3ET18DKXXW00 Whirlpool Refrigerator - Instructions

Removed items and defrosted freezer. I then removed metal shelves, ice maker, bottom sliding tray and false bottom, freezer back, and light bulb with wire track. Cut wires to defrost thermostat and spliced in new thermostat. Reassembled shelves, back, etc., in reverse order. Old thermostat tested "open" in hot and cold water with Ohm meter tester.

I tried to just replace the cover rather than the whole unit but it was impossible - the cover would not go/stay on. I tried to remove the old unit completely but it would not unplug it was practically fused to the back of the fridge and the liner was cracking. I ended up breaking the cover and jerry rigging it over the bulb to prevent items in the fridge from being able to touch. Bad solution.

This problem can be caused by 3 different part failures. Timer, thermostat or heater. After contacting a service repair shop I was told that most often it is the thermostat. The cost of the repair would be at least $115. To much for an old refer. So I ordered the part from Partselect for $33. and put it in myself. Step1 cut the power to the refer. Step2 remove ice maker if you have one. Step3 remove base and back panels in the freezer. Step4 the coils were badly frozen so I used a hair dryer to thaw it out. Would have waited a long time for it to thaw out otherwise. Step5 The thermostat is clipped on to copper tubing next to the coils. Unclip it and cut the wires close to the thermostat. Strip the wires and wire nut the new thermostat. Clip it back on to the copper tubing. Put it all back together and start it up. It's over a week know and no problems. Note: We have whirlpool appliances that are over 16 years old. I have repaired the washer, oven, and now the refer with parts from Partselect. Good company. Always received the correct part within about 3 days from ordering. If you are able to do the work yourself you can save big bucks and keep your appliances running longer. Good Luck

Remove inside door trim plate. Then removed three screws that held in the light assembly. The only difficult thing was reconnecting the temperature adjustment rod. After replacing this rod you must slide the temperature control slide to midway and this hold the rod in place while reinstalling the light assembly. If I were to do it again it would probably take me half as long.

We followed de video that made it very clear to us. Thank you! It's been working great since...

I followed the instructions sent with the piece and VOILA it was repaired in less than 5 minutes. The whole process from finding the part of the web site to the ordering to the arrival of the part to the repair was so wonderfully simple. THANK YOU!!!