six months the light turns red. time to replace filter
First I shut the water off to the refrigerator.then i pushed the big button in the middle of the grille below the refrigerator door. pulled out the old filter, took the front cap off the old filter put it on the new filter. took the two red caps off the new filter. pushed the filter in till it locked in place. all done! Turned the back on.
Fridge was getting too warm, ice buildup on coils.
WARNING: REPLACING THIS PART REQUIRES CUTTING AND SPLICING ELECTRICAL WIRES. RISK OF ELECTRICAL SHOCK OR FIRE. DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS REPAIR IF YOU ARE NOT EXPERIENCED WITH ELECTRICAL WIRING.
Part Info: The bi-metal strip is clipped onto the evaporator coils and is designed to regulate the defrost coil temperature. If it is not functioning properly you may notice ice buildup preventing air flow (and preventing proper refrigeration), or more rarely the freezer side may get too warm during the defrost cycle.
1: UNPLUG THE FRIDGE! If there is ice buildup, wait until the ice has melted. A box fan blowing at the ice will help melt it more quickly.
2: Remove the panel covering the evaporator coils. It's located inside the fridge, on the freezer side.
3: Un-clip the bi-metal strip from the evaporator coils.
4: Unplug the wires from the evaporator fan, defrost coil and bi-metal strip, then disconnect the main connector that is plugged into the rear wall.
5: Clip both wires to the old ( bad ) bi-metal strip. Cut close to the casing of the bi-metal strip so there are long wires to splice onto.
6: Strip 1/4 to 1/2 inches of insulation off of the ends of the wires ( depending on the size of the wire-nuts you use). Twist the bare wires slightly to prevent fraying.
7: Do the same for the ends of the wires on the (new) bi-metal strip.
8: Take the ends of the wires belonging to the (new) bi-metal strip and the wires coming from the main plug. Take the like-colored wires, and twist the bare metal ends together.
9: Twist on wire nuts, for both sets of wires. Make sure they are snug, with no bare wire showing.
10: Tape over the wire nuts with electrical tape. Tape over the wires nuts in a spiral fashion, completely covering the nut and both wires that are now spliced together. This will prevent accidental shorting.
11: Plug the main plug back into the rear wall of the fridge. Also re-connect the connectors to the evaporator fan and defrost coil. Make sure the clips on the connectors are snug to ensure a good connection.
12: Clip the new bi-metal strip onto the coils, in the same spot as before. ( Usually just after the small incoming copper tubing that connects to the coils, known as the expansion valve. That is usually the coldest spot on the coils during operation).
13: Replace the panel that covers the coils.
14: Plug the fridge back in... Now you fridge should defrost correctly. If it does not, your defrost coil could be burned out, or the control board could be faulty.
It's simple enough in theory: read the side of the box and follow the instructions. BUT you need to really push the knob in pretty hard (I am a girl, and my hand strength isn't that good). If you don't, when you turn the knob, the filter won't come out, then it's tougher. So: make sure the knob pops before you turn!
The Bearing Cup Assembly was broken and ice would jamb against it during the ice making cycle.
I removed the ice maker from the refrigerator, by removing one screw on the underside bracket and loosening the two screws at the top side, then lifting the ice maker off the loosened screws. I then unplugged the electrical harness that supplies power from the refrigerator to the ice maker. I then disassembled the ice maker by removing the front cover which is snapped in place, then removing two recessed screws at the front. I removed the broken part, I then reassembled the ice maker with the new part. I replaced the two recessed screws at the front and snapped on the cover. Then I reinstalled the ice maker in the refrigator by plugging in the harness, slipping the ice maker over the loosened screws in the refrigerator and replacing the screw that was removed from the underside bracket. Tightening all the screws completed the project.
It was ridiculously easy. Push the button on the filter canister holder at the base of the refrigerator and the spring-loaded mechanism came out smoothly. I unplugged the old filter, took the cap off the new on and plugged it in. After reinserting the filter canister holder and locking it in place, I heard the whoosh of water once again moving through the filter. Very satisfying and very easy to do.
I used a flat-head screwdriver to pop out the old light rocker switch. Then, I unplugged the wires, plugged them into the new light rocker switch, and then popped the new switch into the hole. That's it! Lights began working again.
The easiest thing to do was pull the ice make off. After taking the 3 screws out of the wall of the freezer, take a screwdriver (flathead) and push on the tab for the electrical plug and wiggle the cord out. Then you can take 3 screws out for the main cover and another 2 screws on the next cover. There's the part, pop it out and replace holding pins and start the process of putting back together the opposite way you took it apart.
KITCHEN AID SIDE-BY-SIDE REFRIGERATOR ICE-MAKER stopped working due to a broken motor assembly.
Changing the KITCHENAID MOTOR ASSEMBLY TO THE ICE-MAKER was fairly straightforward. The hardest part was figuring out WHAT was broken and how to fix it. I was determined to save myself hundreds of dollars by doing it myself and avoiding a visit by the 'repairman'.
1.) Went to KitchenAid website to look at Parts List for my side-by-side refrigerator and ice maker assembly (a PDF file, easily downloadable) . The illustrations helped me visualize the assembly and various parts involved. 2.) Removed cover on front of ice maker. 3.) Removed hex-head screw on undersurface of icemaker on the right, which stablilizes a plastic cover for the electrical connector to the ice maker. Once this is off, it's then possible to slide the ice maker out. 4.) Slide the ice maker out from it's 'shelf' in the freezer. You won't be able to completely remove it until you disconnect the power supply. 5.) Disconnect the multi-pin power connector. (It's probably safest to unplug the refrigerator altogether before doing this, but I did not. No exposed metal wiring or connectors. No problems when I did it this way.) 6.) Once the ice-maker was out, remove the white cover from the motor assembly (on the left side of the unit). 7.) Remove the three screws from the black housing of the motor assembly. (This is where I discovered that the connector between the motor and drive-train was broken and needed to be replaced.) 8.) Remove and replace the drive system for the ice cube ejector. 9.) Then reverse the steps to reassemble.
This may seem a bit vague, but it's really quite straightforward once the ice maker is out of the freezer. The replacement motor assembly includes the motor, the motor housing, the drive-train, and the ice-cube ejector. Very easy to re-asemble.
Shopping for and ordering the part took some time since there are so many different after-market parts dealers. In all honesty, I'm glad I decided on PartSelect.com. They had a decent price, safe checkout, and timely delivery. All the essentials of a good online store.
Thanks, and good luck to the next guy who has to deal with a KitchenAid snafu.
The ice maker was not getting water. I hotwired the water valve by switching the connectors for the water dispenser and ice maker water valves and water flowed into the icemaker when the water dispenser lever was pushed. I wronly assumed the water valve was good. I removed the icemaker and determined that the gear motor was not getting power in the position the icemaker had stopped.In this position, the thermostat determines when the motor gets power so I replaced the thermostat. The icemaker still would not get water! As it turns out, the water solenoid was sticking due to a deteriorated rubber washer which let the solenoid plunger get too far out of the magnetic field. I replaced the water solenoid assy and all is well. Don't get fooled by hotwiring the valve. If it isn't getting water, the solenoid probably is the culprit.
An easy job for smaller hands. Removed the two bolts holding the light cover. Removed two electrical connections from the old switch by pinching the retaining clip,removed the switch, snapped in the new one and re-attached the connectors. Your online illustrations helped me to know that the plastic housing for the light switch would only swing down so far and was not intended to be removed. Saved me from breaking that plastic cover's tabs. This home repair saved me more than 5 times the cost of hiring a professional to do it. Very happy homeowner.
Auto Defrost Freezer keeps defrosting SIDE BY SIDE KITCHENAID
DISCONNECT POWER. Removed all shelves/baskets.Popped upper panel off (just clips in) Removed 6 screws in lower back panel ( 3 each side) slid panel in place but down. You can then easily see the defrost thermostat/defrost termination switch. Cut the wire connectors (pink n brown wire) stripped back wire, attached new defrost thermostat. Thermostat clips on. New thermostat ohm's at 5.5, old one was "open". Slid cover back up meeting the upper cover grooves. Screwed lower panel in. Put shelves etc back in. Plugged in. Turns on, put a bottle of water in freezer. Checked a while later, frozen. has been frozen for a week. -James
Refrigerator Wasn't Cooling,Evaporater Coil Freezing Up
I have a side by side so in order to access the bi-metal switch I first had to empty out the freezer. The switch is clipped on to the top of the evaporator coil. I had to remove 8 screws to remove the back panel of the freezer compartment. The bi-metal switch was right there in plain view. There are two colored wires that come out of the switch. I tried pulling them out of the socket they were plugged into but gave up for fear of breaking something. I ended up cutting the wires and splicing them together. I used the plastic twist caps. I made sure when I closed everything back up that the open end of the caps were pointing down so no water can accumulate in them. It has been 3 days now and so far so good