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Door would not automatically close.
Symptom: Door did not close automatically. Also had found small chunks of black plastic on the floor. Refrigerator door was slightly lower than the freezer door.
One false start because I did not realize both of the door-closing cams had disintegrated and I had only ordered the cam without the hinge.
Purchased part 290199 Hinge Assembly. It came with matching door-closing cam. (Had not known so I also purchased the cam 297995 separately). Next time I will know to only purchase the Hinge Assembly.
Replacement procedure took about 20 minutes including removing and replacing door shelves and their contents. Two people involved.
1. Remove all door shelves with contents and other contents on door.
2. Remove the top Phillips head screw holding the decorative plastic on the top.
3. Remove the two top hinge screws on top of refrigerator using metric #8 socket wrench. Second person made sure door did not fall off.
4. Lift the door off the bottom hinge pin. Second person holds door on it’s side.
5. Take off the bottom refrigerator cover
6. Remove the bottom hinge assembly screws using metric #8 socket wrench.
7. Mount the replacement bottom hinge assembly and tighten the two screws.
8. On the door bottom, remove the outer screw and loosen the inner screw using metric #8 socket wrench.
9. Replace the door-closing cam (or what is left of it) with the cam in line with the door and cam bumps away from the door.
10. Place the door back on the hinge pin (one person holds while the other person maneuvers the door bottom).
11. Replace the top hinge and reinsert the screws on top of the refrigerator. Dress the door so that it does not press hard on the rubber door gaskets (or the door will fail to shut automatically). Tighten the screws.
12. Replace the decorative plastic over the top hinge.
13. Open the door and replace the bottom refrigerator cover.
I applied some tips learned by reading other reviews. So before I started I grabbed my trusty vise grip pliers and a small screw driver. I locked onto the switch actuator, the part that the refrigerator door pushes in, with the vise grips and pulled on it just hard enough to get the screw driver inserted in the right side to push in the catch clip so the switch could be pulled out further each time the catch clip was depressed to the next detent. Then I used the screw driver on the left site to encourage the switch past the detents on the left and very quickly the switch was out of the mount. The wires from the refrigerator pulled out with the old switch. I unplugged the old switch from the wires and plugged in the new switch and shoved the new switch back into the mount, wiggled it a couple of times to make sure it was secure and the job was done. Once I applied the vise gripes at first, the whole job took less than a minute.
unplugged refrigerator. removed light bulb from old socket. unsnapped old light socket and pulled it out just enough to diconnect the electrical plug that plugs into the socket . discarded the old socket and plugged in new socket. snapped in new socket into refrigerator. i watched how to do this simple procedure on you tube and decided to do it myself. easy easy easy
Removed 2 phillips head screws to remove ice maker (could have just loosened them) Pulled fan off of shaft Removed 2 phillips head screws on motor bracket , disconnected three motor wires & removed motor. reversed process to install new motor & fan blade. Space was a little tight for two hand and arms, but do-able.
Order 2 cams as recommended in other posts. I didn't realize until the project was finished that the 2 cams fit together to tilt the door toward the refrigerator and force the door to catch. 1. Removed all items from door storage. 2. Removed top hinge cover held by single screw and top hinge plate held by two bolts. 3. Lifted up door to clear bottom hinge pin and removed door. 4. Turned door upside down and removed bottom hinge assembly held on by two bolts. 5. Replaced upper cam located on bottom of door and screwed the hinge assembly back on to bottom of door. 6. Drilled out the rivet that holds the lower cam to the bottom hinge pin. 7. Removed old lower cam and and replaced with new cam and secured to lower hinge assembly with pan head screw and nut (instead of rivet). NOTE: The metal shim that goes between the cam riser & door was also broken, we used a small washer instead of the replacement shim. 8. Replaced door back onto lower hinge pin and secured upper hinge pin with original bolts. 9. Placed cover on upper hinge assembly and secured with original screw. This is a project my husband and I completed together :) Perhaps we will store lighter items on the door to lessen the chances of the cams deteriorating again.
First turned off power and removed top shelf. Then I used a flathead to slowly pry the switch out by the two sides. You just anlge ita bit and it slideds out easily. Then I disconnected the wires from the old switch, connected the new one and installed the new switch by snapping it back into the cutout.
Door closing cam had disentigrated over the past 12 years.
I read over the other posts here and went with jacking up the fridge door and setting it on (2) 2x4 studs. A nut driver was used to remove the bottom hinge. I then drilled out the rivet that held the old cam in place and then used a 3/16 rivet to secure the new cam. A rivet is not necessary as you can also use a nut and bolt to hold the cam in place. It took less time to order the part and install it than it did to drive over to the appliance parts store and pick it up. I ordered around 10 am and the part was here the next day at 2:00 (without special delivery costs). By 2:30 it was on my fridge.
repairman came looked it over said problem was thermostat control which was not made anymore and left charging service call $190.00 I went online found the control for $160.00 received it in 3 days put it in 30 mins later working fine.
Poped out with screwdriver the old swithch and unplugged the two wires. Plugged in the wires to the new swithch and pushed it back in the hole where the old switch was before.
Removed top hinge and electrical connector (freezer door has ice and water dispensers) then had to turn off water supply to unit and disconnect the hose to the door and remove the spring protector from the hose -- this required removal of the compression fittings in the water line so spring would come off of the tube. Then removed bottom hinge from the door and used saw to remove the rivet that had held the cam to the hinge, used a nut and bolt to attach new cam. Put other cam (used two) in the hinge and replaced lower hinge unit on the door. Then reattached both hinges to the refrigerator and lined up the door put the spring protector and compression fittings back on plastic tubing and reconnected the water supply and electric fitting, turned on water to unit and prayed there were no leaks. Prayer was answered, the water dispenser worked properly and the ice maker filled with water so I then replaced the hinge cover on top of the unit and the grill at the bottom and had a pepsi. A few years ago I had replaced the cams on the other door which had no water/electic connections and was a much simpler job.
Switch failed on which kept the refrigerator warm due to heat generatered by light bulbs.
While the switch did last for 9 years, the design is poor due to the failure mode. The failure should be to fail off or not able to turn on the lights which would be inconvenient but would not warm the refrigerator contents. Arcing at the contacts eventually caused the switch to "weld" closed. It is not obvious that this is occurring so it took some time to recognize why the temp inside the ref was high while the freezer was OK. Replacing the switch was easy once it was recognized as the problem. All that was required to replace the switch was to remove the screws holding a fiber cover and then pulling off the aluminum cap which covered the switches. Unplug the switch an squeeze the keeper on the switch to release it and pull down. Pop the replacement switch in place and plug the wires harness back in. All in all it took much less time to replace than it has to write this up. T Pope
Turned off the refridgerator. Took everything out of the freezer compartment & put into ice chest with pleanty of ice on top. Removed 2 screws holding the ice maker in place & placed ice maker aside. Removed shelf. Removed one screw on back plate, pushed up on the holding tabs at the top of the back plate & removed the back plate. Removed 3 screws holding the motor bracket in place along with the 3 wires. Installed new motor & used the wire extensions provided due to the electrical connections on the new motor being on the opposite side. Had to bend one wire tab down to clear the motor bracket. Turned refridgerator back on to ensure correct rotation on the fan. Reinstalled back plate & ice maker & shelf. Waited 30 minutes before putting food items back in freezer compartment.
Moved all items from door storage into refrigerator shelves. Removed top hinge cover held by single screw and top hinge plate held by two bolts. Lifted up door to clear bottom hinge pin and removed door. Covered open front of refrigerator with plastic wrap to keep cold in refrigerator with door removed. Laid door on kitchen counter top and removed bottom hinge assembly held on by two bolts. Replaced upper cam located on bottom of door and screwed the hinge assembly back on to bottom of door (helps to keep the three plates in same sequence and note the position of cam). Drilled out the rivet that holds the lower cam to the bottom hinge pin. Removed old lower cam and and replaced with new cam and secured to lower hinge assembly with pan head screw and nut (instead of rivet). Replaced door back onto lower hinge pin and secured upper hinge pin with original bolts. Placed cover on upper hinge assembly and secured with original screw. Removed plastic wrap from front of refrigerator and moved the items that originally were stored in the door back to provide weight needed for door to close properly. All done and the door works like new, and all in less than 45 minutes. Would have been a more difficult job without the pioneering of people on this site. Thanks to all!
The existing light switch was very hard to remove. I ended up having to grab it with a pair of pliers and pull it out. Once it was out, it was very easy to put in the replacement and it seems to be working fine.