Hi, it’s Steve from PartSelect. You’ve decided to replace the adaptive defrost control
on your refrigerator. It’s not too hard of a job. All you’re going to need is a
¼ inch nut driver and a bit of patience. Let me show you how it’s done.
Ok, the first step to removing the adaptive defrost control is to get a little room, so
we will take the top shelf out of the refrigerator. Depending on your model you may need to consult
your owner’s manual.
The next step is to remove the cover. Pull forward on the top and drop it down. In each
rear corner there is a crescent shaped slot that we will pull down on and forward. The
top is released. See where these slots engage with the clips at the back on both sides.
A little patience is required when removing that part.
Next step is to remove the ¼ inch hex-head screw just to the right of the water filter.
On the top there are two key-hole slots that will allow the whole assembly to push to the
right and drop down. Remove the two light bulbs and be careful that they are not hot.
Remove the dial by taking out two ¼ inch hex-head screws here and here.
Now I did mention that some patience is required with this piece. You may, if you cannot get
it to release for the key hole slots, you may need to remove the water filter housing.
There’s a ¼ inch hex-head screw above it and one behind to the left side. You may need
to remove those two screws and just let the filter hang. Do not try to pull it out.
We were pretty fortunate with this one. It slid right out. Pull it forward a little bit,
again being careful not to force it. We have Styrofoam pieces here that we do not want
to break. See the location of the two screws and the slotted keyhole engagement points.
The adaptive defrost is located in the right rear. Your model may or may not have screws
holding it in place. These ones are using ¼ inch hex-head screws. Remove both of those,
move the housing down and lift our assembly out. There’s a wire connector. We need to
remove that and now we have it in our hands. Yours may or may not look exactly like this.
The replacement unit will look exactly like this.
Ok, if you’ve still got some patience left we can put the new adaptive defrost control
back into your refrigerator. Carefully sit it in to its location, get the wire connector
installed. Make sure it’s seated firmly, tilt the housing up and start one of the screws.
Put the other one in, now we know we have it in the right location. Tilt it down again
to make sure that the wire harness does not interfere with the control cam.
Slide the assembly up in place. Align the keyhole slots with the screws, slide it to
the left and now it’s held in place. Now we can easily put these two screws in, put
our retaining screw in the back and if you had to remove the water filter housing you
can replace those two screws.
When we reinstall our dial indicator we need to make sure that these portions go above
the aluminum shield. If they don’t we’ll end up with this and the controls will bind.
Separate the two levers and locate it as such. Put our two ¼ inch screws here and here and
that portion is complete.
Ok, we’re down to our final step. Make sure that we put our light bulbs in because it’s
easier to do it with the cover off than with the cover on. We’re gong to line up these
two square holes with the tabs at the back and it will slide in above them. The two tabs
at the front will hook in here at the end. Remember that patience is the greatest virtue
at this point.
There, the controls work freely. Our repair is complete.
Well, we’ve got our adaptive defrost assembly in. Not too bad of a job. Good luck with your
repair.
