25361732806 Kenmore Refrigerator - Instructions

I tested the components in the refrigerator defrost function. I used digital multimeter and checked for continuity. Defrost thermostat must 32 degrees or lower.

Installation was fairly straight forward. The major complaint is that the problem returned 2 weeks later. I don’t know if I care to re-invest in another switch.
Now what?

The bulb wasn't the issue so I was hopeful the switch was. utube helped me some, but figuring my model was different than any on utube. Got the switch in and plugged it back in. Moment of truth. Didn't light. Ugggh! Out $50 for switch plus $20 for nut driver set.

I had to loosen the screw holding the mounting block and increase the hole size to fit the screw on refrigerator

The evaporator coil is behind the freezer. Remove the rack that makes the shelf and remove two 1/4” hex head screws I the back of the freezer to access the coil.
I used a hair dryer to melt the ice off the coil.
The thermostat clips on the refrigeration pipe to the coil. Remove the old thermostat and cut the wires at least a few inches from the thermostat. Clip the new thermostat on the pipe and strip about a 1/4” of the wire ends. The electrical connectors (provided with the new part) must be crimped to connect the wires.

replaced it

take 1/4 hex screws out clean out dust ,remove old fan blade replace with new install bolts .

I had to tap the screw holes with a 8/32 tap so that the screws would not bind.

Replaced thermo-fuse

My husband watched the video on your website and found it very easy to do the repair. The repair company that diagnosed the problem wanted $210 to do it. The part I ordered was under $20, and after he installed it the refrigerator has been working great. We would highly recommend your site to anyone who needs to fix anything!

I should have ordered start kit instead of start capacitor. The start cap astir did not fix problem so I ordered kit. Compasator comes as part of kit. Followed enclosed instructions. Cut existing wires and reconnected new wiring. Simple as that. It's a plug in item. Now worried it may be working to good. Freezer down to 10 deg. Watching to see if compressor is running to long. Seems ok lol. Wife hates me now. She wanted new frige.

per the video..easy installation....unfortunately the temperature did not improve. We still have a refrigerator temp in the upper freezer.....and a "cooler" in the refrigerator section

remove food, then the shelf, then use a hot air gun to defrost and loosen the back panel, then remove the panel, then defrost the coil and thermostat area. using wire tools, replaced the defrost thermostat,and re-assembled freezwr and test

My unit was not defrosting. Defrost heater was not functioning. Defrost heater tested good with a meter. Thermostat (cold) tested bad with a meter. Defrost timer was working properly. I replaced the thermostat but I had to buy red crimp connectors because the blue ones that came with the thermostat are designed for wire bigger than 18 AWG wire. The thermostat leads as well as the wire in my unit were 18 AWG. The crimp was not tight enough for my liking with the blue butt connectors. I also purchased smaller heat shrink tubing. After replacement, the defrost heater started working. I could see it glowing. Unfortunately immediately after getting the heater working the contacts in the defrost timer arced and stuck together thus preventing the timer from exiting defrost mode. The heater went off at this point indicating that the thermostat was now working. I then purchased and replaced the defrost timer and now the fridge is functioning properly. I noticed both replacement parts, even though I looked up my fridge model, were different part numbers than the originals. I'm guessing the new parts are improved? I also noticed the timer was an 8/30 rather than a 10/30 like the original. The fridge is working better than when it was new so evidently defrosting every 8 as opposed to every 10 hours is better for my unit.

Long story short:

Buy the correct crimp/butt connectors before beginning replacement of the thermostat and proactively replace the defrost timer since it is rather inexpensive.

I hesitate to say anything since I did exactly what their video told me to do, and it fixed the problem. Couldn't be happier. Was positive I was looking at 1000$ for a new fridge. Love being able to fix it by installing 15$ part myself. Thanks guys.