66513601790 Kenmore Trash Compactor - Instructions

replaced rotatory switch (10mins) problem solved

After inspecting to make sure the actuator was functional and that power to the unit was not an issue I was able to find that one the drive gears cracked in half and made the compactor inoperable. It was easy to remove the bottom casing with a nut driver. This casing covered the drive gear which operated the ram. After slightly loosening the gear mounts and I was able to replace center gear and re-attach gear chain and re-tighten. Then replace bottom casing and the compactor was back in action. Huge savings!

Removed the gear cover at the bottom of the compactor. Loosened the slack on the chain. Replaced the gear drive. Replaced the gear cover. Worked like new. No major obstacles.

Removed bottom and replaced gears

the bearing were the perfect match and instructions helpful. sysem is rolling smoothly

Had to first raise the screw plate that compacts the garbage. Then had to turn the compactor over and remove screws holding the bottom plate on in order to get to the gears. Once that was done I removed the worn gears and the chain drive and replaced with the new gears and the chain. Put the unit back together and works like a new one. A $35 dollar fix for a unit that sells for around $900 today. Thanks to partslect for being able to help me with the parts needed. Not only did I save on a new unit but by doing this myself I saved around $100 in labor charges.

take 2 screws out on top cover with key switch. remove two screw holding directional switch. remove wires, one at a time, and place on the new switch. put new switch in place with two screws. put front cover on with two screws and test. works like a charm.

The part was suppose to come with instructions, but did not. However, it was easy after reading the comments on-line, and discovering that the front cover had to be removed in order to expose the whole switch and wires. I did drop one of the mounting screws down the front of the compactor and was not able to recover it. So, I had to make a trip to the hardware store for a replacement. They couldn't match the remaining screw but I found 2 similar ones with lock washers and nuts that worked just fine. I saved a $90 service charge and probably double the cost of the switch by doing it myself.

Pull unit from under counter (Held in place with 2 screws) Use nut driver to remove top and front panel. (I didn't remove the control panel from the front panel which probably made access more difficult) Locate the directional switch near the top of the unit and remove two screws, being careful not to lose a small metal plate into which the screws thread (similar to a Tinneman nut). I moved the wires one at a time from the old switch to the new as I am color blind and have trouble with wire colors. Fit the new switch in place, being sure the switch lever is positioned against the metal tab that operates it. Screw the switch in place and then reassemble the compactor.

remove drawer remove two phillip screws lift off front panel remove wiring and plug into new switch.slide switch through the hole in panel install nut reinstall panel screws and drawer job done.

Looking at the information I found online it was either one of 2 things the directional switch was bad, or the drive gear was broken. I replaced the directional switch 1st since that was the easiest and that did not solve my problem. I put it all back together and thought about it for a little while. After a couple of days. It occurred to me that I could see the ramrod's spinning as the plunger goes down, then when the plunger reached as far as it would go. The ramrod's would stop spinning. I reasoned that the problem had to be somewhere between the motor and those rods when I opened up the bottom of the trash compactor, Iran the cycle again and I could see that the drive gear was still spinning, but the chains to the ramrod's were not spinning. Once I saw that I realized that the sprocket that was attached to the drive gear had broken. The sprocket is metal and the drive gear is plastic and they fit together perfectly, but through age or stress. The plastic have become rounded and no longer fit perfect on that nut when you applied a good deal of pressure. I didn't have the tool that I needed to replace the small drive year. I think you need some kind of a punch to get that pin out. So I left that one in place loosened the nuts that hold the motor in place to create some slack in the chain chain came off the new drive gear one on. I tightened the motor back up in the correct position is reassembled everything and it's working perfect again.

Compactor ram was stuck in the down position after hearing a loud bang during a compacting cycle. Removed outer compactor casing to determine cause, only to find gear housing underneath the compactor that contained drive chain and gear assembly. Primary gear had split neatly in half. Determined the appropriate part needed with partselect part finder (of course, an entire kit, and not just the gear), had part shipped and had compactor repaired in three days. The actual repair and reassembly of the compactor took less than a half-hour. Consisted of removing chain tension from gear hub by loosening four sheet metal screws holding motor assembly, removing circlip and old gear hub from chain and shaft, replacing gear hub with new part, lubricating the gear mechanism, and reinstalling in reverse order.

Replaced the limit switch. This did not alter the problem. Took off the On/Off/Start switch and dissasembled. I found the the Start switch was stuck in the on position. I reassembled the switch mechanism assuring that the Red "ON" indicator moldings were correctly positioned and reassembled everything. The Compactor now works properly. Need to add "Check the Start switch" to diagnosis.

I removed the unit from under the kitchen counter by first pulling the trash drawer all the way out and lifting it out of the track and setting it out on the floor. I then slowly pulled the compacting unit out and unplugged the cord from the electrical outlet. With the entire unit out in the floor I took a nut driver and removed the screws from the top plate and the screws from both sides at the bottom of the front housing. This allowed access to the directional switch. Two screws on the right side of the switch have to be removed to remove the switch along with two holding plates on the left side of the switch. The switch can then be accesses for removal. Several wires are attached to the switch and should be removed one at a time and installed to the identical identical location on the new switch. The new switch can then be installed by aligning the holes and reinstalling the holding plates. When this is done the front frame and top plate can be replaced with the nut screws. Plug back into the electrical outlet and see if it works. In this case it did exactly what it was doing before I started. So either I did not reinstall the directional switch properly or I am in the one percent rather than the 99 percent that should successfully solve the problem as suggested in the trouble shooting guide. I will now recheck the installation of the directional switch nd then check the bottom of the unit to see if the gears or chain drive are broken .

I read the Parts Select trouble shooting guide which indicated that 99% of the time the problem was with the Directional Switch so I ordered one. I pulled the unit out from under the countertop, unplugged the electrical plug from the outlet and took the trash tray out of the unit and set it aside. I took the top panel off with the nutdriver as well as the front panel along with the handle of the power switch. Better access to the Directional Switch can be made by removing the compacting unit. This can be done by sliding it up out of appliance and setting it aside. I used a phillips screw driver to unscrew the two screws on the right side of the switch and the two thin compression plates on the left side which hold the switch in place. I then carefully removed the contact wires from the Directional Switch one at a time and placed them on the new switch in the proper locations. The switch can then be reinstalled with the screws and compression plates. The compacting unit can then be loaded back into the appliance with the activating bracket to the front, BUT be very careful that the arm on the Directional Switch is out of the way when it is slid back into place and be sure that the bracket that activates the Directional Switch is facing the switch in order to send the message to the On/Off Switch to stop the motor when the cycle is completed. The bracket on the front of the compacting unit will force the thin arm on the back of the switch to activate a relay button that is supposed to tell the Rotary switch to shut off the motor and stop the cycle. The front panel and the top panel can then be reinstalled. I checked to see if it solved the problem before putting it back under the countertop. I had to tape the black cutoff switche on the front and on the inside of the container compartment to accomplish this. I then plugged it in and turned the Off/On switch. The unit cycled down and back up but did not shut off and the same noise came from one side at the bottom of the unit. I unplugged the unit and turned it on it's side and removed the bottom plate to inspect the gears and drive chain belt. All the gears and the drive belt were in good condition. So that was not the problem either. That left the Rotary Switch to be the faulty part. I then had to order the Rotary Switch Kit and wait for it to arrive which it did in a short period of time. The old switch was removed by pulling off the handle then using needle nosed pliers to loosen the ring nut that holds the switch in place. This released the old Rotary Switch from the front frame. A flat head screw driver was used to release the wires from the terminals on the switch and place them on the new switch. As per the instructions with the switch kit, the hole for the threaded end of the switch to fit through the hole in the front plate needed to be enlarged. The instructions tell you to use a 9/16 inch drill to carefully enlarge the hole size. Since I did not have that size drill bit, I used a small rat tail file to enlarge the hole. I placed the threaded end of the switch through the hole in the front plate and tried to screw the ring nut back on to the threaded end of the switch. The threads did not pass far enough through the front plate to allow the ring nut to thread and hold the switch in place. I found that there were two plastic ridges on the back side of the front plate that did not allow the threaded end of the switch to fit far enough through the hole to attach the ring nut. I then had to take the front plate off and used a chizel and hammer to carefully chip off the ridges so the theads would fit through the plate and allow installaton of the ring nut. The wires could then be placed on the Rotary Switch, ring nut installed and tightened, the front panel replaced and the top plate reinstalled and the unit tested. This time it worked and the trash compactor was plugged in and shoved back in place under the counter top. Now for the rest of the sto