36358077893 Kenmore Refrigerator - Overview

1. Turn off water supply, and electrical ( unplug it) to fridge.
2. Remove water line to valve. Watch for water to pour out of the line. Have a towel handy.
3. Remove the cardboard cover on the bottom of the fridge.
4. Remove the screws that hold the valve in place.
5. Remove the valve, be careful the waterlines ar ... Read more e still attached.
6. Place a towel under valve to catch any water that leaks out from water lines.
7. Remove electrical lines, make sure to mark which went where. One is for the ice, and one is for the water. Make sure the power is off, there is 120 volts present at those connections.
- now my waterlines attached using a compression type fitting. The new valve I got used just a push in type of attachment. But, easy enough I just removed the pieces for the compression and the waterlines pushed right in and worked fine.
- the mounting harness for the valve was alittle different but the parts I need were in the right location and she fit in fine.
8. Attach water lines. They are different sizes so you can't get those mixed up.
9. Attach electrical lines.
- the new valve came with adaptors for my electrical connection. Just snapped them on and kept on going.
10. turn on watersupply for fridge. Plug it back in.
11. Test for leaks, and proper operation. ie. When you push the water does the water valve open?
12. Unplug fridge
13. Now is a good time to clean out any dust or dirt that has accumallated in under around your fridge.
14. reassemble, valve, then cover. move fridge back into place.
15. Plug fridge back in.
16. Take a clean glass.
17. Fill with water from the front.
18. Take full glass of water and go watch tv. You've earned it, and saved yourself probably $100.00 in labor costs. Good Job.

Per the trouble shooting guide on the home page of the website. I suspected the defrost timer was bad because ice had heavily accumulated on the back wall of the freezer compartment and the temperature inside the refrigerator was warm. First, I removed all the freezer racks. Then removed the (4) screws on the back wall in the freezer c ... Read more ompartment. I then removed the ben from the ice maker to allow more room. Once I saw all the ice, I unplugged the refrigerator, and used a hair dryer to defrost ( it took about an hour to get it all). Once the ice was all gone, I then moved into the refrigerator compartment and removed the top shelve. This allowed me more room and access to the defrost timer which was behind the back panel. I used the trouble shooting guide to test the old timer prior to removing the new one from the package, (just in case I needed to send it back). Through this test I determined that the timer was bad, it wasn't the heating element or the t-stat. It was very easy to access, I removed the two knobs and lifted up the panel. I located the defrost timer and removed the screws as directed. I replaced the timer just as I had removed it, plugging in the electrical terminals per the removal process. I then reversed the order and put the panel and top shelve back on. Once all complete, I then moved back into the freezer compartment and replace the back panel and then the ice ben. I plugged it in and haven't had a problem since. This site has saved me a tremendous amount of money, a service contractor quoted us $300, to determine the problem. I ordered the part and it was sitting on our door stoop the next morning.

First of all, the larger white plastic tubes in this thing are 5/16" OD, which no plumbing store seems to stock. At the lower left rear end there are 2 tubes, one for water and one for ice, that are doomed to fail being in proximity of a heat source - they essentially get cooked to the point of becoming brittle and cracking. The smaller ... Read more tube and union can be easily found, but do yourself a favor if the larger one cracks and order the plastic tube and water tube union here, and just cut off the brittle part and amend the old tube using the union.