10639422990 Kenmore Refrigerator - Instructions

Looked up the process on you yube and watched the repair video from the parts website

My owners manual said to unplug fridge from elec outlet, use a kitchen knife to gently pry off the switch plate
(manual had a pictoral example), unclip the two wire, replace with on new switch and replace the switch. Close
door and plug back in. Open door to check that the lite
works. Walla! It did. Thanks!

Sincerely, Ron Marshall, Billings, MT

Popped the old one out with a kitchen knife and popped the new one back in. It tool less than 15 seconds!!

taped the door shut ,measured a block of wood and stuck it under the door for support.....unbolted bottom hinge,slipped on hinge bracket and reassembled.no muss no fuss.

I pulled down the wire around the glass cover. . . Released on end of the wire from its holder being careful to not let the glass cover drop. Unscrewed the bulb and replaced with replacement. Easy, easy.

Please bear in mind I am 65 years old & it was harder to get up & down off the floor then to change the switch. Was very easy - watched video, unplugged unit. I used the putty knife at the right front corner to work loose, when it came loose had to loose the left side a little. The unit pulled out easily. detached the wired that had a single plug with 2 prongs on it. Attached the plug, pushed new switch into place. There was no way you could place wires on wrong prong. When done, plugged refrigerator back in & checked if working. I CAN SEE THE LIGHT and the food in the freezer now. Thank you for making an easy repair.

Everything worked perfectly---thanks to the suggestion of your call center agent. She suggested that since the replacement door handles were no longer available, I should consider repainting them--it worked like a charm. Please tell her she was a life saver. We rent that house in Fl and my returning tenants had complained about the discoloring refer handles. Thank you

I tried to remove the old light switch using a putty knife and a hammer. It was hard to compress the plastic tabs to pull it back through the hole, but all of a sudden, the lights came on. I guess banging on the switch freed-up the contacts. The new switch is now a spare part in case I need it.

We had a refrigerator that had no ice maker at all, but it had the wiring behind the freezer panel and the wiring for the solenoid valve at the bottom of the refrigerator. The installation went easy for me, but I do not think the average homeowner could handle it. There are always little variations from model to model so some of the diagrams were not quite the same as my unit. But all the necessary parts and hardware were there and the install went fine. its crabnking out perfect ice like crazy.

I watched the repair video. My son followed my instructions. He removed the ice-maker. The back panel was frozen, so we chipped and waited for the ice to thaw. There are three wires to remove from the old fan. My son used his cell phone to take a picture of the correct wiring. He used needle nose pliers to get the motor off the bracket. I used hot water to thaw the ice, so we could get the back panel to fit properly. If we weren't waiting for the ice to melt, we could have finished in about a half-hour. I'm 86 years old, and have carpel tunnel. My son is 63. Together, we make a good team.

Researching reasons for the freezer to not defrost, there were determined to be three potential causes: malfunctioning defrost timer, defective bi-metalic switch, or a defective defrost heater element. Research indicated that the most common source of the issue was a malfunctioning defrost timer. So, I purchased the defrost timer (which was the lowest cost option) and installed it, which took about 30 minutes. I would rate the replacement effort as "easy". Most of the time was spent collecting the proper tools and planning the repair. When placed back into service, the freezer did not appear to begin defrosting. I gave it about two days, and based upon visual evidence that the problem was NOT fixed, I removed the panels in the freeze to inspect the bi-metallic switch and the defrost heater. Using a VOM, I determined that the heating element was good; however, the bi-metallic switch appeared to be failed open, even after placing the switch in ice water while testing for continuity. So, I ordered a new bi-metallic switch which included a wiring harness. It took about 4-5 days to diagnose the problem, order, and receive the new switch. During this time, I did not have cause to inspect the freezer. Once received, I collected the needed tools and opened the freezer, only to find that the freezer was fully defrosted! So, in the final analysis, the defrost timer was the culprit! It apparently took 4-5 days for the defrost timer to cycle enough times into defrost to effect the true defrost of the freezer. Lesson learned: give the defrost timer time to do its job!

remove fiber grill cover, remove large bolt holding under frame ( with a 2X4 block, place under refrigerator on outside edge so frame can drop down.) remove pin from broken wheel, replace reversing proceedure. Note: when blocking refrigerator, care must be taken not to let block extend under entire frame. it only needs to be placed approx 3/4" under edge of refrigerator.

repair went well. Ice maker still not making ice. UGH

After receiving the new part almost immediately,using two screw drivers, removed the broken switch from the plastic frame. Be careful not to scratch or otherwise tear the plastic...very pliable. Since the original switch was factory installed and the wires were packed in fiberglass insulation, the switch came out but the wires and clips were still in place and could not reach the new switch. It was necessary to pull them down with bent long nose pliers...used a lot of "pull" but the wires held up.Connected the switch, turned the power on and there was light! Reports from other users really took the uncertainty out of the task.

I tried to just replace the cover rather than the whole unit but it was impossible - the cover would not go/stay on. I tried to remove the old unit completely but it would not unplug it was practically fused to the back of the fridge and the liner was cracking. I ended up breaking the cover and jerry rigging it over the bulb to prevent items in the fridge from being able to touch. Bad solution.