36359552996 Kenmore Refrigerator - Instructions

The defrost heater failed. The coils frosted completely over so no airflow to the fridge. Step 1. Empty the freezer. Ice maker and top shelf can stay. Remove power, pull plug or open breaker. Step 2. Remove shelves and bottom food drawer. Step 3. Remove bottom food drawer rails. 2 phillips screws on each side. Step 4. Remove back panel, 2 screws at the top. Work panel out. Note there may be a green ground wire hook on it at the top. This will expose the heater and the cooling coils. The heater is at the bottom of the cooling coils and is the width of the coils. Step 5. There will be 2 wires, one on each end, and two phillips screws holding it in. Wires pull straight out. Note which way the heater is installed and remove the 2 screws. Step 6. Assemble in reverse order. Be very careful with the heater. It is in a glass tube and is very easy to break.

First I removed the vegetable drawer and glass shelf. I matched up the 'new' drawer slide rail next to the broken slide.
I then used a phillips head screwdriver to remove the 2 screws that held the slide in place.
After removing the broken slide rail, I installed the new rail, replaced the vegetable drawer and glass shelf. New item worked like a charm.
The drawer slide arrived really quick after my order was placed. Approx. 2 days after ordering the part, it was on my front door step.

After replacing the solenoid several months ago, I concluded that the problem could only be the electronic circuit board that controls the timing and delay. The part arrived sooner than I expected. Installing it involved removing only six screws and unplugging two connections. The whole project took only about 10 minutes and now my ice maker works like new. Total cost was less than $55. Saved me several hundred dollars not to mention my personal time had I called in a repairman.

David O.
Albuquerque, NM

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

I had to back-track acouple of times because I put the shelf brackets back in before I had the back panel in.It was also alittle tight getting the thermostat snapped back on the refrigerant line because it is a tight space and I have big hands.For a first timer who has had minimal experiance it wasn't too tough.

Note difference between Freezer and Fresh food door.
Also, did not need the Door Stop but should have ordered one water tube union (PS299116). See Freezer below

Fresh Food Door
1. Removed cap at top of fresh food door (Philips screw) and used socket wrench to remove two hex head screws from top of refrigerator.
2. This allowed door to be lifted off base.
3. Removed door stop, hinge shim and broken cam riser from door using socket set and nut driver. Two hex head screws.
4. Replaced all three parts with new parts, re-attached using existing Hex Screws. Make sure cam riser is aligned properly to allow door to fit back on hinge. If it's slightly off, the door will not settle on hinge properly.
5. Replaced door, make sure it aligns properly before tightening Hex Screws to top of Refrigerator. Replaced cap at top.

Same process for freezer door except:
a. At the top of the door, I had an electrical connection due to Ice/water dispenser in the door. This connection is fairly easy to disconnect.
b. There is a drain tube that runs inside the door and through the hinge assembly in the base of the door. The door can not be removed unless the tube is disconnected or cut. There was a Water Tube Union (PS299116) just beyond the bottom hinge which I was able to disassemble to free the tube. However, this took considerable force and luck and I would recommend you consider buying a new part in case it breaks or you need to cut the tube. Otherwise you will not be able to get the door off. Once the tube is disconnected, it easily slides through the hinge and the door can be removed.

My husband did the repair, and even though our refrigerator is roughly 20+ years old, he was able to adapt it to work in all the right spots and we now have ice cubes! I'm very happy we did not have to spend $2000 on a comparable refrigerator.

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.

After figuring out how to remove the old broken clip, replacement was easy. Had to use a small putty knife to open the release on the bottom underside of the clip(between the clip & the refrig) . By looking at the replacement piece it was easy to figure out.

I removed 6 screws, unplugged assembly that had motor attached,removed from fridg,replaced motor and reinstalled assembly, putting back 6 screws.works like new.
thanks.

First I replaced the double valve because the ice maker was not filling with water. It still did not work. Then I replaced the ice maker itself. This worked and was relatively easy to replace. I had to use the water fill "slide" from the old ice maker. The new one was too narrow and it leaked water into the freezer.

The Ice maker would not run through a cycle. It would fill with water and produce ice but would need a little help by pressing up on the ejector to run through its cycle. Otherwise, it would not bring the ice to the holding bend. Sometimes the water would not fill. The icemaker was making ice it just was not letting the ice maker run through its cycle so I figured it had to be the circuit board. I bought the circut board which was easy to install.
1) Turn off water line and unplug power.
2) Pop off front panel plate at ice cube select switch area.
3) Unscrew 4 screws that holds control panel housing in place.
4) Remove panel assembly by disconnecting two different wiring plugs.
5) Unscrew 2 screws that allows access to control circuit board at end cap.
6) Remove circuit board by sliding it out of the assembly housing.
7) Install new circuit control board in assemble housing and screw on end cap retainer.
8) Attach two electrical wiring plugs.
9) Install control board assemble housing into frig opening and secure with 4 screws.
10) Install front panel plate (pops on).
11) Plug in power and turn on water line.

I repaired as follows. 1) Open freezer door. 2)Removed ice maker bin. 3) removed screw with broken tab on it. 4) install new shield slide to side.
5) Reinstall screw. 6) Grab TAB (tasty adult beverage) and enjoy on back deck while talking about how good you are at repairing stuff.... HA!

I used the same steps as described in other descriptions listed here. Since I was changing the hinge assembly on the freezer side the difference I discovered was that there was a nylon water hose inside the hinge assembly that I did not at first know how to remove. I finally called a repairman I happened to know and following his instruction simply snapped the hose loose where there was a connector and placed a cloth under it to catch the moisture that drained. Having done that, the rest of the assembly went just the same way as the other instructions listed here said that it would. Door now functions like new.

I removed the back cover on the refrigerator. Unbolted the unit. First of all I unpluged the refrigerator. Took off the two electrical connections and removed the input and output water lines. I then reversed this process when I installed the new part. It was real easy.