36359522997 Kenmore Refrigerator - Instructions

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.

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.

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 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.

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

GE in my opinion made a poor design the ice shelf bracket attached to the metal fan cover after metal tab was bent down that is also where it broke it was riveted to this but the metal broke free
So i purchased a piece of aluminium flat strap cut this about 1" long then riveted this to the shelf bracket and pushed this through the metal fan cover and let rest there and put screw in at other end. Also purchased alum angle also to remake ice shelf when complete then i will use it as ice bucket shelf instead of plastic one.

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.

The hardest part was moving the side-by-side refigerator out from the wall. After accessing the back of the unit ,it was a matter of removing a few screws to remove the back plate. The valve was attached with one screw that held it to the unit. After disconnecting the electrical and water lines the valve was out. Replaced the new valve in reverse order. Everything works great.

Unplugged refrigerator.
Disconnected inlet water line.
Disconnected outlet from leaking valve.
Unplugged electrical connections.
Reversed with the new part.

Plugged it back and there were no more leaks.

Replaced flapper

opened refrigerator door located water filter location in right back corner unscrewd 1/2 turn and out it comes without shutting off water it is a snap to do by anyone and shipment was really quick thanks. People do not call a service tech for something this simple even a child tall enough can do it.

Turned off power, removed cover from Ice maker, checked resistance across thermostat for zero (read open), all other switches read proper value (when activated). Ordered and received thermostat. Removed Ice Maker from freezer, removed two screws holding ice tray to Control Assembly. Removed Thermostat and replaced with new one. Applied Silicone Sealant to face of Thermostat for adhesion to ice tray when assembled. Remounted Ice Tray to Control Assembly and remounted in freezer. Works Great...

After changing the water filter to eliminate that, I did some research and determined it was probably a water valve. As this unit has a primary and secondary, and the secondary feeds the door (after receiving water from the primary) I mistakenly replaced the secondary. It was the primary water valve which was trickling enough water to keep the icemaker happy but not enough to drive the water on the door. In the future, I will do a test with a spare piece of water line which I ultimately did to figure this one out.

First I turned the refrigerator and water line off. Then moved to the freezer section, followed the directions, removed the two screws. Directions state to not remove them but I had to in this case. Unplugged the ice maker and removed it from the freezer. I installed the two mounting screws then tried to plug the electrical connection back in but had to use the adaptor cord furnished in the kit. The cord was a little long but I tucked it in and mounted the ice maker. Turned it on then turned the refrigerator and water back on and in a few hours had ice! Very easy to do!