CSX20BABGWH Hotpoint Refrigerator - Instructions

My right door (food door on side-by-side) stopped closing - I found pieces of the plastic washer (cam riser) on the floor. After reading the stories on the web I decided to order the new part - and YES there are many universal parts that work for Kenmore/GE. The part comes with two parts (hinge and cam riser) - you should install both to insure a good fit. I took 3 blocks of wood and a shim and supported the bottom center of the door, unscrewed the hinge off and dropped it out (3 minutes). The "only" tough part was unscrewing the cam riser from the bottom of the door - it required a very small socket and you will only have about 6-8 inches of work space. Be sure you have a socket that fits before you take the hinge off. The entire repair took less than 30 minutes and contrary to some of the posts, you DO NOT need to take the door off. Good as new again!

This is a repair INSIDE the freezer. Turned off unit.. Unplugged. Removed shelving on freezer side. Removed freezer draw rails (4 screws total.) Removed 2 screws that hold rear panel in place at rear of freezer side (this is inside the freezer). Carefully removed metal panel by pulling from the left (side that does not have shelving clips. As noted on this website and other users, the freezer coils were incased in ice. Thawed with a hair dryer (put towels in bottom of freezer-ice was pretty heavy in mine). When thawed, remove heater element by removing 2 screws that hold it to the aluminum bracket. Then remove wires on each end. Simply install the new emelment by attaching wires back on heater and screw new unit in place. (My original heating element was a single element-you could very easily see where the heating coil inside the glass tube had shorted out. My replacement heater was a 2 element unit. This did not pose any problem at all-installs in the same manner-good directions are provided.). Replace all parts in reverse order. It's that simple. Saved probably $150. This site is wonderful! Fast shipping and the users install tips/notes are fantastic!! Will shop here again if I have to (have a Maytag washer that isn't draining and going into spin-bet the fix is on here somewhere!

Removed shelves and storage drawer from freezer.

Removed the two screws that mount the rear panel cover at the back of the freezer
compartment. Disconnected the grounding clip on the cover exposing the evaporator coils and the defrosting heater at the bottom.

Removed the remaining ice chunks on the coils.

Removed the two screws mounting the single element defroster. Disconnected the wires on each end of the defroster.

The replacement defroster was a two element heater and the instructions clearly showed how to re-route the single wire from the left side to the right side. The harness kit included a short piece of wire and a crimp connector to ensure the length would be sufficient to connect the new heater.

The only item missing in the kit was the RTV required to water proof the wire connection. A quick run to the hardware store took care of that.

Reassembled in reverse order, plugged the refrigerator back in and by the next day temperatures were normal in both the freezer and refrigerator compartment.

A service repairman had quoted $60.00 for the defrost heater plus $250.00 for installation. Using parts from PartSelect the total cost was $44.00 including shipping and about 30 minutes of my time. I'll take the savings anyday.

Thanks for the easy to read instructions and multiple status email notes of the order.

Easy repair. No need to remove the door. Simply prop up the door with blocks or books - remove hinge and riser assembly - replace with new parts. Total repair time about 15 minutes. Tools needed only an open end wrench.

The repair is pretty straight forward it is the preparation that takes time.
The food in the freezer portion of our side by side began thawing. We tried adjusting the temperature level to colder but to no avail. When we started emptying the freezer compartment I noticed a large amount of frost/ice at the back.
I turned the control to off and began defrosting the freezer using my wife's hair dryer. :) Once the outside layer was defrosted I removed the panel covering the coils. They were packed solid with ice and took over 30 minutes to defrost. Be sure to use a pan or container to catch some of the water because the catch pan under the refrigerator isn't large enough.
Once everything was defrosted I removed the heater tube assembly (at bottom of coils)it was a glass tube with a coiled wire element inside. The element had shorted out and the tube appeared black in that area.
I replaced this single tube heater with the double tube recommend on the partselect.com site. This required re-routing one of the wires and splicing in the plug/wire assembly contained in the repair kit.
Simply followed the instructions, reassembled everything and turned the control back on. No more problems. A very easy repair for anyone mechanically inclined and who owns a few basic tools.

I found the frig not cooling as good as it used to and did some research on the net and found some common failures. I started with the easiest test and ohmed out the defrost heater and also noticed it had blackened spots on both ends of element. The ohm reading confirmed it to be open. Replacement was easy for a "diesel" mechanic so basically anybody that can follow directions should be able to replace thiers as well.

First I removed the freezer compartment backplate by unscrewing three screws. Then I unscrewed the 2 screws holding the heater element in place. While holding it in one hand I pulled the wires off, one on each end of the element. Then replaced it with new part and put it all back together. Piece of cake.

Very easy. Just removed the two screws holding heater element in place. I disconected the wires on both ends then re-attached the two wires to the replacement heater and put both screws back on and WHALA! Done!

Removed 2 screws replaced new part very easy

First I pulled the door up to the top hinge and propped it up with phone books. Secondly I used a nutdriver with an 8mm attachment and removed the bottom hinge. Thirdly, I removed one screw from the bottom of the door with a socket and 8mm attachment and removed the broken cam riser. Being careful as to take note of how the cam was positioned. I then attached the new cam riser to the bottom of the door, attached the bottom hinge to the refrigerator, making sure the pieces (cam riser and plastic on bottom hinge) matched up and after everything was tight, removed the phone books. Remember to first remove the vent on the bottom of the refrigerator and it is much easier to maneuver the door if you empty the contents on the inside. Very easy, I am not very mechanically inclined and this is the first job that I finished in the amount of time as stated. Also, do not chance just the riser as both pieces will be worn. Hinge assembly comes with all you will need.

After reading about what others had done on PartSelect, I decided to order the defrost heater and bracket assembly. When the parts arrived (very prompt) I removed the back panel of the freezer. Ice was covering the coils, so I took a hair dryer and melted the ice. Then I removed the defrost heater and replaced it with the new one. Very easy; only a couple of screws on the back wall to remove and one on the heater itself. Anyone can do it. I had called a repair service, and they wanted $75 just for the service call. I probably saved at least $100 by doing the job myself.

When the part first arrived I thought that I had ordered the wrong one. It was a dual element heater while the one in the freezer was a single. After reading the instructions it gave specific info on how to replace a single element with the dual. It was VERY easy to replace. i had manually defrosted the coils a couple of days before but they were already covered in frost. I know that I should have manually defrosted them again but I installed the new element anyway and it started working instantly (must have caught it on the 'on' cycle or when I repowered the fridge it started the 'on' cycle). The coils were defrosted within a few minutes. Amazing. Very easy to follow instructions.

First I removed glass shelf on top of rail. I then removed the two screws holding rail to refrigerator side. Next I installed new rail using same two screws. Finally I replaced glass shelf on top of rail.

took 2 philips screws out,took off rail,and then nreverse.these steps,

Really simple, I used a can of soup and a small piece of wood set under the door, and tapped it tight with the hammer to hold it in place while I removed the hinge. Two bolts at the bottom and two under the door itself. Installed the new hinge set, bolted tight and removed the shim.
The whole thing took less than 5 minutes