I just became the unexpected owner of a Kenmore chest freezer. This is what I get for having a big truck, and a friend who needed to pickup a new freezer. The story on the on old freezer is that it was only three years old, and stopped working. A repair tech told them that the starter relay had failed, and that it was a discontinued part. The Sears Parts Direct website seems to support this.
The tech told them he could find a generic replacement, and fix it all for $200. They had a line on a larger upright freezer for free, so they went that route. I took the Kenmore off their hands thinking that I would either fix it myself, or send it to the graveyard.
I have done some searching online and have come up dry on finding a replacement part. I have included pictures of the parts in question as well as pics of the compressor.
I realize there may be a chance there is more wrong here than the relay, but I did notice this: The insulating boots on the blue and brown wires that go from the relay to the capacitor where very discolored from heat. This would lead me to believe that the relay has been getting very hot.
I tried to call Appliance Parts Pro this morning, but it would seem that they are no longer offering Saturday hours.
We are having the exact problem - the relay rattles and the cover looks like it got very hot. We called Sears and they are supposed to research and get back to us. We will see - we have no working freezer and company coming for the holidays.
LibertyApp,
The freezer is 3.5 years old
Freezer model 183.13601300
Relay part #rf-0010-65
It’s the same one that WI-badger posted above.
Also the blue and brown wires are discolored.
This freezer will probably also end up junked- too bad.
Thanks,
Jimer
WI_Badger said:
Hey all… The freezer is fixed and has been running for about a month now. The solution was to install a 3 in 1 Relay kit (Part# AP3540659). I have two theories of thought regarding this fix.
I was told that refrigeration systems sometimes get overcharged at the factory thus making them harder to start, and that the 3 in 1 Relay/Hard Start kit can overcome this.
The two discolored(over heated) wires were the ones that go to the original capacitor. It may be that the original capacitor was weak/failed, and thus caused the freezer to stop working.
Now although I don’t disagree with Libertyappl about these being a very cheaply made unit, instead of sending it to the appliance graveyard (landfill), I now have a functional freezer for a total investment of $20 in parts. I fully expect that this freezer will not last 5 years, but for now it is doing just fine. Hope this helps.
Badger
WI_BADGER: I have exactly the freezer and problem. I’m hoping you can tell me where you order the part. Thanks.
I got mine at a local store that had the part in stock, but it is the same exact part. Good luck with your freezer… mine is still running strong almost 9 months later.
Badger, I would also be interested in seeing a picture of how you wired in the replacement part. When I look at the existing (broken) relay on mine, I see six wires, 2 green, 2 black, 1 red, 1 white. The picture of the part you bought shows 5 wires (3 black, 1 red, 1 white).
What is the proper wiring required for this to work?
tangfoot said:
Badger, I would also be interested in seeing a picture of how you wired in the replacement part. When I look at the existing (broken) relay on mine, I see six wires, 2 green, 2 black, 1 red, 1 white. The picture of the part you bought shows 5 wires (3 black, 1 red, 1 white).
What is the proper wiring required for this to work?
Did anyone ever figure how to wire this? We have the same problem and have no idea how to wire this… begging for help guys!!!
Hi Richappy,
Since a 3-in-1 is not recommended and the part is not available, I was wondering if there was a part that would be compatible with this freezer. It’s listed as RF-0010-65 in the Kenmore manual and as part#AP3723113 (made by Haier) on the Appliancepartspro website.
We’re just stuck right now as how to proceed. I wouldn’t want to use anything that has even a remote chance of causing a fire. If there is not a compatible part, then I guess it will have to go into the landfill which i just hate to see in a freezer that’s only 5 years old. The switch seems pretty basic and I would think there would be alternatives, but being inexperienced in freezer repair, I just don’t know.
It would help to have a meter and an amprobe but if they are not available, just try to identify the compressor pins. The top one is usually common, the overload device was wired to that. The start pin is usually the left bottom.
If you think this is the pinout, order a klixon AP206490, a thin item and a ptcr AP3414961 a black plastic item. Stick the klixon in the top terminal and the ptcr in the bottom two terminals. One freezer wire goes in the top klixon, the other in the ptcr right terminal and the run capacitor across the ptcr terminals on each side. The capacitor then will be wired between the bottom run and start terminals. Monitor the run current at startup.
You can go to my article "replacing compressor start devices" in the general talk section for more info.
You also could use the URO41, but it is not as reliable. If you do, use a 1000joule surge protector on the wall outlet, make sure it is designed for appliances.
Richappy,
We ordered the following parts.
AP3414961 (WR07X10051) Relay 1 $6.85
AP2061490 (WR8X122) Overload 1 $20.51
I can’t figure out how to connect the relay. The original relay has 3 connection terminals-2 go to the capacitor and the other goes to the power, but the replacement relay has only 2 terminals. Are these GE parts going to work with this Haier freezer or do I need to rewire the power, the capacitor, the relay and overload differently? The overload looks like I can connect that up.
Hopefully I used the correct terminology to describe my problem. I’ll provide pictures if needed. Sorry to be a bother.
Wow, I compared the WR07X10051 to the AP3414961 and it looks like they chopped off the extra pin on the right side, looking at it with the tab on top.
Power and one wire of the run capacitor go to the right terminal, and the other capacitor wire goes to the left terminal.
With only one terminal, you will need to splice into one spade terminal both wires! I just hope your ptcr is electrically the same!!
Hello, I have this same freezer Kenmore 183.13401300. I removed the relay part # RF-0010-65 and took to my local appliance part store. Because part is no longer made they gave me two parts: A overload GE - WR08X10025 and Relay (Supco IC102) 1/12 to 1/3. Now here comes my problem, I removed the original part and don’t remember where what was plugged in. Can anyone help me Identify where each wire should connect.
I can help you install this, but you will need a meter to check things, otherwise you run the risk of burning out the compressor.
Update: If you have no meter, I would order another start device as I can’t find info on the IC102. Order a AP3414961, WR07X10051 ptcr device, a black square item, about $6.
Virtually all older compressors have the compressor start pin on the bottom, left and the common pin on the top.
Insert the overload in the top, common pin. With the ptcr held with the protrusion on top and the spade terminals facing you, plug it in the bottom two terminals.
Put one refrigerator wire in the top overload klixon, and the other in the ptcr right spade terminal.
If you have a run capacitor, wire it between the two ptcr terminals.
Monitor the total current at start up,. should be between 1 and 3 amps.
Feel free to ask any questions on this.