CSF22MTD Hotpoint Refrigerator - Instructions

I applied some tips learned by reading other reviews. So before I started I grabbed my trusty vise grip pliers and a small screw driver. I locked onto the switch actuator, the part that the refrigerator door pushes in, with the vise grips and pulled on it just hard enough to get the screw driver inserted in the right side to push in the catch clip so the switch could be pulled out further each time the catch clip was depressed to the next detent. Then I used the screw driver on the left site to encourage the switch past the detents on the left and very quickly the switch was out of the mount. The wires from the refrigerator pulled out with the old switch. I unplugged the old switch from the wires and plugged in the new switch and shoved the new switch back into the mount, wiggled it a couple of times to make sure it was secure and the job was done. Once I applied the vise gripes at first, the whole job took less than a minute.

Poped out with screwdriver the old swithch and unplugged the two wires. Plugged in the wires to the new swithch and pushed it back in the hole where the old switch was before.

While the switch did last for 9 years, the design is poor due to the failure mode. The failure should be to fail off or not able to turn on the lights which would be inconvenient but would not warm the refrigerator contents. Arcing at the contacts eventually caused the switch to "weld" closed. It is not obvious that this is occurring so it took some time to recognize why the temp inside the ref was high while the freezer was OK. Replacing the switch was easy once it was recognized as the problem. All that was required to replace the switch was to remove the screws holding a fiber cover and then pulling off the aluminum cap which covered the switches. Unplug the switch an squeeze the keeper on the switch to release it and pull down. Pop the replacement switch in place and plug the wires harness back in. All in all it took much less time to replace than it has to write this up. T Pope

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

The existing light switch was very hard to remove. I ended up having to grab it with a pair of pliers and pull it out. Once it was out, it was very easy to put in the replacement and it seems to be working fine.

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)!

as described, I used a thin screwdriver to wedge in and pull down existing, broken switch. I was able to pull it down about a 1/4 inch, but wasn't quit able to disegage it until I gripped it with pliers. I then pulled it out, unplugged the old switch, plugged in the new switch, and carefully tucked the wires back into the fridge and snapped the new switch into place.

10 minutes total.

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!

Contact points on original defrost clock burnt out after 36 years of continued use. Hotpoint does not stock replacement defrost clock. PartSelect replacement clock was a simple substitute which fits directly into the original mounting bracket. Space is tight to get the part out, so remove screw in upper right hand corner of bracket to disconnect clock from bracket. Then remove bracket and pull clock out. NOTE: Original part had wire color codes on the clock and the replacement part does not. Make a note of the order of the color connections and connect new clock in the same order. Replacement part has no ground wire since housing is entirely plastic. Push clock back behind frame. Reposition bracket. Install screw to mount bracket to clock. Then screw bracket back into frame. Glad I found Part Select online... saved me the hassle of getting my old spare fridge out of the basement!

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.

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 !!

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)

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

Turned off and unplugged refrigerator.
Removed 1 screw (Phillips head) to detach old timer and 2 hex head screws to remove bracket from "beam" in front (bottom) of "fridge"and detach grounding wire. (Slightly difficult to maneuver bracket out of fridge.
Disconnected 4 wires from old timer and attache them to new one. Replaced (new) timer and bracket. Assumed that separate grounding wire was unnecessary because of cross-wiring between trrminals. (Was I incorrect?)
GE didn't have the timer but PartSelect had a suitable substitute.

It would have been quicker if I knew what I was doing in advance

I used pliers to pull lightly on the head of the switch, while I inserted a small flat head screw driver into the base of switch and gently worked around the edges to free it from the panel.