106621 Kenmore Refrigerator - Instructions

My troubleshooting narrowed down the problem to either the control assembly or the thermostat, so I bought both just in case. The motor assembly fixed the problem and I didn't need to install the thermostat.

The main thing I want to tell others who are doing this repair, however, relates to the thermostat. If you do indeed need to replace the thermostat (#PS380941) there is something you will need that is not included with the part or mentioned anywhere on this site. The instructions with the thermostat indicate you need to apply something called "Aluminastic" to the thermostat when installing it. I don't know about you, but that isn't something I have around the house, so be sure to order a tube of it when you get the thermostat so you don't have to take a trip to the store to get it to finish the repair.

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) 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.

I was clening my uprght freezer and noticed that it was preped for an icemaker. I first went to the Whilpool website and could not find my part as my freezer was a 2008 model.

I saw PartSelect on the search page and went to thier site.
I put in my modle number of the Whilpool Ice maker kit that was on the back of my freezer. PartSelect had the part in stock and approx $18.00 less than the other kits listed on the Whilpool site (that did not match my kit number). I orderd the kit on Sunday and it arrived on Wednesday. It took less than and hour to install. Every part I needed was included. The following day I installed the water line and now I have an extra icemaker.

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 lead 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!!!

We have a side-by-side fridge/freezer and we experienced a hot center post (where doors come together) and the fridge made loud noise. Also, the (old) fan motor would start, but then quit, so our issue was the motor.

For me the repair was very easy, but for an unexperienced person it may prove to be difficult. If you must order a motor/fan, do NOT order the metal fan as a plastic fan comes with the motor. What's strange is the new motor is different than the old one, but it still mounted without any required modifications. I did NOT use the wire harness that came with the motor either as it was different too, but my old one was still good.

Check all of your parts as my fan had a cracked blade, but I used "superglue" and it's fine now.

Fridge stays cold and my wife had to lower the temperature in the fridge as she was blasted by the cold!

I first poured water into the ice maker itself and it made ice, so knew the ice maker itself was working ok. Turned the water valve at the wall off, removed the inlet valve from the back of the fridge with a nut driver, disconnected the solenoid wires and disconnected the water supply line entering the inlet valve and turned the water supply back on and found that the water was flowing ok out of the supply line. Reconnected the water line to the inlet valve and disconnected the water line going from the inlet valve to the ice maker and reconnected the wires to the solenoid on the inlet valve and found no water going through and so determined that the inlet valve/solenoid was faulty and easily replaced it. Note that an ohmeter check said the solenoid was ok, so it could have been that the filter screen inside the inlet valve was blocked. It's a sealed unit, so there was no way to take the screen out to check.

Looked up problem in your troubleshooting section, determined necessary part, ordered part on Saturday. Received part Tuesday. Installed in about 10 minutes. Works great. Saved about $200.00.

I removed the ice maker which required removing 3 screws and then disconnecting the electrical plug. Once the ice maker was out, I removed the 3 screws that held the motor assembly to the unit.
I removed the motor, replacing it with the new one.
Plugged the power supply cord back in, replaced the unit with the 3 screws and within a few minutes the unit was receiving water and by the next day I had ICE. This saved me $50. for the service call, then another $25.00 installation fee when the part came in (had to be ordered) plus the markup on the motor (approx. $25.00) So I saved approx. $100. and only took about 30 min.

The ice maker was not getting water. I hotwired the water valve by switching the connectors for the water dispenser and ice maker water valves and water flowed into the icemaker when the water dispenser lever was pushed. I wronly assumed the water valve was good. I removed the icemaker and determined that the gear motor was not getting power in the position the icemaker had stopped.In this position, the thermostat determines when the motor gets power so I replaced the thermostat. The icemaker still would not get water! As it turns out, the water solenoid was sticking due to a deteriorated rubber washer which let the solenoid plunger get too far out of the magnetic field. I replaced the water solenoid assy and all is well. Don't get fooled by hotwiring the valve. If it isn't getting water, the solenoid probably is the culprit.

1. turn off power.
2. pop off ice maker cover to access motor assembly.
3. remove three screws to assembly.
4. pull off assembly.
5. attach new assembly making sure metal arm and plastic
ice tray rod align with assembly.
6. screw assembly onto unit.
7. replace cover.
8. plug in refrigerator.
9. enjoy ice again with no leakage into freezer.

The procedure was straightforward. I removed the cardboard backing on the lower back of the refrigerator to expose the fan unit. I then undid the electrical harness at the fan. I then removed the three screws securing the fan motor to the metal bracket. This is the hardest part in that I had to reach through and get to the screws with my small tools. I then removed the old motor and blades and placed the new motor and blades. Again, a bit tricky trying to get the three screws mounted into the bracket...small tools and hands helps. After that I used the electrical harness supplied with the kit to plug into the new motor and I was done.

We weren't sure if the problem was in the Water Inlet Valve or in the Icemaker Control & Motor Assembly. The water in the door did work. We removed the Water Inlet Valve & tested it with an Ohm Meter. It tested good so we put it back in. We then ordered the Icemaker Control & Motor Assembly. When it arrived we installed it and waited a few hours but the icemaker still did not fill with water. We telephoned a parts store and were told the problem could be the thermostat or we could replace the whole icemaker. We replaced the whole icemaker.

I unplugged the fridge.Removed the thermostat casing located in the lower part of the refridgerator by removing a few screws. disconnected the wiring plug from the relay board-connected the new board-screwed the new board inplace-put the casing back and replaced those screws. turned fridge back on and HOORAY off we went. i want to add frinding the part and recieving it so quickly was also part of a great savings to me!

An easy job for smaller hands. Removed the two bolts holding the light cover. Removed two electrical connections from the old switch by pinching the retaining clip,removed the switch, snapped in the new one and re-attached the connectors. Your online illustrations helped me to know that the plastic housing for the light switch would only swing down so far and was not intended to be removed. Saved me from breaking that plastic cover's tabs. This home repair saved me more than 5 times the cost of hiring a professional to do it. Very happy homeowner.

DISCONNECT POWER. Removed all shelves/baskets.Popped upper panel off (just clips in) Removed 6 screws in lower back panel ( 3 each side) slid panel in place but down. You can then easily see the defrost thermostat/defrost termination switch. Cut the wire connectors (pink n brown wire) stripped back wire, attached new defrost thermostat. Thermostat clips on. New thermostat ohm's at 5.5, old one was "open". Slid cover back up meeting the upper cover grooves. Screwed lower panel in. Put shelves etc back in. Plugged in. Turns on, put a bottle of water in freezer. Checked a while later, frozen. has been frozen for a week.
-James