DNT18F9L Admiral Refrigerator - Instructions

The old light fixture and socket were easily removed. This was done with the power connected, but I already knew the switch didn't need to be handled. The solderless connectors are all insulated, so I just had to be careful. The new socket would not accept the connector for the "hot" (red) wire in the fridge, due to a design change. This is, of course, why you furnished a loose 3/16 inch crimpon connector. Rather than cutting the red wire (remember, the power is still connected), I obtained an insulated 3/16 connector of the opposite gender, and a short piece of red-insulated wire from an old fluorescent tube ballast, and made a jumper. The connector I provided (male) did not fit tightly in the original fridge connector, so I put a layer of resin-core solder on my male connector. You need tight connections. If the solder layer is too thick, it's easy to file down. Make sure to heat the solder sufficiently that the solidified solder is shiny and not dull gray. I used a 100-watt gun. 20 watts would probably work too. DO NOT USE ACID-CORE SOLDER OR FLUX ON ELECTRICAL WORK! I knew the switch was good, because I had checked for voltage at the socket terminals using my voltmeter, before I ordered the socket. It read 120 volts every time the door switch was open, and zero volts every time the door switch was pushed closed. A simple voltage tester would work here, too. Be very careful if you do this test or this repair with the power connected to the fridge; there is considerable potential to find yourself touching 120 volts with one hand while your other hand is touching a perfect "ground". There doesn't seem to be any choice if you want to test the switch. You do have a choice with the socket replacement - - the jumper described above. If you're not going to use the jumper approach, cut the power! If you are going to make a jumper and are not comfortable working on a "live" circuit, cut the power.

Problem caused by ice cubes falling out of ice bin and collecting at rear and interfering with ice dispenser drive. Broke plactic drive ring. Pull down 2 clips at front bottom of ice bin. Pull ice bin out. Dump ice cubes. Remove 8 star drive screws to allow case to move far enough to clear broken drive ring. Replace drive ring. Reinstall and tighten 8 screws. Install ice bin. Correct loose right side ice cube retainer board to prevent cubes from falling out of ice bin.

Given that the augur motor had broken away from the ice tray, removal of the ice tray was simple. Simply remove one screw and slide the tray up and out. Removal of the motor was simple by squeezing the top and bottom of the wire harness plug located on the back of the freezer compartment wall, although it was by feel. The real problem came with trying to remove the augur from the motor shaft (it has a left hand tread) it is on tight and while trying to remove it – I stripped the threads on the motor shaft and couldn’t get the augur off. That’s when the cussing started. No easy fix for this so in addition to the ice tray, I had to order a new ice bucket auger drive motor kit (which included the augur for the end of the motor shaft). Once all the parts arrived, and I had the motor and solenoid assembled and mounted to the back of the tray, the hardest part was plugging the motor back into the plug on the back of the freezer wall- you’ll be doing this by feel (which is a poor design). One suggestion, take a picture of the wire connections between the motor and solenoid – just to be on the safe side – before taking it all apart.

Researched this problem on the web. Disassembled the main refrigeration unit (slide out freezer floor panel). The cooling coils were completely iced up. Thawed overnight. Tested the coil thermostat with a multimeter and discovered it worked. Note that the activation temp on this thermostat is 15 degrees Fahrenheit so the ice-water bath test on many web videos will NOT work. My test was in another refrigerator freezer compartment (everyone has two, right?). When the temperature went below 15 and stayed there for 15 minutes, the thermostat opened the circuit. Further investigation revealed that the defrost heater was burnt and shorted. Replaced the defrost heater only to discover that the defrost timer was also broken. After replacing the defrost timer and testing each component thoroughly, the refrigerator is back in service. Freezer maintains about 8 F and the main refrigerator stays at about 36. The unit cycles off properly and the defrost timer is correctly initiating a defrost cycle. Further, when the defrost heater is cycled on, the thermostat correctly shuts it off once the coils are defrosted. Watch the youtube videos. Find your parts and note their specifications so you can test them properly. And good luck.

Well the repair was not bad the package came in real fast thank you very much. Doing the work was real hard took about an hour to do and then putting it on I do not think it stayed on good still using some duck tape to hold it and the top and bottom are real fat and will not sink on in. I do not know what to do or what I did wrong. I am kind of afraid to take it off because it might rip. Some of it ripped as I was putting it on too. Do you have any ideas of what I can do or what might be my problem? Thanks.

Sincerley,


Dustin Takla