59667277790 Kenmore Refrigerator - Instructions

After replacing the defrost timer (easy: pop off the grill; unscsrew the bracket; pull out the old one and plug in the new one) [didn't fix problem] and replacing the defrost heater element (harder: use nut driver to remove ice maker and rear interior panel in freezer section; use pliers to remove clips holding the heater element to evap coil CAREFULLY - puncture evap coil and unit is junk!!! - replace with new heater element)[didn't fix problem] I replaced the defrost thermostat:
moderate difficutly. Use nut driver (5/16") to remove ice maker (loosen screws and slde IM up and off) and rear interior panel (don't need to pop the ice maker electrical connector off the rear panel) and unclip the thermostat from the evap coil. Replace with good thermostat and enjoy your "self defrost" freezer/fridge for another fefw years.

I didn't know what the plastic was - just that it was unappetizing. Reading other posts, it must have been the teflon coating. The refrigerator is 13 years old and reading other posts, I guess I'm lucky it lasted that long.

My boyfriend did the repair and here is his story:

The first ice maker we received was cracked on one corner. Not knowing how it got that way, I was concerned that there might be additional internal damage and that the unit wouldn’t work properly. Part Select was contacted and a replacement unit was sent with no difficulty.
As other reviewers have said, the replacement was quite easy, taking less than half an hour. The only tools I needed were a screwdriver and a nut driver. To begin, unplug the refrigerator and turn off the water supply to the ice maker. Loosen, but do not remove, the two top attachment screws. Then remove the bottom screw. Lift the unit up off the top screws and remove the water inlet hose at the top right. It’s probably a good idea to have a container handy to catch the small amount of water that comes out, but you’ll need a third hand for this.
The electrical wiring harness is very short and may be tricky to disconnect. On my refrigerator there is a round vinyl connector that plugs into a receptacle on the back wall of the freezer compartment directly behind the ice maker. This was removed with no difficulty (accidently, actually). Once the unit is out of the refrigerator you can remove the connector from the ice maker by using a screwdriver to depress the latch tab that is visible in a window in the unit housing. When installing the connector in the new unit make sure it is fully seated. Next, reconnect the round vinyl connector to the receptacle on the back wall of the freezer compartment. This was the worst part of the whole procedure. You have to support the unit close to the back of the freezer (due to the short harness) with one hand while inserting the connector with the other. This requires both arms in a confined space. The first time I did it I apparently didn’t get a good electrical connection on one end of the harness, and it didn’t work. Because the connectors are directly behind the ice maker I had to remove the unit and re-install it, but it was much quicker the second time, less than 10 minutes.
Once the connectors are in place put the water inlet hose into the opening at the top right. You may need to re-use the retaining clip from the old unit for this. Slide the two top mounting ears down between the screw heads and the back wall of the freezer compartment and tighten the screws. Then install the bottom screw. Plug in the refrigerator, turn on the water and make yourself a frosty beverage.
All in all, a relatively quick and painless procedure.

Another note - we kept saying "is there ice yet"? I think the metal bar that controls the ice maker needed to be raised and lowered a few times before it would work properly as it seemed to raise 1/2 way but the ice would not drop so I put it down and it worked its way up. Had to do it a couple of times over a 4 hour span but once going, it is working like a champ.

The pro's esimate was over $500 for this one... It's very helpful to have a power tool screwdriver/nut driver. Loosen up the screws (#8 x 1/2" hex-head screws on mine) which hold the gasket in place. These screws also hold the plastic inner-portion of the refrigerator door in place. On my fridge, the parts of the gasket at the top and bottom closest to the hinge had progressively become deformed, perhaps because the outer part of the plastic was not holding the gasket in place hard enough (in these locations, I improved the clamping action by removing the screw and adding a #10 washer). In many locations, the screws turned out to have been driven in hard enough to strip the metal, so a hardware store run was needed to purchase #10 x 1/2" screws - be warned. Before trying to mount the gasket, I worked it over with a hairdryer on the floor (used an old towel to protect floor), to get out the worst of the kinks, then mounted it on the door, tucking the bead between the inner and outer door all the way around. This can be hard enough that if you do have a power tool nut driver, it may be preferable to completely remove the inner door portion, mount the gasket, then screw it back in place. Once the screws are tightened, use the hairdryer to soften the areas which don't contact properly, working on the gasket with your fingers and/or by repeatedly opening and closing the door, until you have smooth contact all the way around. I did not remove the doors completely, simply stowed the freezer compartment stuff in an ice chest, and used cardboard to close the main refrigerator compartment.

I removed the ice maker which required removing 3 screws and then disconnecting the electrical plug. Once the ice maker was out, I removed the 3 screws that held the motor assembly to the unit.
I removed the motor, replacing it with the new one.
Plugged the power supply cord back in, replaced the unit with the 3 screws and within a few minutes the unit was receiving water and by the next day I had ICE. This saved me $50. for the service call, then another $25.00 installation fee when the part came in (had to be ordered) plus the markup on the motor (approx. $25.00) So I saved approx. $100. and only took about 30 min.

First I removed the 14.3 tons of freezer contents, closed the water valve, shut off the juice, and removed the freezer bins, the freezer door and the three screws that held the element in place. After bringing in 397 hand tools from my garage inventory, I loosened the unit and, after extensive evaluation, I finally disconnected the wiring connector from its freezer rear wall connector counterpart. You ain't gonna believe the rest of my story--of total ineptitude by an experienced fix-it-yourself dummy.

I searched the internet for a replacement ice maker and found it at partselect.com. I called Sears to ask if I could add my refrigerator to my existing appliance repair account. Sears said sure--it would cost me only one arm, three toes and one grandchild. I abruptly declined their magnanimous offer—I don’t give up my arms and toes so easily.

I visited the local Maytag repair parts and service retailer, who advised they didn't do parts anymore. Expecting their repair price would be greater than Sears, I resorted to partselect.com. I called them to be assured what I was buying was not mistakenly a 747 Landing Gear. On the afternoon (West Coast) of 4/28/10, I ordered (via internet) one PS21215123 Ice Maker Assy. Much to my pleasant surprise, it arrived via FedEX on 4/30/10 (no freight charges to me).

My repair/replacement efforts were hampered by the effects of my right rotator cuff surgery a few months before and major left wrist surgery two months ago to remove fractured bones and torn ligaments.

Undaunted by my physical handicaps, I forged forward. After re-installing the unit, I turned the water supply and electricity back on. It was graveyard dead. I wisely then bought two bags of ice as an interim solution to the severe needs of my wife and me for our daily chilled evening cocktails. I removed the unit, checked it out and re-installed it. I bought two more bags of ice. All the while, I turned the water and electricity off and on as required by reasonable safety standards. High tediousness!

Several more home maintenance tasks then arose for Sergeant Super Fixer, but I returned to the ice maker problem on 4/8/10. Last chance--remove the device and insure there was no frozen ice in the inlet tube--or call the local partsless repairman. No ice found, but I did learn the wiring connector to the unit was awry--no contact! While explaining that to my wife, I realized the two upper mounting screws were intended to be partially installed into the freezer wall to accommodate the unit's slotted mounting holes! Then, tighten the screws. Oh my God! During my 143 installations and removals, I had installed those screws blindly--using the (handicapped) skills of my right and left hands without any benefit of direct eyesight.

I returned to my challenging project this morning (4/9/10), fully utilizing all the expertise I had gained yesterday. Fifteen minutes of amusing effort! Turn on the juice! Turn on the water!Two hours later, ice cubes were dropping into the bin like rhinoceros bisquits in the jungle.

Hallelujah! I now am free for the next challenge!

HINT: Put a bed pillow (an old one, or your wife's) in the freezer compartment to soften the harshness of its cold metal on your back, if you use the "crawl in on your back" approach.

1. turn off power.
2. pop off ice maker cover to access motor assembly.
3. remove three screws to assembly.
4. pull off assembly.
5. attach new assembly making sure metal arm and plastic
ice tray rod align with assembly.
6. screw assembly onto unit.
7. replace cover.
8. plug in refrigerator.
9. enjoy ice again with no leakage into freezer.

The ice maker was not getting water. I hotwired the water valve by switching the connectors for the water dispenser and ice maker water valves and water flowed into the icemaker when the water dispenser lever was pushed. I wronly assumed the water valve was good. I removed the icemaker and determined that the gear motor was not getting power in the position the icemaker had stopped.In this position, the thermostat determines when the motor gets power so I replaced the thermostat. The icemaker still would not get water! As it turns out, the water solenoid was sticking due to a deteriorated rubber washer which let the solenoid plunger get too far out of the magnetic field. I replaced the water solenoid assy and all is well. Don't get fooled by hotwiring the valve. If it isn't getting water, the solenoid probably is the culprit.

Turned off water supply, removed old Water Valve, installed new Water Valve, turned water supply back on. After first couple cycles of icemaker, increased water pressure by opening water supply valve one more full turn. Good cubes! Job completed in about 1 hour - moving fridge out, swapping Water Valve, moving fridge back in. (time to clean coils not included)

We weren't sure if the problem was in the Water Inlet Valve or in the Icemaker Control & Motor Assembly. The water in the door did work. We removed the Water Inlet Valve & tested it with an Ohm Meter. It tested good so we put it back in. We then ordered the Icemaker Control & Motor Assembly. When it arrived we installed it and waited a few hours but the icemaker still did not fill with water. We telephoned a parts store and were told the problem could be the thermostat or we could replace the whole icemaker. We replaced the whole icemaker.

I removed the shelves from the freezer. I unscrewed 6 screws with a 1/4" nut driver and removed the back panel. The coil was solid ice because the defrost cycle wasn't working. I thawed the ice with a hairdryer (5 minutes), unplugged the thermostat and installed the new one (it simply clipped on to the coils), and reassembled the back panel and installed the shelves. Total time, about 14 minutes. Total cost, less than $20.00. I can't even get an appliance repairman to show up at my door for less than $100.00! Thanks to your website, I was able to diagnose my problem, order the correct part and fix it myself! (I bookmarked your site under my favorites). Thanks for this great consumer service. It's easy, inexpensive and quick to do it yourself!

An easy job for smaller hands. Removed the two bolts holding the light cover. Removed two electrical connections from the old switch by pinching the retaining clip,removed the switch, snapped in the new one and re-attached the connectors. Your online illustrations helped me to know that the plastic housing for the light switch would only swing down so far and was not intended to be removed. Saved me from breaking that plastic cover's tabs. This home repair saved me more than 5 times the cost of hiring a professional to do it. Very happy homeowner.

rmv panel (5min) rmv fan/motor 3 screws (10 m) cut wire 2in from motor, re route remainder of wire to front so can strip for wire nuts. ( 10m) attach old fan to new motor, place in old opening ,3 screws, a little fussy to align, ( 15m ) route and strip wire from new motor , zip ties work well, wire nuts , plug in fridge vola, no noise, close up, reverse panel. ( 20m). i also took time to clean grilles with small vac and damp rag, ( looks and sounds like new) bob Wi.

I checked the fuses and hoses in the back of the refrigerator to make sure water WAS in fact getting to the front of the fridge. Since the water through the front door worked fine, I had to check the water tube running to the ice maker. It was fine and water was waiting to go somewhere! I decided to pull the icemaker out of the fridge to see what I could fine. Once it was out, I took the ICEMAKER CONTROL AND MOTOR ASSEMBLY off (that's the side part with the dial on it). Only 3 screws to take that off, and it was EASY to see what was wrong once I took that off. There was a connection that was obviously bad (looked almost like it had burned out). My thought was that it was obvious what part was bad, what would it hurt for me to try to fix it myself? When I got online to find the part, PartSelect was the only one that I found that had the EXACT part that I needed, and lucky for me, there were multiple pictures of multiple angles of the part so I could compare and make sure I had the right one!! The part with shipping cost less than the cost of a repair tech to even come out and look at the fridge. Then add the cost of the part and labor if I had the repair tech fix it...I probably saved about $250!!!!

I noticed the the freezer was beginning to thaw out and the refrigerator was no longer cooling. Due to the age of the refrigerator I thought that it couldn't be anything too major so I sought out some advice and order the necessary parts through partselect.com The problem was the thermostat in the freezer and changing out was pretty simple. The website offers some good advice along with quick delivery which makes attempting the repairs worthwhile. I would definitely use partselect.com again for any other appliance repairs!

Other stories I've read here speak to difficulty of changing a gasket with the door on the appliance. Whoa! Take the door off, tape cardboard over the opening, lay the door on its back and proceed. You will avoid racking or twisting the door and having the new gasket fit worse than the old. You can also thaw ice which often forms inside a door over time. Reinstall the door taking pains to shim properly so the new gasket is not overcompressed or allowing a gap. A dollar bill is a good gauge. It should resist a bit as it is pulled out after closing the door on it. This was not exactly step-by-step, just offered as advice from a whole bunch of experience.