36348047893 Kenmore Refrigerator - Instructions

my freezer quit freezing, it would freeze for one day, thaw the next, so I went online, found PARTS SELECT, LOOKED UP MY MODEL #, come to find out it needed three parts to keep my freezer to freeze, first part was a thermistor a small PART took me longer to remove all the covers, and shelving, PULLED THE OLD OUT, CUT THE WIERS TO SIZE, AND REINSTALLED, IT WELL! THAT WASN'T ENOUGH THE FREEZER STILL DIDN'T FREEZE IT THOUT IT WAS A COOL WORMING OVEN, HAD TO INSTALL THE THERMISTOR I, SO I DID, TEN MIN, NOW I THOUGHT THAT WAS IT BECAUSE IT STAYED FROZEN FOR A WEAK, HAVE YOU EVER EATEN SOUPY ICE CREAM? SO BACK TO PARTS SELECT, THIS TIME I BOUGHT ONE MORE PT, THE RUN CAPACITOR, FIVE MIN, THAT/S ALL IT TOOK TO INSTALL. I DID NOT KNOW AT THE TIME YOU NEED THE THREE OF THEM TO RUN THE FREEZER ONE TO KEEP THE TEMP., ONE TO KEEP THE FAN RUNNING THE WAY IT SHOULD, AND THE THIRD TO MAKE SURE THE OTHER TWO KEEP RUNNING. NOW I CAN SET IT AT 4- 5 AND. FREEZE.

I replaced both lower hinges without removing the doors. First a couple of observations. The hinge kit consists of two parts; the lower part (bolted to the case) consists of an “L” bracket with a plastic cam, and the upper plastic cam (attached to the door). For some reason the upper cam is available as a separate part . If both cams are plastic both are worn out. Don’t bother ordering the individual cam. If one hinge is worn out the other probably isn’t far behind. Consider replacing both at the same time. Examine the door check. It is an inverted “T” shaped bracket bolted to the door that also holds the door cam. The crossbar of the T are metal tabs that check the door swing. Way too fragile IMO. On mine the refrigerator side was cracked and broke off when I removed it. Since the stops are the same right and left. I just swapped them when I replaced the hinges. Saved $22. Replacing the hinges without removing the doors. {Warning if this technique goes wrong you will be stuck with a loaded door you can’t open.} Remove the vent grill. Stack three 2x4’s along the bottom of both doors ( 26” is about right ). Shim the door(s) up to compensate for the cam wear. About 1/8”) Use a 5/16 socket to remove the hinge from the case. Pay attention to placement of the shims and spacers. Then remove the door cam and stop bracket. Install the new door cam. Leave the screws a little loose. Replace the lower hinge and tighten the screws. Do both sides. Then carefully remove the shims and 2x4’s. Finish tightening the door hinge screws. Check the door swing. I used this technique twice. One to replace the refrigerator side hinge, then again to replace the freezer side hinge and swap the door checks. There were no problems and I saved the hassle of unloading and removing the doors.

I first rolled out the refrigerator, unplugged it, and emptied the freezer contents into a cooler.

Then removed the shelving (side by side freezer / refrigerator) and the four screws holding the back panel.

The coil and defrost heaters were covered with ice, so the paint heat gun made quick work of defrosting them.

The heaters were held in by two screws each, so replacing them with the new units took little time.

Then it was a matter of routing the wiring and thermostat to the top of the coil, and plugging them in.

Replaced the back panel and shelving, and plugged in the refrigerator.

Saw that everything was operating, so I rolled the refrigerator back in place, and replaced the freezer contents.

In a few hours everything stabilized in the refrigerator and we were back to normal.

0. As a safety precaution, unplug the range or hit the relevant fuse breaker before you start. You might also want to grab a flashlight. Definitely do not try to do this while the oven is hot.
1. Pinch the wire over the light bulb cap to remove it. This is inside the oven at the back.
2. Pop off the hemispherical glass cap.
3. Unscrew the old light bulb, and screw the new light bulb in its place.
4. Put the cap back.
5. Secure the cap by putting the wire back in its slots on the cap.

No tools needed, the cap is just held in place with pressure from the wire.

we took off the old one and replaced it.

Did not do the repair because the unit arrived damaged. The packaging was in good condition. The plastic around the plug in shattered, and some of the plastic was inside the motor. Very good, and fast on adjusting the order.

I followed the troubleshooting instructions for freezers with ice build-up. First defrost the freezer. This makes a huge mess. The tray for water buildup is very small. I suggest covering the hole so no water gets to the tray and collecting the water as it melts in the freezer. (DO NOT pry the ice off with a knife. I did that when I was 14 and punctured the freon lines.) After the ice was gone inside the freezer, I removed the back panel of the freezer (a pair of 5/16" nuts on the bottom and a pair of #2 phillips screws at the top). The panel will then just pull straight out. Make sure the ice has melted from behind the panel as well before testing any of the components.

First component to check is the defrost timer. Pretty straight forward, using the instructions on the PartSelect home page and a multi-meter (looking for continuity or the lack there of). You need to remove it and check it out of the fridge. In my case the defrost timer worked correctly (bummer since it was much cheaper than the defrost heater kit). Next step was to test the Defrost Heater. I used a common since approach which was not mentioned in the instructions. I manually turned the defrost timer until it clicked. Then I put my hand next to the glass tubes that incased the heater elements. They did not get hot. I then turned the defrost timer until it clicked again. Again, the heater elements did not get hot. Since there are only two setting on the timer, it means the defrost heater was broken. If you can hear the refrigerator/freezer running, then you are not in defrost mode. Turn the thermostat for another click. All noise will stop...and heat should be found at the tubes (behind 6" thin tin covers), if they are functioning.

Removing the defrost heaters and thermostat was simple. There are four #2 screws (2 on each assembly). The thermostat is just clipped on. It is impossible to put the defrost heater assembly in wrong. Put the panel back on and your ready to go. The 30-60 minutes is not repair time but de-ice and repair time. I used a space heater to speed up the de-ice process.

Removed guard at bottomof frig. Located timer & performed tests. Manually rotated timer motor until defrost cycle start. Watched timer for several hours. Timer did not come out of defrost.. Rotated timer more until compressor started. Cooled fine several days then started to get warm again. Manually defrosted and started compressor again. Ordered part. Followed wiring diagram on timer for push on lugs. Frig now back to normal operation.

I knew that the compressor was cooling because the freezer was half-working. The back wall was frozen-up and found that the iced-up coils where blocking the air circulation. So even if the fan was running, there was no air circulation. Hence the deforst cycle was not working.

Turned off the breaker to the fridge because I couldn't reach the power plug to unplug it . Use small flat head screwdriver to pop out the piece, disconnected the rubber prong connectors, inserted the new piece into the rubber prongs snapped it back into place. Flipped the breaker back on and prayed it worked. It did and I saved myself $120 service call.

I took the glass plate off the top of the drawer, then removed the draw. I then removed the two screws holding the slide rail. I put the new slide rail in place, put the screws back in it, slide the drawer back in place and replaced the glass top. nothing to it.

I watched the video online, followed the instructions and within minutes had the part installed. The frig light was working once again! I will say the original switch was very snug and I had to do some very minor scraping of the plastic to get the new part to slide in.

The refrigerator was no longer cooling and it was suggested by my father that it could be our defrost timer as he has owned many Hotpoint refrigerators in his lifetime and he said the defrost timer was always the problem he had with them when they were not cooling properly. I removed the cover and unplugged the defrost timer, ordered a new timer through this website and installed it by plugging it where the old timer was, replaced the cover and plugged the refrigerator back in. The refrigerator is now cooling again and just in time for Christmas.

installed 3 of 4 shipped parts. ended up with 2 upper right hand slide rails, even though ones package said upper left.

Easy repair. No need to remove the door. Simply prop up the door with blocks or books - remove hinge and riser assembly - replace with new parts. Total repair time about 15 minutes. Tools needed only an open end wrench.