59675234405 Kenmore Refrigerator - Instructions

No instructions came with the parts, however, on the website where we ordered the parts was a video that walked you through every step. We followed the video and had the repair done in no time.

The other instructions and the video provided by Parts Direct are pretty good with instructions, but they omit two steps. First, if you have an ice maker, you will need to unplug the connector on the back side of the panel you remove at the back of the refrigerator to access the drain tube. Just unplug it and you can move the removed panel to the side without disconnecting any of the water lines. Second, the instructions say to just reconnect the "bottom end" of the new p-trap drain to the drain pan at the bottom of the refrigerator. They don't tell you there are two places to connect the new p-trap to the drain pan. The original tube/trough connected to the one at the back of the drain pan on the left (viewed from the rear of the refrigerator). At first, it looks like the new p-trap won't reach to it for the connection, but if you look closer, there is another connector to the right of the original one that the p-trap connects to properly. Replacing the drain trough with the new p-trap was actually pretty easy and would only take about a half hour. Add another half hour to give the refrigerator coils a good cleaning as they will need it now that you can reach them. The real time consumer, 3 to 4 hours, is needed to use a hair dryer to melt and clear the ice from the condenser at the back of the freezer so the water can drain. Just take your time and all the ice will eventually melt and drain out so the new p-trap will work properly.

Looking at the ice maker it is pretty cut & dried as to how to remove the unit. I took out the ice tray and just started removing all the mounting screws. The same for the mold ice tray & heating element. I was just sad that you did not have just the heating element separate from the mold ice tray.

The ice mold has a coating on it. Over time the coating deteriorates. If your ice maker leaks water into the ice reservoir inspect the mold to see if the coating is compromised. If so, replace with new.

Remove the ice maker assembly. 3 small hex screws. Unplug power cord. Disassemble ice maker assembly. Remove ice mold/heater. Replace with new. Reassemble.

i had used your web site before and i read several problems that your readers had. i went to the back of the unit, removed the bottom cover and right there the i found the run capacitor and i chaged it. since i had only ordered this part to save money i went back and ordered the Start Device which when i took it off it was completely burned. the replacement part came labeled with 2 different compressor #, so i picked the one that i had and unpluged each wire. the part may differ from the one that it's in the unit but it worked when i pluged everything back on. it also helps to take a picture of everything before removing the wires in case you have to leave it and come back later. i hope to use this refrigerator another 10 years. thank you all for your help.

After lots of internet exploring and diagnosis, the icemaker comes right out, and with three screws out and in, the job is all but done. Don't pay anyone for this repair!!!!!

I could not determine if the solenoid water inlet valve or the ice maker unit was bad, so I replaced both.
In this model of the refrigerator, the freezer is a drawer on the bottom, so this makes access to the ice maker mounting a little tricky. The need to contort to reach into the back made this take longer and was more uncomfortable than expected. I needed to completely remove the screws for the top brackets, even though most instructions indicate you can loosen these and lift the ice maker off. Be careful to properly re-seat the water guide that directs the water from the inlet tube to the ice maker. That tended to interfere with re-connecting the wiring harness to the back of the freezer. Again, this was likely difficult because of having to bend over into the freezer.
The ice maker needs to be in the freezer for about 12 hours before the sensor in the black wire is cool enough to allow operation. I did not know this at first, so I was initially worried that there was a bigger problem. If you want to use the test functions with a jumper wire, be sure the door switch that controls the freezer light is depressed.
The solenoid value replacement was fairly straightforward. I found it useful to use a small open wrench to push the compression lock for the value-to-ice maker water tube to remove the old solenoid. Otherwise, replacing the water valve was simple.

replaced the poorly designed "duck bill" drain with this P trap. Very simple repair done by accessing through the back of the refrigerator. The video on this website walked me right through the repair. It did however fail to mention that the ice has to be removed from the inside. I had to remove the drawer face and pull outs. Then the ice maker and back panel are removed. I used a heat gun and screwdriver to chip and melt the ice build up. If one had the luxury of having another refrigerator to move food in to you could just unplug the unit until the ice melts.

Repair was a piece of cake. My only wish would have been a little more informed on a few other parts I could have replaced as well. It obviously would have increased my cost, but would have simplified the install process, and still would have been cheaper then calling a service guide. I would recommend buying and installing the new gaskets when doing this. And possibly the steel support bar that goes threw the plastic shelf. Removing that bar was the most difficult task, difficult only that if you used to much force, SNAP!! and then your pissed! and have to start all over.

went your web site.It said I did not need to remove any parts.So removed the old one and installed the new one while talking on the telphone.

The lining of the ice mold (Whirlpool) started flecking off (black flecks in the ice cubes), so I decided to replace the mold.
Loosen the two 1/4 inch upper nuts and remove the lower nut to remove the ice maker from the freezer. The hardest part was getting it unplugged. I used a small blade screwdriver to release the catch on the connector and pull it out.
Remove the ice maker front cover. If you have a skinny enough phillips screw driver, there are two deep set screws through two holes on the lower portion of the control module (otherwise, remove the three screws on the controller, unlatch the shut-off arm from the control module, and separate the controller to access the mold screws). Unhook the shut-off wire from the end of the tray. Unscrew the two screws holding the mold and remove the mold.
Remove the plastic hardware from the old mold and install on the new mold.
Attach the new mold on to the control module.
WARNING WARNING WARNING!!! The mold I bought already had the alumilastic on it for the contact point to the thermostat. When I installed it and tightened the screws, the alumilastic was dried out, didn't squash down, and dented the bi-metal thermostat on the controller, ruining it. I had to buy a new thermostat. Be sure to check that the alumilastic is pliable. If not, take it off and buy some fresh to put on there.
Re-install the ice maker. It took a while to get the first batch of ice because the ice maker was at room temperature and I had the freezer door open for several minutes. So the freezer had to get cold and the ice maker had to chill down. Once everything got cold, it started making ice again.

I replaced the control board first. The freezer back panel frosted up and the refrigerator warmed up again. Then I force (short option vs long) defrosted the refrigerator. However, a few days later the defrost issue came back again. Force defrost no longer worked, though likely due to a severe ice build up behind the freezer panel. I ordered the wire harness. I took off the freezer door (loosen four screws only), removed the tray rails, ice maker, thermostat housing and vent mounted on the freezer panel. The rails and the vent are a bit tricky to remove since no directions exist. I then removed the fan above the coils and then removed the wire harness. Installing the new harness is easy except that I had to modify one of the ground connections for it to mount properly. I tested the unit for 72 hours. The defrost cycle eventually kicked in (dripping onto a pan and sizzling sound). I then reinstalled all parts. No frost build up. Good to go!

turn off water and unplug fridge. remove ice maker bottom mounting screw. just loosen the 2 top mounting screws. unplug wire harness from back of fridge. remove old icemaker from freezer compartment. once removed, salvage square endcover and reinstall on new maker. unfasten wire harness from old maker and reinsatll on new one. reinsert thermal wire in new ice maker holding bracket. remove second wiring bracket and reinstall on new maker to hold remaining wires (not mentioned on "how to-" video). remove old ice maker on/off bale and reinstall on new one. remount new maker to top mounting screws, reinsert harness plug into fridge. replace bottom screw,

I pulled off the old gasket and placed the new gasket in the existing groove, shut the door; problem solved!

Shut off water supply, removed old valve (two screws, 1/4' nut driver), disconnect electrical plug, remove water lines (adjustable wrench). Cut fitting off tube to ice-maker (new unit has a push-to-connect fitting). Replace water lines and electrical connector. Mount valve back on cabinet. Turn water back on.