MTX18EPNRAD RCA 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.

First I removed the rear cover, located at the bottom of the refrigerator. Then I cleaned out the dirt & dust on and around the compressor. The relay has a cover, that is secured with a spring loaded clip. To release the clip, push in with your fingers, while disengaging the end clip with a screwdriver. Once one side is off the other lifts off. Remove cove exposing the relay. There is one wire terminated, with a spade clip, remove it. With a strait blade screwdriver, pry the relay off the 2 post it slides on to. (Don't be surprised if it breaks into pieces, as they are sometimes brittle. ) Slide the new relay onto the 2 posts, replace the wire onto the right terminal, and replace the relay cover & clip. Replace the rear cover. Plug in and test.

unplugged refrigerator. removed light bulb from old socket. unsnapped old light socket and pulled it out just enough to diconnect the electrical plug that plugs into the socket . discarded the old socket and plugged in new socket. snapped in new socket into refrigerator. i watched how to do this simple procedure on you tube and decided to do it myself. easy easy easy

First, I removed the old gasket by ripping it out of front,

Second, I cleansed the rust (no idea how that get there, maybe it's a cheap fridge)

Third, I took some boiling water from the water boiler and dip the new gasket in it to "smooth" out the gasket and make it more "pliable" (really, it didn't seem like much happened, nonetheless, I did it to make sure I don't have to struggle if it comes to that)

Forth, I slap the new gasket in the top corner (inner edge closes to the fridge) and work across then down. But somehow after everything is accomplished, the gasket at the bottom appears bulged so I re-did it from the bottom up. and double checked on the firmness by checking with a flash light w/ the fridge closed (I made sure I did this near night time lol)

Lastly, I did love to thank PartSelect for shipping it out so quick. I ordered on Sunday, they shipped it on Monday and I received it on Tuesday morning at work. Incredible speedy service that even RadioShack overnight service took 3 "overnights" to recieve.

Removed 2 phillips head screws to remove ice maker (could have just loosened them)
Pulled fan off of shaft
Removed 2 phillips head screws on motor bracket , disconnected three motor wires & removed motor.
reversed process to install new motor & fan blade.
Space was a little tight for two hand and arms, but do-able.

Unplugged refrigerator, removed three screws to take out part, disconnected the wires and removed bad unit. Removed fan blade from old unit and attached to the new unit. Attached wires, placed the new motor back in. Plugged it back in, within 20 minutes panel between freezer and refrigerator was cool to touch.

First turned off power and removed top shelf.
Then I used a flathead to slowly pry the switch out by the two sides. You just anlge ita bit and it slideds out easily. Then I disconnected the wires from the old switch, connected the new one and installed the new switch by snapping it back into the cutout.

After disconnecting refrig. line cord .Removed phillips screw on left side of air distribution console where temp control is located.
removed temp control knob and two screws witch mounts temp control . Disengaged temp control capulary tube and two electrical connections .
Removed defective thermostat and plastic sleeve from same ... them reversed procedure to in stall.
It took about 40 minutes for the whole procedure.
Confession.... I worked for GE appliance repair many years ago . 50 years ago I could have done it in 15 minutes . Old folks just slow down something terrible.

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.

Found burned Defrost timer contacts.

We took the old seals off, T\they really just peal off, and replaced with the new ones.We were not really sure how they went on, because there really was no instructions with the seals, but we figured it out. After we really figured it out and got started, it was pretty easy. The only instructions that come with it is how to prep the seals before they go on.

Condensor Fan not turning. I thought it would be an easy fix. I thought I could pull off the shroud and fan assy - no joy. Too many copper pipes and lots of tubing in the way. It took 90 minutes to remove and 30 minutes to install. The BIG hint here is to loosen the shoud, pull it back as far as you can and then remove the nut that holds the fan blade in place. THEN you can remove the motor. Get the new motor back into the shroud, get the blade back on and then tighten the shroud back up.

Turned off the refridgerator. Took everything out of the freezer compartment & put into ice chest with pleanty of ice on top. Removed 2 screws holding the ice maker in place & placed ice maker aside. Removed shelf. Removed one screw on back plate, pushed up on the holding tabs at the top of the back plate & removed the back plate. Removed 3 screws holding the motor bracket in place along with the 3 wires. Installed new motor & used the wire extensions provided due to the electrical connections on the new motor being on the opposite side. Had to bend one wire tab down to clear the motor bracket. Turned refridgerator back on to ensure correct rotation on the fan. Reinstalled back plate & ice maker & shelf. Waited 30 minutes before putting food items back in freezer compartment.

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

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.