[jhein]

I have a Kitchenaid fridge/freezer. It's about 6 years old. The Freezer light went out. I discover it's a LED light. Not a bulb but a light assembly. $93 dollars for the part. That's ridiculous. And not only that, but I wonder at what point it won't be available anymore?

[Stuart]

For the limited amount of time the light is on (only when the door is open) it's a little surprising it failed, I assume it was considered a lifetime part. Having said that, if the replacement also only lasts six years that will mean the fridge will twelve years old, and chances are many other parts will no longer be available by then and/or it will be time for a new refrigerator anyway.

[tooski]

If you can, try and get a type and part number for the light. The light may be much less expensive from other sources ,most likely chinese. May be from china anyway.
I have an IKEA oven made by Whirlpool. From Whirlpool, the light bulbs were/are $40. Using the bulb type and number, after googling for a bit I managed to find it for $5. I bought four. So far I have at least the same amount of time on them as the originals.
As a side note, on my first attempt I found the proper type but the wrong wattage.

[Formulabruce]

Originally Posted by jhein

I have a Kitchenaid fridge/freezer. It's about 6 years old. The Freezer light went out. I discover it's a LED light. Not a bulb but a light assembly. $93 dollars for the part. That's ridiculous. And not only that, but I wonder at what point it won't be available anymore?

Like most LED's the bulb is probably fine. The tiny ac dc converter probably burned out

[67drake]

Originally Posted by tooski

If you can, try and get a type and part number for the light. The light may be much less expensive from other sources ,most likely chinese. May be from china anyway.
I have an IKEA oven made by Whirlpool. From Whirlpool, the light bulbs were/are $40. Using the bulb type and number, after googling for a bit I managed to find it for $5. I bought four. So far I have at least the same amount of time on them as the originals.
As a side note, on my first attempt I found the proper type but the wrong wattage.

I do this ALL THE TIME on appliance parts, all appliance parts. Get a part number, then Google or go on EBay for a replacement. Heating elements, igniters, ect. The China made replacement lasts as long as the original, and a fraction of the cost.

[jhein]

Yeah, I found it for a little less on ebay but I decided to get it direct from the manufacturer because I was worried about getting an inferior part. I realize they could be identical but it wasn't worth the difference to take a chance.

[72projectbird]

Originally Posted by 67drake

I do this ALL THE TIME on appliance parts, all appliance parts. Get a part number, then Google or go on EBay for a replacement. Heating elements, igniters, ect. The China made replacement lasts as long as the original, and a fraction of the cost.

X2


Most of the original equipment is made in China anyway. They're probably coming from the same factory.

[Formulabruce]

EReplacementparts.com
https://www.ereplacementparts.com/?u...placementparts

[NeighborsComplaint]

Light should outlive the refrigerator. New appliances these days have a 7-10 year service life.

[Bob Dillon]

Solution: Harbor Freight $1 tiny LED flashlight.



Don't encourage them.

[hurryinhoosier62]

We had to replace our five year old Maytag ( made by Whirlpool) washer last year because the main PC board shorted out due to Duke Energy being able to keep the power on our trunk on reliable. Had two replacement boards shipped in; the primary board and the motor control board, both made in China.Turns out the main power supply is what was affected, but that wasn’t available so we replaced the Maytag with a Speed Queen; made in Minnesota, not in Mexico with Chinese parts.

[py71lemans]

Originally Posted by jhein

I have a Kitchenaid fridge/freezer. It's about 6 years old. The Freezer light went out. I discover it's a LED light. Not a bulb but a light assembly. $93 dollars for the part. That's ridiculous. And not only that, but I wonder at what point it won't be available anymore?

What is the model number of your refrigerator and the part number of the light assy. I used to repair appliances and would like to look it up. Electronic part obsolesces seems to be a problem.

[David Jones]

A little over a year ago, the evaporator fan/motor was randomly making a RACKET in our downstairs fridge. I took it apart, checked for a problem I could fix and found nothing that stood out. I put it back together. It still would sound like it was coming apart from time to time, so I ordered a new fan/motor from Amazon.

It hasn't made a sound since I placed the order.....but I'm ready when it does.

[GTOnly70]

Almost as a big a rip-off as the $50 water filters that supposedly need replacing every 6 months. One of the biggest scams going...

[jhein]

It gets even better. So I got the light today and I replaced it. Still doesn't work! LOL. Oh well, I'll just eat more carrots.

[Stuart]

Have you checked to see if power is getting to the light? I imagine the power goes through a door switch, which could be suspect too.

[jhein]

Originally Posted by Stuart

Have you checked to see if power is getting to the light? I imagine the power goes through a door switch, which could be suspect too.

That's the next thing I thought of, the switch. I checked that with my finger. I was being lazy and tried swapping the light fixture while the fridge was still hot. As I was trying to disconnect the tiny little terminals on the board, I got a little buzz from something I touched, so I know it has power.

So It's either a defective new light assembly (unlikely) or there's something else going on other than the light assembly or the switch.

Whatever, maybe this is the beginning of the end. For now it's still doing it's most important job which is cooling and freezing, so I'll see if I can figure it out. If not the carrots are cheap and they're otherwise good for you.

[71GP76TA]

New stuff is complicated junk. In some/most cases.. Technology is more trouble that its worth.

It seems they pay people to complicate the simplest things.

[vertigto]

We have a Whirlpool Gold side-by-side that I discovered has a known design flaw that they won't fix/take accountability for. The freezer door cuts through the wires running through the bottom hinge over time (literally just after the 3 yr warranty expired). Ice maker is fubar. Not saying this is your issue, but check for anything.