59679212012 Kenmore Refrigerator - Instructions

Having seen this problem before in other equipment so I had an idea where to look. Problem: the automatic defrost function was not operating. Looking through openings in the back panel of the freezer compartment, you could see the evaporator coils and fins were a solid chuck of ice. There are three logical components to check. Heater element, thermostat (located just above the evaporator) and a relay on the control board (located in the fridge control panel). Checked the heater with an ohm meter -- OK. The thermostat closes the circuit at around 20 degrees and opens at around 32 degrees. Pulled out the thermostat, wiring, fan unit. Everything unplugs, unscrews, and unclips, don't cut wires. Put the whole assembly in a friends freezer for an hour or so to see if the thermostat closes -- OK. Problem had to be with the control board. Replaced control board, reprogrammed it per included instruction. Everything is working again.

A very easy fix took all of five minutes

The hard part for me was figuring out which part was causing the problem. I read what others had done and followed their test methods. I checked the defroster heater for continuity and the defroster thermostat to make sure it was closing. the defroster termostat has to be cold to check it. You will need to check it while it is in ice or take it out and put it in another freezer for 30 mins and then check it for continuity. Those items checked out ok so it had to be the control board. The control board is a 5 min job to replace but making sure that is your problem is the hard part. I think the control board was bad due to a power surge we had when the power went out and came back on. It might be a good idea to put a surge protector on your home to protect your fridge and all your other electronic stuff. Our refrigerator is now working like new again. Thank you for all your help, Jim

First thing to do is take two screws off where the door closes.I removed the light sheild off by pushing it to back of refrig.The most hardest part is removing the complete panel,I took a small flat blade scraper to ply down to get small access than you need to put alot of pressure to start getting the panel to start coming off there are alot of pegs to free,the back panel has two hinges that slide towards the front.Once the panel drops remove the connectors and take entire unit out,very easy to replace the control board at this point.Installation is easy slide the two hinges on back in place and put pressure on unit to snap entire unit in place.Program unit with paperwork that came with part very easy to do.Frig is working great now.Just a note the paperwork on refrig is located in the front right corner the mf hids it ,this information will allow you to check all problems with refrig using the key pads for freezer/refrig.Good luck.

The video on website is very good and explains everything in detail. Just follow the directions. This is EASY!!!!

replaced control board

removed ice maker and wire shelf. removed back panel screws and tilted forward. removed 2 screws holding motor bracket. swapped fan blade and reassembled

removed old rail,lifted glass panel above and inserted new rail-voila!!done.

I used a flat screwdriver and released the lock tab on the bottom of the light switch, and pried the switch out, being careful to not damage the plastic around the mounting place of the switch, unplugged wiring from old switch, plugged in the new one and pushed the new switch into place. Job finished light switch now working.

Pull out old module...
Remove 2 wires...
Tape to inside wall [don't want them to fall down into side panel]..

Order new switch..

Fed Ex pkg came on 2nd day..

Install wires on switch...
Press into opening...
Check door light on..[OK]
.. Done

Unplugged and empty refrigerator, completely defrosted refrigerator using a hair dryer to speed up the defrosting, put a lot of towels on the floor to soak up the water when the ice melts. Removed all refrigerator racks and drawers, then remove the white plastic and styrofoam condenser cover. You will then see the thermistor, cut the two small wires connecting the thermistor to the harness leave yourself as mush wire as possible. Splice in the new thermistor and put the refrigerator back together.

This was a very easy repair job! I just needed to remove the drawers and shelving, put the new ladder hook on, and repace the shelving and drawers. It took longer to remove the items from the fridge, then it did to replace the ladder hook.

Removed screws from cover tested for power to motor found power was on to motor but motor did not work. I went to your web site was able to locate part in about 5 minutes . Even with over night shipping the part came to about $50,00, far cheaper tha a service call would have been.

Thanks John Paulsell

Unpacked, inspected, found two minor defects in the form of two tiny slivers along the seal edge which I cut with a small scissor, laid the seal down on the kitchen table, applied heat to the deformed areas and reshaped them with my fingers, heated the entire seal lightly, removed the old seal starting at the right hand upper corner using my fingers, installed the warm seal starting at the top corners by pushing it in its slot making sure the outer lip stayed out of the slot and worked my way around. I believe that the heat from the dryer made it pliable and easier to manage.

Removed the drawers and shelf unit above the shelves. Installed the new rail and put the shelf unit and drawers back in. Less than 5 minute repair. Very fast delivery of part and reasonable pricing.