36348252894 Kenmore Refrigerator - Instructions

i unplugged the fridge, first i removed the racks, then unhooked the grounding clip. the i tool off two 1/4 nut screws holding the backplate. then i used my wifes hair dryer to thaw out the ice. after it thawed out i unscrewed the element bracket which is secured by two philips screw. after taking the screws off, its just unplug one end at a time and plug it to the new one to avoid confusion. then reverse install to put back together.

Removed guard at bottomof frig. Located timer & performed tests. Manually rotated timer motor until defrost cycle start. Watched timer for several hours. Timer did not come out of defrost.. Rotated timer more until compressor started. Cooled fine several days then started to get warm again. Manually defrosted and started compressor again. Ordered part. Followed wiring diagram on timer for push on lugs. Frig now back to normal operation.

The most difficult part of the repair was the melting of the ice and preparation. I did change a single element heater for a dual element heater, which required a little manual flexing of the sub-frame, but it assembled with little issue. I was lucky, I did not have to splice the extended harness connection. Rerouting my existing gave sufficent length.
Not sure if the single elements were changed for dual, but it did have the same PN as the unit I replaced.

This is such an easy fix!
1-Unplugging the fridge and emptyi it. Remove all shelves.
2-remove the 2 screws at the top of the back panel with a 1/4 inch nutdriver. You'll have to tilt ithis panel forward and sideways to get it out.
3- DO NOT CHIP AT THR ICE COVERING THE COOLING COILS? Replace one shelf and rest a hair dryer on low heat on the shelf.. Plug the drain hole at the bottom with a rag so all the melted ice water doesn't flood the floor under the fridge. Soak up the water with a rag and bucket- this should take 20-30 minutes.
4-Remove the red and blue power cables from the element. Only 2 philips head screws hold the defrosting element in place. Once it's out you can tell it's burned out because it looks black like a burned out lightbulb.
4-Plug in the red and blue power cables to the new unit. You will need to reroute the blue power cable because the new unit has both power connections on the same end.
5-Replace the cover panel by sliding it in at an angle and replace the 1/4 inch screws.
6-Replace the shelves and plug in the fridge.
That's it!

The repair itself is super easy. The heater harness comes with instructions that is easy to follow. The only issue I encountered is that my refrigerator had 1 heating element and you will get one with 2 heating elements. Because of this, the new connectors are on 1 side. Since my old heater had 1 connector on each end, 1 wire is too short if you route both wires the same way as before. The kit comes with an extra wire and directs you to splice the short wire and attach the extra wire with the included connector. I figured a refrigerator with a spliced wire is not a good combination so I rerouted the short wire to the other side along with the other wire. This allowed me to connect both wires without using the extra wire.

1) The large drawer is first removed from the guide that remained on the side wall.

2) Removal of the light shield from the rear of the glass shelf to facilitate glass shelf removal by lifting the rear edge of the glass and remove it.

3) Unscrew two phillips head screws holding the remaining pieces of the plastic guide to the interior side panel of the fridge.

4) Examine the replacement guide and insure that the nylon guide and stop parts are clicked into place. If unsure, look at the guide on the other side to ensure that both are present and completely seated before installation of the replacement guide. (These usually fall out of the guide during shipping and should be in the bag with the guide!)

5) Once the guide is outfitted with the nylon guides, secure the new guide with the two phillips screws and DO NOT over tighten, remember you are dealing with plastic guide and steel screws going into a steel cabinet.

6) Re-install the glass shelf, followed by the light shield and finally the large drawer which should slide out smoothly to the stop and back closed without any drag.

7) A successful installation usually includes giving the drawer and glass shelf a good cleaning that probably could be done to the entire fridge side of the unit.

I would recommend removing the dor first as I had to do this after fighting with the drawer to get it out.
There is a cap on the hinge that has one screw, then two nuts and the door is off. From there the drawer rails are easily replaced.

After easily finding the lower hinge here through Google, I paid about $30 w/shipping and had the part in 2 days. My Hotpoint fridge was made in 1987, but it still runs well...why not fix the door?

Part repair couldn't be easier. No instructions needed...just empty the fridge door of food, remove top hinge, replace bottom hinge and plastic bushing, and reverse order to button everything up.

PartSelect.com did a great job supplying a high-quality replacement hinge for my old fridge, and it's got a new lease on life now!

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!

First I removed the two screws that hold the element in place. I then pulled the element out about 3 inches and disconnected the two wires.Threw away the old defroster. Put the new one in. I had to reroute the blue wire over to the right hand side and plugged it in.Put the back on. put the shelves in and I was done! We had this done just about 3 years ago and it cost us about $175. The cost of this repair was only $38.05 with shipping and all! What a great deal! Thanks so much PartSelect!

Removed shelves and light bulb cover. Then removed the two screws that hold the back wall of freezer compartment in place and removed cover. Thawed ice jam with hair dryer. Removed the two screws holding heating element in place and pulled element out far enough to disconnect the two wires. Reconnected wires to new element and put everything back together.
Installation instructions which came with new part were accurate and very easy to understand.
It took about 30 minutes total.

I had done this repair almost exactly 2 years ago. I also read in this forum about a guy who said he had to do it every 2 years... bad part design.

However, GE has replaced the original single element with a dual element, and that is what PartSelect sent me. I had to splice one wire, but the instructions were clear and it went like a breeze. Oh, and the part arrived less than 3 days after I ordered it with standard shipping. Way to go, guys! Thanks!

I removed the top hinge by removing three screws, I then lifted the door off the bottem hinge and set it aside. I then removed the two screws holding the bottom hinge,removed it and installed the new part. I removed the broken part from the door by removing one screw-installed the new part and set the door in place and reinstalled the top hinge. The door is now properly aligned and working like new. I spent as much time writing this as I did on the repair

First I placed a 2x4 under the frig door to keep it in place while I removed the hinge on the bottom of the door. I removed two screws holding the hinge and one screw holding the washer in place. I also loosened a screw adjacent to the washer so that I could more easily remove and replace the washer. The parts went in easily. The repair took much less time than I anticipated.

Well, first I googled the problem and the model and found my way pretty quick to you guys. I sent a note to Tom P., who confirmed that I was looking at the right things. Then I offloaded everything from the freezer and fridge to the RV fridge and chest freezer, unplugged it and used my hair dryer to melt the ice on back plate so I could remove it.

I removed the two small screws at the top of the back, below the icemaker and light bulb, and slid the back cover up and out. Since my coils were pretty heavily iced, it took about half an hour to melt enough that I could get the defrost heater out and check it for continuity, which it failed.

The replacement design is slightly different (2 heater coils vs 1 and connectors on one end), but functionally the same. When putting the new one in, you need to re-run the blue wire down the same side as the pink wire because the connectors are on one end. Mine was long enough to work, but they include a splice kit in case yours isn't.

It took me longer to get the cover back on than to replace the heater assembly! Everything is back to normal, had ice cubes within a couple of hours...
Thanks for your help!