25361532806 Kenmore Refrigerator - Instructions

This was the second part I tried. The defrost timer was first, but that did not fix it. To do this I had to remove the ice maker and the back plate of the freezer. Then I defrosted the coil and cut the wires. stripped them back and installed the new thermostat. re-assembled and tested. has been working great ever since.

I unplugged the refrigerator, then opened the door and removed four screws holding the plastic electrical panel to the interior top of the main refrigerator compartment and noticed the cold control was corroded badly, apparently from moisture in the panel. I ordered a new one from partselect.com. When it arrived the next day, I then pulled off the control knob, unclipped the cold control, unplugged the three wires to the control, then removed the styrofoam insulation blocks holding the thermocouple wire and then removed the thermocouple wire to complete the removal. I then reversed the process to install the new thermostat and control. That is repositioned the thermocouple wire, put the insulation blocks back to hold the wire, then replugged the three electrical wires, clipped the control back and pushed the control knob back on and finally screwed the panel back to the top of the main compartment and plugged the refrigerator electrical cord back in to provide current to the refrigerator. It immediately started up and ran fine. Total time - about 8 minutes.

Frig area was at about 50 degrees and would not get cooler. Freezer was working great.
Empty the freezer and remove the two screws that hold the back panel of the inside of the freezer on. Pull the panel out and you will see the fan that is mounted to the back of the panel. If the fan is not running, disconnect it (quick connector) and check to see if there is voltage coming to it from the connector (should be 120VAC between the two wires). If there is power, and the fan was not working, replace the fan.

Fan just snaps into the holder on the back panel and plugs into the quick connector. Make sure you clear any ice build-up in the hole between the freezer and the frig that the fans blows through. Put it back together and verify the fan runs.

- Unsnapped old light socket from top of Frig
- Disconnected elect wires
- Reconnected elect wires to new light socket
- Snapped new socket in place
- Done in less than 2 min.

The lower compartment was hovering around 50 degrees. Logic told me that cold air was not being driven from the freezer to the lower compartment. At first, I found the passageway between freezer and lower compartment was blocked with frost/ice, which could have been the entire problem. But why was that ice accumulated there? After defrosting, the problem was only partly solved. A few how-to videos suggested that the defrost timer was a common problem, so I tried that, the part was about $11, with minimal improvement. So I concluded that the fan was not driving cold air from the freezer to the lower section. I tested the fan by removing the freezer back panel completely, wiring the fan to an old ordinary power cord, and plugging that in to a wall outlet. The fan would not start on its own, would only turn if I gave it a spin, and then was very weak - I could stop it with a finger without pain! When my new fan arrived, I again removed the back panel in the freezer and replaced the fan, just a few screws to remove, then swap the fan blade to the new fan motor. The process was simple and obvious. Now the lower section stays near 40 degrees, though I'm not convinced that's the only problem-there seems to be a lot of variation in the temperature. BTW, I had also confirmed the defrost heating element was functional by activating the defrost timer (see youtube), to eliminate that from the diagnosis.

I popped the new one in. My cat could have done it

Bought a new
capacitor.

This was a simple job. Raised the flap in the back that houses the compressor, removed the wire that holds the relay, pulled out the old relay and pushed the new one on. Replaced wire holder and that was it. Plugged it frig and freezer is at zero and lower compartment at 35. As easy as brushing your teeth!

I located the part that was the culprit as it had buzzed very much before quitting. This is an easy removal as the part is in a two prong jack and just needs to be carefully removed with the new part inserted back in the jack provided. The refrigerator works fine now, but the run capacitor will still buzz on start up of the compressor. I do hope this is normal in this model? anyway it runs fine mow. Thank you.

Went pretty straight forward, except the heat shrink tubing was about 2 sizes too big. Would not shrink small enough to seal the connections. Even with a heat gun it would not shrink small enough. OH, another think is when I plugged the fridge back in the defrost timer was in defrost mode. Took me a few minutes to figure that out and use a screwdriver to turn the timer back to the on position. Other than that, install was pretty simple.

Watched your video, used a stiff putty knife to pry the gasket loose.Cleaned the surrounding area and pushed the new gasket in. I used a plastic body moulding tool to make sure the gasket was sealed. Very easy repair!

The site offers a video for this part which worked perfectly. In addition to replacing the part, since the cardboard panel was off, we also cleaned all the dust off of the coils which someone recommended to do annually.

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Twisted replacement bulb into place easily. Let there be light!

You tube is my best friend for DIY repair. I supported the door with wood blocks, removed the bottom bracket and was able to slide the refrigerator door down and out without removing the freezer door. Replaced both hinge bearings and door stop and washer on bottom hinge and slid the door back into place. Door is very light when empty. Fast and easy, door opens and closes smoothly and no problem with condensation anymore.