KBRS22KKBT00 KitchenAid Refrigerator - Instructions

Last night, I replaced the gasket of the bottom freezer drawer on my Amana refrigerator. It took me about 2 hours.

When I took my new gasket out of the package that it was mailed in, it had been folded and was all twisted. There were wrinkles in the area where the actual magnetic seal occurs. I tried to use a hair dryer to smooth out the wrinkles but the hair dryer just wasn't getting hot enough. I decided to install the gasket anyway hoping that the wrinkles would just get stretched out.

First I had to remove the drawer which is explained in the Amana manual. I had to remove two screws on the side the the drawer slides and then lift out the hanger for the door. Pulling out the old gasket was really easy but when I tried to push the new gasket it just wouldn't go in under the lip and I was afraid that it would get torn if I pushed it in with a screwdriver.

So I had to remove all 20 or so screws that hold the white plastic retaining liner in and hold the lip of the gasket. Then I had to slide a flat head screw driver in to lift up the liner and break the gluing effect of the expanding foam insulation used during manufacturing. Once I could freely lift up the liner about 1/4 inch, I was able to push the new liner in. The wrinkles were still there, which would have prevented a good seal. Fortunately I had a heat gun which I tested first on the old gasket. This worked wonderfully after the gasket was fully installed and did not melt the white plastic liner.

Once the gasket was installed and all 20 screws were tightened, I discovered that the door had been twisted a little and the left side of the drawer would hit first leaving a gap on the right side. By pushing on the right side some time it would stay but often it wouldn't. So I loosened the screws that hold the door on to the metal hangers that attached to the glides and then twisted the door while I tightened those screws.

The final fix was to tighten the leveling screws so that the top of the fridge leans back. This is recommended in Amana's instructions but had not been done for our fridge. This causes gravity to pull the drawer closed.

I don't mean to scare anyone away from doing this repair but it ended up being harder than I thought.

First I had to determine what was wrong. Obviously the compressor was working since the freezer was cold. Digging for awhile revealed that the evaporator coils for the freezer had frozen up into a solid block of ice. Then I had to figure out why. Tested the defrost heater in place--small resistance (~3 ohms), OK. Removed and tested the timer--unsure. Removed and tested the defrost thermostat--did not turn on when plunged in ice water or frozen with canned air (turn the can upside down--be careful!, you can instantly freeze-burn your skin), bad. Chose to purchase and replace both the timer and the thermostat. Took the opportunity to THOROUGHLY clean everything, front, back, and underneath. Found the drip tray transition piping cracked at the junction and replaced it with a cut-off funnel "glued" into place and to the underside piping with the RTV Silicone. When parts arrived, tested them and confirmed that the original timer was OK and the thermostat was bad. Installed the new thermostat (and went ahead and installed the new timer). NOTE: one connector on the thermostat was not identical to the orginal equipment. Rather than cut the refrig wiring, I chose to build a jumper with the original connector on one end and a new one for the new thermostat on the other. Buttoned everything back up, re-leveled it, and let it run for 24 hours at the manufacturer's recommended "first" settings (4 and 4) without being disturbed. Seemed fine, loaded it with food, everything is great including non-frozen veggies! (I suspect the ice was forming frequently and blocking the return from the refrig compartment, which is right next to the veggie drawer.)

Open back cover and check thecomprosser and ffan. Fan was working and compresore was very hot and freon pipes are not cold. Check the connectivity with the resistor meter on compressor and all 3 pin were checked out ok. that means compressor is ok. Then check overload relay and there was a short butn out. take the part # and order from partselect and i got in 3 days costiing me less than $ 20.00. replaced relay and frezzecompressor start colling the syatem.

tested bulb good ,replaced door switch first(least expensive)then ordered light socket and circuitboard.If clicking sound is heard replace circuitboard first to save on return shipping because the switch and socket where ok

Had to remove screws inside back of freezer panel, took off old thermostat. This one had a different plug on the end that wasn't compatible, so had to cut that off and wire it to the old plug end. Piece of cake. Put back panel back on and back in business. Hardest thing was getting the screws out!

Unplugged refrigerator. Removed lower back access panels and panel running up the back of refrigerator. Removed and disconnected old fan. Removed old fan motor from mounting bracket. Removed fan blade from old fan motor and placed on new fan motor. Connected new fan motor to power supply. Tested. Reinstalled.

First unload the doors, and remove each door from the fridge and freezer. I placed the doors on the counter island and removed all the screws from around the perimiter with the battery drill. Lots of screws. The freezer door had some Ice accumulated in the insulation inside the door. I salvaged as much of the dry fiberglass and tossed the wet stuff. I cut some strips of fiberglass from a roll of 3.5" I had to replace the tossed insulation. The door seal installation went smoothly and the door rehanging was easy also.

Very easily removed the nuts holding the gasket to the door. Previously took new gasket from packaging and used a hair dryer to smooth the wrinkles from it, about 5 minutes. Installed the new gasket and adjusted the seating of the actual freezer door, for a proper fit. Now there is no snow in my freezer and the poor compressor only kicks on maybe ten times a day, as opposed to most of the day. Not to mention what the savings in electricity may be and extended life for my Amana. Should have done this two months ago. Service and shipping from Parts Select is second to none, with a website interface that makes sense- try most of the other online retailers and you will know what I mean.

First I removed all the screws with the exception of the top row, these I just loosend.I made sure how the old one was installed before I removed it.I then used a hair dryer on the new one briefly to take out the shipping kinks.I removed the old one and put the new one in with a little adjusting as i went. I then put all the screws back in,adjusted it a little more and finished by snuging up all the screws.It was very easy and works like new.

I hired someone to do this, but after watching him do it, this is an easy job. Amana made a smart refrigerator and it's easy to do your self. I saved a LOT of money buying the parts here and I should have attempted it myself. The trick is heating up the gasket once it was mounted and then when you had a tight seal to the door, tape the door shut and LEAVE it as many hours as you can (minimum of 4, but overnight better).

Removed ice maker, then rear panel of freezer compartment. Removed old evaporator fan, cutting tie wraps as required.

Replace evaporator fan assy, paying attention to wire harness routing and secure harness with tie wraps.
Reinstall rear panel of freezer compartment. Re-install icemaker.

1st remove the gasket from the packaging & let it get to room temperature . 2nd use a hair dryer to get it in shape . 3rd cut out a piece of the box that the door gasket was delivered in to cover the freezer opening after you remove the door,4th(remove the door by removing the bottom hinge) 5th put the door on a table to remove the old gasket with a screw gun,(now is a good time to clean the door up) after the old gasket & panel was removed I found the insulation inside the door panel frozen solid so I replaced it .If you don't replace this fiberglass insulation or a least try to thaw it out you defeat the purpose of the doors insulations R value. 6th replace the gasket (replace the gasket the same way that you removed it) 7th put the door back on the freezer.You don't have to remove the freezer door to do this job but it makes a much neater job & a better seal when the door is closed. This isn't the 1st door gasket I replaced so I kind of knew what I was doing.Good Luck

Turn freezer section control wheel off, unplug unit. Then remove all items/baskets from freezer to allow access. Use nut driver to unscrew 3 screws on control plastic housing. Drop down housing from top and unplug wires (note correct locations) from control wheel switch. Remove screws and ground wire from metal backing plate to plastic housing. Push or pry the 2 metal holdtabs down carefully to allow the 2 plastic housing tab fingers to be pushed inwards to seperate metal plate from housing. Pry control wheel off from switch arm with screwdriver. Remove switch and replace with new one.
Use the reverse order of removal above to replace into freezer but use caution when replacing wheel onto switch arm and plugging in wires. Remember to carefully pry the 2 metal tabs back up to secure the plastic finger tabs in place.
Job done.

I called a repair man from a pretty large name to come out and take a look. He found out in about 10 minutes that it was a bad capacitor. The quote he gave me was $75 for the part and $175 labor. I tried my best not to laugh and tell him no thank you. He did have to charge me for him to show up, which was only $98.
So I used what he told(minus the "scrap it") and opened it back up. Although he had left wires everywhere and the broken pieces laying inside, I thought it was enough for me to order the part. PartSelect was very easy to navigate and ordering was a breeze. Took about 4 days to get the part and I ordered in the X-mas craze. Fixed it in about 15 minutes.

While investigating a water leak I discovered the condenser fan seized. I removed the fan to prevent a fire and ordered the part. The hardest part was identifying the correct fan. That took longer than the installation.
I cut the wires and spliced in the new motor. It rotated correctly and I replaced the crill.
Done
Total time of ice maker water leak repair and fan replacement about 1 hour.