8ET22 Whirlpool Refrigerator - Instructions

I troubleshot the problem by reading the electrical schematic and concluding the heating elements (defrost cables) were either defective or the bi-metal temp sensor was open. When closed the temp sensor completes the circuit for the current to flow through the heaters to defrost the cooling coils every 8 hours and then when the bimetal o ... Read more pens at 55 degrees the circuit is open and the coils are cooled because the refridgeration motor is in run mode. A timer between the motor and heater elements also was defective. The timer controls the cooling period and the defrost period. I ohmed out each part according to the spec sheet of normal resistance of parts and thus the bimetal and timer were defective. I gather a surge of some duration and amplitude affected these parts because a storm 24 hours prior to refridgerator problem had passsed through the area and the AC electrical power had oscillated several times during that event. I used hand tools to do the repair. If you are not mechanically inclined a step by step proceedure would be moot. It is a matter of disassembly and assembly paying close attention to fragile parts.

I knew the chances of all the freon leaking out was unlikely so I looked at the wiring to the compressor and there was a capacitor and a starter/overload so i figured I would start there. I went on line and found the parts at this site and they were less than the minimum service call charge for a service tech so I figured what the heck le ... Read more t's give her a shot so I did give it a shot. I ordered the parts and they were there in less time than a service tech could come out and i installed the parts and guess what for 90.00 in parts and 15 minutes in time I repaired my refrigerator. Thanks guys, It took less time to order the parts than it did to make the repair so thanks, your website rocks and is very well designed so my hat is off to you guys!

A. remove food from freezer and store in cooler etc.
B. turn off frig with dial in main compartment, then pull frig out away from wall and unplug and remove the cover ( It is located at the bottom of the frig and may be cardboard and contains a handfull of 1/4" screws) exposing the compressor and drain tube (this is a good time to ... Read more vacume the compressor and coil area)
c. Take false back off from freezer by removing two 1/4 inch screws.
Next,
1. we made sure that the drain tube that runs down to a drain pan near the evaporator coil was clear, we did this by using a small aount of rock salt to speed up the melting of the ice then poured small amounts of hot water (boiling into the drain hole and soon the water flowed down the tube and into the pan below.
2. We then pushed a #12 standed electrical wire (with its end stripped back 1-1/2" then folding the strands back to create a broom) down the tube to the pan to push out any debree that may be present i.e. tin foil plastic bag particles, food chunks etc.
Making sure that this drain tube is clear is the first thing that could be causing the ice build up and water in the lower compartment!
However, I performed this several times and didn't change the problem so I chose to change the parts associated with defrost:
1. defrost heater, which is very easy to change. it is mostly plug and play but does require a pair of needle nose pliers to open a couple of metal fins to remove heater from its mounts, just be gentle with the process.

2. defrost thermostat, which is also very easy to change (Simply pull it off of a copper tube) but requires you to cut two wires near the old part and wire nut the new part wires to the remaining original wires, I added some anti oxident to the wires inside the wire nut to prevent a bad connection from developing do to moisture in this area (You can buy wire nuts with this already inside them, do this)and I taped the wire nut with a few inches of ELECTRICAL TAPE CLOSING OFF THE OPENING OF THE WIRE NUT.
You can then put his cabinet back together!
3. I also decided to change the defrost timer which is located inside a cover where the frig temperture setting dial is located. It is held to this cover by two phillips screws the cover is held in place by one 1/4" screw.
once you have the cover off and the defrost timer unscrewed you must remove a plug from the timer!
Now if you got the exact part you simply reinstall the defrost timer plug in the same postion on the new timer and screw the timer back onto its mount etc. However you may need to determine if the new timer is in the "DEFROST" position and you will need to take it out of that position by I assume rotating the timer mechanism (Ask a tech person about this)!!!!!!!!!
Then with all that done plug your frig vack in reposition it turn it on and be proud of yourself.

Now, if you recieved the timer I did it may look the same as the old one, but it may contain a black wire!!!
You will need to know which type of defrost timer application you frig uses:
1. Continuous run
2. version 1 Cumulative compressor run.
or
3. version 2 Cumulative compressor run.
I found a wiring diagram folded up and stored in the grill in the bottom of the front of the frig that helped me determine this. you will need to be able to read a wiring diagram but I found this situation to be simply a matter of matching examples of pictures (line diagrams). It is important though as you must determine which timer application your frig has because the black wire must be placed on a certain terminal for proper operation.

I replaced a three parts and may have, through trouble shooting, been able to save some money by not replacing all these parts. However , I found that when I went for guidance on trouble shooting that i.e. with the heater that ohmic values of the old part may be near the new part that it may still not be conclusive!? so for a hundred bucks my frig may last 5-10

Unplug the appliance.
Removed the screws holding the back panel.
Removed the fan blade.
removed 3 screws holding the condenser fan.
Remove the 3 metal brackets attached to the fan.
(First note which studs the brackets are attached to. Attach the 3 metal brackets to the new fan. (New screws were supplied)
Cut ... Read more and strip the wire about two inches from the fan.
Cut and strip the new wire. I cut the new wire in half (about 6 inches.) Connect the two wires, twist and used 2 wire nuts. Tie wrap the wire to the wire harness. Mount the new fan (three screws)
Screw the back panel back on.
Mount the new

Removed 2 screws holding water fill tube to rear of refrigerator and pulled out, matched old part with new to make sure of proper match. Guide new fill tube thru hole, making sure it is aligned with slot in ice cube tray on inside of freezer. Install new plastic line from water pump outlet to water fill tube, check for leaks, job done.

First I removed the racks in the freezer. The rack supports on the sides lift off without tools. The evaporator cover is at the back of the freezer. 4 phillips head screws. The cover lifts up then forward to expose the evaporator, evaporator fan and duct. The duct is held by 3 hex head screws. The evaporator fan is attached to the duct wi ... Read more th a wiring pigtail to a plug. Unplug the fan and remove the duct. The fan is held by 2 hexhead screws. The new fan is put in place and assembly is simply the reverse of disassembly. The unit is quiet and cools properly now. The new part fit perfectly.

Open the door. Removed two screws holding the cover of the thermostat. There is a clip which holds the thermostat in place. Remove the clip. Take out the thermostat. Remove the thermocouple (the long grey metal with the coil at the end) which is also held in place by a clip. Replace with the new thermostat and thermocouple and clip i ... Read more nto place. Replace the screws to the cover. Close the door.

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.

No need for tools.

Trouble shot the electrical circuit per the electrical schematic and zeroed in when I noted the Defrost Timer circuit was open. When I tapped on the bottom of the timer it began functioning normally (for a few days). Ordered a new Defrost Timer Kit and along with the installation instruction, I watched the on-line video. It was very help ... Read more ful!!
After installation was complete, I plugged the Refrigerator into the electrical outlet and.......nothing happened! Hmmm!

Removed the Defrost Time Kit and inspected it for any damage and found none. Then I placed a flathead screwdriver to the manual advance knob and slightly rotate the gear mechanism. I heard a distance "click”. I believe the Timer was in the ‘defrost’ mode when received.

I reinstalled the timer, verified the wiring connections and this time plugged the Refrigerator into the electrical outlet and ….. it worked!!!

I unplugged the refrigerator, finished the installation per the instructions, plugged the unit in and monitored it for a few hours (just in case). That was a week ago and the Refrigerator is working like new.

The instructions were written in a manner which required re-reading a few times as they could be a bit vague. The video was what really helped and I appreciate PartSelect adding it to the instructions.

first I diagnosed the problem with the whirlpool do-it-yourself repair manual, which was very easy to understand. as per the repair manual, "this part located on the evaporator or the back of the liner is used during the defrost cycle. This bimetal senses the temperature from the evaporator. When the temperature reaches 50-70 degrees (F) ... Read more the defrost bimetal turnd the defrost heater off. " then I emptied the freezer. removed the the back panel to expose the evaporator. I looked for the bimetal defrost thermostat clipped on the evaporator. tested the bi-metal defrost thermostat, as per the manual, " the ohmmeter should show ZERO resistance (continuity). if not, the bimetal is bad and needs replacing." NOTE: the bimetal must be cold. it is also tested with the bimetal warm/hot, by running it under hot water. i used a styrofoam cup with hot water & dipped the bimetal in. as per the manual, " the ohmmeter should show an open circuit. if not, the bimetal is bad and needs replacing. then got online found partselect.com. ordered the part, recieved it in less than 2 days. within minutes after recieving the part, I removed the bimetal defrost thermostat and spliced in the new one. thanks to partselect.com my fridge is back up and running properly again. prior to installing the new bimetal, i tested it, as descibed above, you can hear & feel the bimetal open/close when it gets hot/cold.

De-iced the refrigerator. Removed two screws from the thermostat panel on the upper refrigerator section. Tilted it down, removed two speed nuts holding the timer, unplugged the timer plug. Determined from the instruction sheet (easy to follow) what time delay function is used, based on wire colors, placed the jumper on the correct ter ... Read more minal on the new timer. Plugged it in, replaced the speed nuts and screws. The timer fit perfect, works just like it is supposed to, quick easy job.

Took all the screws out of the plastic shroud that encloses the switch .There only four that I needed to remove, were the two in front where the switches that go,they go in horizontally and two in the back with large washers on them that hold the back to the top of the box that go in vertically.The switch was a snap ( make that two snaps ... Read more ) the wiring is almost self explanatory. then it gos back to the way you took it off. OH! and don't forget to turn the light bulb all the way back in to the socket , so the light will work after you take the time to install it yourself.I had the water supply line from under the box to the water dispenser in the door and the total bill on that was one hundred thirty seven and a hand full of change.Don't be afraid to do it yourself the savings is enough on one one item to make several months payments on a new one Randy the "Handy Man'

First I removed the old lightbulb from the socket and replaced it with a new one to confirm that the bulb was not the problem. I then pryed the socket out with a flat-head screwdriver. I could tell that the socket was anchored in its hole with clips so it was relatively easy to pry it out. Once the socket was out, I disconnected the le ... Read more ad wires and ordered a replacement socket kit from Partselect. When the new one arrived, I reconnected the lead wires to it, snapped it back into its hole, screwed in a new lightbulb, and presto!! The light was back on with no further problem. Thank you, Partselect!! A $15.00 part saved me what probably would have been at least a $100. service call and heaven knows what the technician would have told me I needed!!!

First I replaced the thermostat that I had ordered thru Partselect but that did not seem to effect the reair. According to the schematic diagram the only other thing in the circuit was the defrost timer. Immediately on its arrival I went to the refrigerator and removed the two screws that hold the timer in place and disconnected the tw ... Read more o wires and installed the new one from Partselect in reverse order. It took about 15 minutes and it was back to running.