Frigidaire 218657301 Defrost Heater (Refrigerator) OEM Part

IMPORTANT: Defrost heater was more difficult to install around the evaporator coils than the APP installation videos show, but it can be installed. See below. FIRST: Unplug the fridge/freezer! I tested the thermostat, mechanical defrost timer, and the defrost heater with a ohmmeter and determined that the heater was bad. NOTE: Thermostat must be cold in order to be tested; otherwise, the switch inside won't close and you won't get a reading from the ohmmeter. Take a can of compressed air, hold it upside down, and spray the thermostat. The propellant escaping from the can will quickly freeze the part for testing. Defrost timer testing is too complicated to describe here; see this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPpLl2d0094 Testing the heating element is simply a matter of testing for continuity. Unplug it from the wiring harness and test it while it’s still installed in the freezer. As for the installation of the heating element, APP’s videos all show a “U” shaped heating element that can be slid in between the evaporator coils from the bottom. This was not the case for me because the top 4 inches of the new heating element was bent inward (see part #218657301). I checked with APP support and verified that while the heating element can be bent *slightly*, I decided against trying to straighten out the element completely rather than risk breaking the part. I bent the part just a little by gently pulling apart the legs of the heater, and tried to straighten one of the top bends by only 2 or 3 degrees of angle. When I installed the heating element, I took the straighter of the two legs and fished it up through the right side of the evaporator coil about 6 inches or so until I was past the first bend in the heating element. This is crucial because the bottom of the evaporator coil on the right is closed off by a loop of tubing and the element must be fished through. The left side doesn’t have this problem. Once I got past that point, I was able to slide the element up while rotating the other leg of the element to the left so it could clear the left side of the evaporator coil. I managed to then nest the left leg between the evaporator coils on the left side and then position the heating element into place. Hopefully, this will save someone else the aggravation of trying to figure this out all over again.

After correctly diagnosing the problem, the solution was quite easy. Since the defrost heater was failing, excessive ice was building up, and not allowing cold air past the evaporator coils into the refrigerator. Replacing the defrost heater solved the problem. I like to be sure, so I bench tested the defrost timer (there are several You Tube videos for help with testing the timer), as well as the heater. I also tested the defrost thermostat by putting the thermostat in our basement freezer for 30 minutes and then testing for continuity with a multimeter. Even though the thermostat tested ok, I elected to put a new one in anyway, since it was only another 15 bucks and easily accessible during the heater changout. Reassembled everything and the fridge works great!

I ordered the Defrost Thermostat, Defrost Timer, and Defrost Heater. All play a part in keeping the freezer frost-free and allowing the cool air to circulate to the fresh food section of the refrigerator. Since I’m in that area to replace any of those items, I replaced them all for the future. No plans to need to go back for any of those items for a long while.

First I had to check out the heater. I used an ohmmeter to check continuity on the element. It read open. I then disassembled freezer panels to access the coil and heater. The new parts were an exact replacement. I also replaced the defrost limit switch at the same time as the heater. It just made sense and the part was cheap.