WRF535SMHZ01 Whirlpool Refrigerator - Instructions

Having seen this problem before in other equipment so I had an idea where to look. Problem: the automatic defrost function was not operating. Looking through openings in the back panel of the freezer compartment, you could see the evaporator coils and fins were a solid chuck of ice. There are three logical components to check. Heater element, thermostat (located just above the evaporator) and a relay on the control board (located in the fridge control panel). Checked the heater with an ohm meter -- OK. The thermostat closes the circuit at around 20 degrees and opens at around 32 degrees. Pulled out the thermostat, wiring, fan unit. Everything unplugs, unscrews, and unclips, don't cut wires. Put the whole assembly in a friends freezer for an hour or so to see if the thermostat closes -- OK. Problem had to be with the control board. Replaced control board, reprogrammed it per included instruction. Everything is working again.

Removed the fruit & veggie drawers & the deli (pantry) drawer. Took out the 3 screws, removed the attached parts, put them on the replacement part, reattached it and put the drawers back in.

Here's the part I want to share: PartSelect had a expanded diagram showing the correct part and sufficiently detailed to figure out the repair before the part arrived. That's why I ordered from them. Secondly, I ordered the part Thursday morning--and the thing was sitting on my porch when I came back in from my evening out Saturday--2 days later!!!

The hard part for me was figuring out which part was causing the problem. I read what others had done and followed their test methods. I checked the defroster heater for continuity and the defroster thermostat to make sure it was closing. the defroster termostat has to be cold to check it. You will need to check it while it is in ice or take it out and put it in another freezer for 30 mins and then check it for continuity. Those items checked out ok so it had to be the control board. The control board is a 5 min job to replace but making sure that is your problem is the hard part. I think the control board was bad due to a power surge we had when the power went out and came back on. It might be a good idea to put a surge protector on your home to protect your fridge and all your other electronic stuff. Our refrigerator is now working like new again. Thank you for all your help, Jim

Remove food off of lower shelf, remove the two produce drawers, remove large lower drawer, remove glass shelf, remove three screws holding end cap in place. Once end cap was removed the drawer track could be removed and placed on new end cap. Installation of new end cap took less than 5 minutes. Most of the time spent was removing/replacing food and cleaning the shelf/bins. PartSelect was awesome BTW!

First thing to do is take two screws off where the door closes.I removed the light sheild off by pushing it to back of refrig.The most hardest part is removing the complete panel,I took a small flat blade scraper to ply down to get small access than you need to put alot of pressure to start getting the panel to start coming off there are alot of pegs to free,the back panel has two hinges that slide towards the front.Once the panel drops remove the connectors and take entire unit out,very easy to replace the control board at this point.Installation is easy slide the two hinges on back in place and put pressure on unit to snap entire unit in place.Program unit with paperwork that came with part very easy to do.Frig is working great now.Just a note the paperwork on refrig is located in the front right corner the mf hids it ,this information will allow you to check all problems with refrig using the key pads for freezer/refrig.Good luck.

Remove Crisper drawers from Bottom Shelf.
Remove glass from the top of Bottom Shelf.
Drop new Crisper frame center rail into slots on the top of the Bottom Shelf shelf.
Replace glass onto the top of the Bottom Shelf.
Slide drawers between left and right guides and the Crisper frame center rail.

Total repair time less than one minute.
No tools required.

1. remove deli draw
2. remove glass top & end caps
3. remove screws on side of end cap
4. remove end cap
5. remove crisper control connection bars & rear ductwork
6. reinstall crisper control connection bars & rear ductwork
7. install new end cap & rear ductwork
8. install glass top & end caps
9. install deli draw & cover

The video on website is very good and explains everything in detail. Just follow the directions. This is EASY!!!!

I used a flat-head screwdriver to pop out the old light rocker switch. Then, I unplugged the wires, plugged them into the new light rocker switch, and then popped the new switch into the hole. That's it! Lights began working again.

removed both crisper drawers, glass shelving, etc. removed the screws that held the part in place and replaced it with the new part. it was that easy

removed ice maker and wire shelf. removed back panel screws and tilted forward. removed 2 screws holding motor bracket. swapped fan blade and reassembled

replaced control board

Not a bad job at all. Took out the vegetable bins above, the glass cover and the sliding drawer. Then took out the screws holding the end caps on to the refrigerator wall. You can remove the metal slide at this time or after you take the old piece out. Then you re-install the metal slide on the new piece and screw it back in. THe right hand side is trickier because you also have to remove the mechanism in the back that controls the humidity inside the bin as well as the control lever in the front, so that you can install them on the new end cap. All the parts either snap on or you have to twist them slightly. We repaced both end caps as well as cleaned things really well in about 45 minutes, with 2 adults and a 10 yr old working together.

I used a flat screwdriver and released the lock tab on the bottom of the light switch, and pried the switch out, being careful to not damage the plastic around the mounting place of the switch, unplugged wiring from old switch, plugged in the new one and pushed the new switch into place. Job finished light switch now working.

1. I had to remove the cold cut drawer.
2. Remove the two screws for the sliding track and then the sliding track.
4. Remove the two crisper drawers as well as the glass and the two supports for the glass.
3. Remove the two screws for the end cap. This is accomplished by gently lifting up at the front of the part. You will find another three parts that are attached to the end cap. One is the slider that controls the tempetature, it is attached to a long plastic rod that is connected to the back side of the end cap by pressure clip points. The other end of the plastic rod is connected to a piece that is mounted to the back wall of the refridgerator. this is removed by gently pulling the entire unit forward until it comes loose from the back wall. Once the entire assembly is removed, The plastic rod must be released from teh back of the end cap. This will allow both ends to be disconnected from the slider at the front and the piece that was attached to the back wall by rotating each end to allow the removal of the components fronm the end cap. Once everything is removed, you are ready to complete the repair by reversing the removal process.