFXW20R

Level of Difficulty
Really easy

Time to do repair
1- 2 hours

Age of Appliance
More than 10 years

Tools
Pliers
Nutdriver
Screw drivers
Dilver From Milton, KY
Dec 05, 2011
0 out of 1 people found this instruction helpful



First I diagnosed the problem being a defrost timer as the symtoms are the same as the heater elements. I installed the timer and it worked great for about a week until the frost build up on the evaporator became too much again and then the symtoms returned. I then checked the heater elements and found that both were bad PLUS two clips to the elements were corroded. I then ordered the 2 heater elements. There is more than 1 heater element. Make sure you measure the length of each and then use the graph picture with "Parts Select" on the new ones before you order. There is about a 2" in length difference. Also one comes in a kit with thermostat and wires. Wrong for me. I really wanted that unit as I needed the harness for the bad terminals but it was the wrong heaters and it also came with a new thermostat. Luckly I did not order that one but did order a new thermostat to make sure I did not have to go through this ordeal again. When the parts came I had already replaced the terminals and was ready to go when FedX came. Just make sure you check your heaters before just buying the defrost timer as it may keep you from going back to redo your repair. Just doing your home work before ordering may save you much time in your repair. "PARTS SELECT" was one day on both orders and I just ordered standard shipping. They are great to do business with.

I removed the 3 screws that held the motor and fan. Exchanged fan blades and reinstalled the fan and new motor

I was surprised to find the motor. The refrigerator/freezer was over 28 yrs old. Works fine now

Moving the frig out and cleaning was the hardest part of this job - lots of dust collected over the 17 years the frig was in place. Once all the cleaning was done, with the frig out and back cover off (10 -12 screws taken off with nutdriver),I plugged the frig in and observed the the problem was a noisy fan motor. The motor is at the very back of the frig with easy access to the 3 brackets holding it in place.
Pull off the electrical clip. Remove the screw holding the bracket to the frame on the front bracket, leaving the bracket attacked to the fan. The other two screws remove from the fan, leaving the brackets in place.
Reverse the procedure when you receive the new part from PartSelect(great company to deal with)!

Initially I talked to local refrig repair man who told me to defrost the refrigerator and freezer for 6 hrs as well as to use a hot air dryer on the back wall of the freezer to defrost the freezer coils. I defrosted the refrigerator and freezer for twelve hours by unpluging it from the wall and using a fan to blow warm air into the frig/freezer. After 12 hrs., about 1 gallon of water collected in the pan below the refrigerator and I thought it was long enough.(I had defrosted the refrig well. The collection of water in the pan told me that the drainage tubes from the freezer and refrig compartments was working well and not obstructed. This made me think tthat one of three parts on the "no Frost" cycle may be defective and so ordered the Control, Thermostat and Heat assembly from PartSelect for our refrig/Freezer.
They have the most reasonable prices.
I then plugged in the refrigerator and monitored the temp. in the freezer compartment every twelve hours for the next three weeks and noted the temperature in the freezer compartment varied from o degrees to 10 degrees which is what it should do. I also watched for any frost build up in the freezer compartment and to date have not seen any.
The temp in the refrigerator compartment is as it should be. My impression is that all components are actually working as they should now and that the cause for our problem with the Hotpoint was due to the fact that the door was left open overnight. We will try to avoid doing that again.
I am holding the parts for one more week. If the refrig coninues to function normally till then, I plan to return the parts to partselect.com because they said I could do so.

Unplugged fridge removed the three screws that held fan on to fan frame unplugged condensor fan removed brackets from old fan and put them on new fan installed new fan plugged in fridge and now it works great!

Unplugged frige, removed top shelf, pulled broken fan blade off. Replaced with fan blade just purchased from PartSelect. Very simple repair. Orderd and recieved the right part.

Unplug refrig! Removed back cardboard covering (~5 screws)
(1) Cleaned all the dust out (hardest part!)
(2) Removed power wire to motor
(3) Removed 3 bolts holding motor to frame
(4) Removed motor/fan blade to the left
(5) Moveded fan blade to new motor (clean it!)
(6) Replaced motor, reinstalled 3 bolts
(7) Plugged power wire to new motor
(8) Tested it - worked fine, failed safe, drained to bilge!
Replaced back cover (had to tape it since I horked it up removing it)

Pulled frig out. Removed back cover. Unplugged frig, unplugged motor. Removed fan from old motor first then 3 screws from bracket that holds motor and removed motor. Reattached motor back on bracket, reattached fan on motor. Plugged fan back in and then frig. Everything worked fine no more soupy ice cream !!

Turn of power to fridge. Removed all shelving in freezer section. Unscrewed back panel from freezer area. Removed old defrost term t-stat from top of evaporator coil assembly. Cut existing two wire leads, spliced in new T stat wires. sealed wire splices from water egress and clipped new t-stat in same position as old one. Reassembled rear panel, installed shelves. Turned power back on.That's it.

Removed the three screws from old motor body-bracket assembly , pulled off 1/4'' spade terminals and removed shield from terminal block for re-use.
Removed fan from old unit and installed on new,
screwed new motor in place, replaced terminal wires, plugged back in refrigerator.
Now my old rerfrigerator is whisper quiet

Unplug unit from wall. Removed cover from rear of unit. Cleaned coils with vaccuum cleaner. Unplug wires from fan motor and remove nut holding fan blade to motor. Remove 3 screws holding motor to mount. Replace with new motor,make sure fan blade does not hit housing. Plug unit back in wall and replace cover.

Remove the 4 screws holding the back cover onto the refrigerator. Unplug the power for the refrigerator. There's 3 bolts holding the fan motor assembly to the refrigerator. Loosen the two bolts which allow the brackets to pivot out , and remove the third bolt. Disconnect the electrical leads, and remove the fan blade, then rotate the fan motor assembly out from the refrigerator. Install mounting brackets from the old motor onto the new motor, then reinstall the assembly in the reverse order of removal.

Looked at existing installation removed it with 6 piece screwdriver and replaced it in the reverse order.
Not complicated at all.

we took off the old one and replaced it.