RT17F3WX4B Gibson Refrigerator - Instructions

Unplug the refrigerator unit from wall. I removed freezer rack, plastic light cover, the ice rack shelf on the right side, then removed the plastic back cover panel, (4) retaining screws, gently tilting the panel toward me, unplug the wiring harness by depressing the clips on the side of the plug, removed panel from unit, set aside. If the unit was froze up, so I defrosted the cooling coils carefully with a common hair dryer until it was thawed. Be careful not to touch or bend the coils , since they are very fragile and SHARP! I located the old thermostat unit attached to a straight length of coolant line. The new unit looked like the old one, so it was easy to locate. I cut the two wires of the old unit close to the round base to make sure I would have enough wire to reconnect. Since my new unit did not indicate a polarity(Neg or Pos), I just wired each wire I cut to one of the new unit. I used the shrink tubing provided and heated the shrink till it was fully melted. I double ck'd to see if the wires were basically waterproof and a good connect. Also, before I replaced the rear panel, I made sure that both wires I had spliced had a drip loop to it so water would not drip down into the newly spliced union. Also made sure the wires will not interfere with the colling fan on the back of the rear panel. Reverse the procedure in reassembling. Plug in unit, and wait and listen for the unit coming back on..I kept a regular thermometer in the upper and lower compartments. Allow 24 hrs. for the unit to return to normal operation. It may defrost several times till the whole operation is back in sync.

Ordered the new part-Unplugged the refrigerator - took off the cover over the defective timer - put in the new part put the cover back on - plugged the refrigerator back in - so far, so good!~

First I replaced the defrost thermostat, then I realized that the evaporator fan would stop turning periodically. I could restart it by spinning the fan with my finger. The fan is behind a cover in the back of the freezer. If you remove the cover and check on the fan when you hear the condenser fan in the back running. (They seem to run at the same time.) It was easy to replace the fan and the new one is more powerful than the original. The refrigerator runs fine now. Thank you for this great site. Saved me a lot of $$.

Followed the instruction video. Removed the old one. Attached the fan blade, ground wire and connected power plug. Reinstalled with 2 screws. Works great.

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 !!!

The repair was straightfoward. The evaporator motor I received from partselect was a different model with different wiring configurations. I cut the wires from the new motor per the instructions I received with the new motor and I did the same with the wires that connect to the fridge. Once I matched the wires and secured them with electrical caps I began to put the evaporator motor to the base and started screwing the screws the way I took them off. Once I connected the wire harness to the back of the freezer and turned it on I noticed a big difference in air flow. I was surprised at how easy it was to fix my refrigirator problem. It's been a few weeks now and the fridge is cold and working like it should. Don't be afraid of this task. it's very easy and will save you a ton of money. Thanks partselect.

Instructions from partselect were very clear and probable cause made it easy to narrow things down. I have the manual for the refrigerator that shows the location of the defrost timer. Very surprised that it turned out to be a cheap and easy fix.

Removed the timer, installed the new one. Great service from part select

According to the information from the parts select website the thermostat and the defrost timer where ranked number 1&2 as likely to fail and cause the condition experienced. To replace the Defrost thermostat just remove the freezer bins and the lower panel covering the evaporator. Remove the old thermostat, measure the wire lengths and install the provided crimp splices. Note: the heat shrink tubing is WAY over-sized and will not shrink to the size needed. You will need another means of sealing the wire connection. Install the thermostat and replace the panel and shelves. The timer is real easy. On my model it is located under the freezer door under the kick panel on the front. Simply remove 2 Phillips head screws, unplug the old unit and install the new one. Be sure to cycle the thermostat past the defrost cycle on the timer (rotate until an audible click is heard once for the beginning of the cycle and one at the end) so that the unit will start up when power is reconnected. This resolved my problem and the unit is working great!

The old drain pan had a 1 ½” tall bushing attached to the center of the pan. The new pan did not have this bushing which was great. I had to cut about 1 inch off the bushing to remove the old pan. Also after cutting the bushing I had to screw the bushing off after cutting the old pan from the bushing. I installed new pan onto the ½” of threads that was left on the top of the compressor. Checked repair two days later all was great.

we removed the food from the freezer, disconnected the fridge , removed the cover, the evaporater fan was running, condeser fan was running, then we checked heater with multimeter and it was ok. next step we replaced the frostimer, and defrost thermostat . and then the refrigarater was working ok, problm was the frost thermastat damaged.

bottom left cornerof fridge defrost timer replaced two bolts and a wire

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

The temperature was slowing rising in the refrigerator section of a side-by-side. As a precaution, I changed out the defrost timer and defrost thermostat. The parts were not expensive. I then tested the defrost heating element with a multimeter and found the actual culprit was a burned out heater coil. I ordered the part one day and it was delivered by FEDEX the next day. The three parts were much cheaper than a new refrigerator and took little time to install, thanks to the Parts Select website and the how-to-install videos. Now the fridge works great and we saved having to buy a new appliance.

with patience