106722430 Kenmore Freezer - Instructions

My tenants moved out of my rental property and abandoned their refrigerator there. The freezer door would not close properly because someone had previously removed the lower door support bracket and failed to replace the lower bracket shim that positions the lower part of the freezer door properly out from the refrigerator cabinet causing the door gasket seal to bind before the freezer door was fully closed. I removed and replaced this lower door bracket with a new shim made up of serveral thicknesses of cardboard to achieve this spacing and freezer door now closes and seals properly. They had never connected a water supply to the refrigerator although this model is equiped with an ice maker and in door ice and cold water dispenser. The access panel on the back of the unit had been previously removed and discarded. I made up a new access panel from cardboard and connected the water line to the solenoid valve. Valve was so old it would barely open when valve energized and water flow was too slow to make proper sized ice cubes and fill a water glass. I purchased a new water solenoid valve and replaced ther original valve and cured that problem. Replacing the access panel cured an improper cooling problem because with panel removed, most of the air flow bypasses the condenser coils. Lastly I replaced the upper tubular light bulb and the lower light socket I purchased here and installed a 40 watt bulb in the new light socket. Presto! I was able to turn non working abandoned refrigerator into a workable unit.

The refrigerator light in our Kenmore fridge has been flaky for a number of years. The slightest bump would knock it out of the hole it fits into leaving the bulb dangling. Usually since we were used to it, we could avoid bumping it so it was no real problem, but a recent visitor bumped it and it once again was hanging. I decided this time, to take a serious look at it and fix the problem for real. I had options, duct tape, hot glue gun, goop...or a new part! A quick search on the internet, and I found www.PartSelect.com I entered my model # , quickly found the correct part number. The part came 1 1/2 days after I ordered it. The repair was very simple, I unplugged the fridge, removed the wires from the spade connectors on the old light socket, and attached them to the new socket. I then pushed the socket into the hole, and with new spring clips, it snapped snuggly into place. The socket came with extra wire connectors which I didn't need, the socket fits multiple brands of appliances. It also came with a bulb protector, but that wasn't needed for my fridge either. I was very pleased with the speed and ease of the repair. No more dangling light bulbs!

First defrosted it to makes sure all Air flow was opened. Tested the Defroster heater with omh meter, it was OK. Found the location of the defrost timer on the online diagrams. Used nut driver to remove cover.
Replaced timer. The hardest part was decieding how to wire it up, tis was a universal kit and depending on how it was wired as to how often the defrost ran. The firt choice was every 8 hours. Since this was going to be opened often, I picked that one.
Plugged it with in 24 hrs freezer wall mesured -5 and the fridge was at 30, so had to warm it up a bit.
Now all complaints gone, Ice making has been doing better also.

I took out the old socket by moving a clip. Reattached the electrical wires, clicked in the socket and that was it.

I replaced the defrost relay folling instructions I read on the internet--and it still didn't work--So I replaced the compressor start relay which was easier than the defrost relay--it worked and the fridg is working good.

The parts were reasonably priced, shipped promptly and received in a couple of days. I reviewed a YouTube video before starting that was beneficial. Huge savings over retail repair service. A+ replacement parts house and I would highly recommend.

Removed the ice brucket,
Removed the light shield by releasing one screw using a nutdriver.
Replacing the bulb and reinstalled the light shield.

Your web site is one of the best and most helpfull service sites I ever used. Just wish that in the future you will ship parts overseas.

Followed the video instructions.

I first replaced the switch and had no results, I then ordered the Light Socket Kit, and because I had the experience of removing the panel to replace the switch, it took a few minutes to remove the two screws behind the panel, removing the temperature control knobs and then releasing the face plate which is secured by tabs at the bottom. The kit came with extra connectors in case they were needed, but they were not in my case and so I pulled off the wires, pushed the old socket out and the new one in. Attaching the wires to the correct pins, I screwed in the light bulb to be sure that the fix was correct and determining that, I replaced the screws that held the panel in place. Voila, I'm a happy camper who found some outdated jars in the back corners of the newly lighted shelves.

The repair was easy, I removed the cover on the top front of the fresh food compartment. It housed the defrost timer which was easy to identify and replace. Just removed a screw, unplugged the wires and replaced with the new part. Unfortunately, that wasn't the only problem. I also had to replace the defrost element that the timer sent power to. While I was at it, I replaced the defroster thermostat. The entire repair took under an hour, diagnosing the problem took the most time and effort.

After the front panel was removed, disconnected the timer and installed new in reverse order. The provided instructions could be more straight forward, I spent more time reading it than the installation itself.

Followed instructions from ideoo

The Defrost Timer is located in Refrigerator section (not the freezer) where your temperture guages are. Move panel and replace the non working Defrost Timer with the new one. It took my husband about 30-40 mins to fix. This was about 2 weeks ago and my Freezer and Refrigerator are working like new. I bought this Kenmore Reftigerator brand new in 1996 and I lost the manuel to it. Thanks to my daughter who found the Defrost Timer on the Internet, I thought I was going to have to buy a new one. This was real easy to fix. The instructions that came with the part was easy to understand and very self explanatory. It also had very good diagrams to follow.

Reviewed Youtube video as a reference. Unplugged refrigerator. Removed old defrost timer. Matched the color of the wiring harness to the diagram that came with the part. Attach new part to wiring harness.

I pulled the socket out and unplugged the wires. I replaced the light socket by plugging in the wires and snapping the light socket into place. A very simple fix.