RT18EKRXW02 Roper Refrigerator - Instructions

I was pleased with the new ice maker and how soon I received it. I was disappointed because there were NO installation instructions that came with it. There were only service instructions that came with it. I contacted partselect and was told that they get the part from whirlpool and they are responsible for everything and was given a phone number to call. I called Whirlpool and was informed that they don't provide installation instructions, I said that on the web page is boldly displayed an installation instruction sheet. Whirlpool said that they expect that the installation person knows what they are doing. I let it go and was very careful taking the old one out and installing the new ice maker and the new pump.

We wasted time looking for the electrical schematic on our refrigerator (the first step in the instructions). By skipping that and reading further in the instructions, the type of cooling that the refrigerator has can easily be determined by the colors of the wires that go to the defrost timer. You need to know this to set up the timer properly for your specific refrigerator. Had I just started there, the entire repair would have taken less than 10 minutes. Very simple repair and it works like a charm, no more water coming into the refrigerator and the ice cream is rock hard. Glad we didn't have to spend lots on a new appliance. Thanks Part Select.com! BH

Exactly how the part select video described it. Threw a little curve ball figuring out which timer setting to set it to. But the instructions provided with defrost timer walked me right through it. No problem. After installing part nothing happened for about ten minutes, which had me second guessing each and every step. Then, like magic, cold air began blowing. What a relief. Thanks so much, love this site. Refrigerator works like new!

One day the ice cream in the freezer seemed mushy, but the ice was still frozen. There was not water in the ice bin. However, the problem resolved itself. This suggested that the defrost timer had become stuck for an extended time, but then continued to run. The fact that the freezer went back to frozen, implies that all the components of the cooling loop (compressor, condenser & fan, evaporator & fan) were fine. It was possible that the problem was caused by a bad defrost (?evaporator?) thermostat but everything I saw on line suggested that the defrost timer is the culprit about 40 - 50% of the time. Anyway, I followed the instructions in the on-line video at this site for replacing the defrost timer and it was easy. It would have only taken 15 minutes, but I spent a while reading the defrost timer instructions and hunting down a schematic for my refrigerator, to determine which pin the loose wire should go on.

Unplug the refrigerator. Remove the rear shelf supports by lifting them straight up. No tools required. Remove the screws holding the rear cover of the freezer. Use a nut driver to remove the 4 screws holding the fan housing. Unplug the wiring harness, then remove the fan and install the new one. Remount the housing, plug in the harness replace the rear cover, install the shelf supports and plug in the refrigerator. It was 30 minutes start to finish, which includes the time to gather the tools, unload and reload the freezer, and putting the tolls away!

Hardest part is putting in the replacement ice maker. this is easily resolved if you have a 3x5 mirror. The mirror allows you to see where the screws are and place your 1/4 inch socket. The replacement part was identical to the original so did not need to replace wiring and other items included in the package received.