The only reason I'm reviewing this is to help educate those who are thinking of ordering this kit. If you are one of them, then your fridge isn't working and you probably realize your relay and overload component is bad. Many forums help you diagnose the relay/overload unit. Mine sounded like a rattle when I shook it, had a burnt mark on one lead slot and had little black ceramic pieces falling out of it. The fridge/freezer wouldn't cool, the compressor wasn't running and the compressor was very hot when touched.
After realizing that my part number is replaced by this kit, I was a bit curious as to how it would all work due to the many parts which are displayed in the picture. Once I opened the kit, there is a set of directions with photos and all the parts shown in the above picture. The kit basically comes with four relay/overload setups for four different groups of refrigerators. You won't use all the parts. If you are lucky like me and one of the two shown in the picture look identical to the one you are replacing, then you can do a like for like swap ("combo relay"). One is used if there is an EGY80 in the compressor model, while the other is used if there is an EGY90. These are the ones with the long plastic finger to hold the start capacitor in place. If yours looks different (no finger), then you will have to do a pieced together rebuild ("discrete") using the remaining parts and jumper cable. Again, an EGY80 will have you use one overload part, while the EGY90 will have you use the other. The small relay (black part) is then used for both with the jumper cable. The exposed rebuild is then covered with the black plastic cover shown in the picture. If you used one of the combo units, all these other parts are not used at all.
Therefore, you may be lucky and simply have to buy this whole kit to get one of its parts, or you will have to put together a few of the parts in order to replace your old single part. In the end, the kit should work if your original part number is included in the list. The directions will help you figure out which part or parts you should use and how to put them all together.
One other thing, I believe my relay might have burned out because I had never cleaned the grate under the fridge for over 7 years. There sure was a lot of dust in there when I pulled off the front bottom cover. I vacuumed and blew it all out from the front and back. The fan next to the compressor needs to be able to draw air through the grate in order to operate the fridge. When covered with dust, the fridge works much harder. Now that I cleaned the grate and replaced the relay, the fridge now works better than it did before it broke. I have to remember to clean it every 6 months. By the way, my fridge had two hidden papers folded up inside the back of the plastic grill on the front bottom of the fridge. There are part numbers, electrical diagrams and resistance ratings for key components. I wish I had known it was there to begin with.
I have a Whirlpool Conquest fridge that is about 10 years old. The fridge made a clicking sound every 20 seconds or so and the fridge did not automatically shut off. This is because the compressor did not turn on to cool the fridge. After doing some research, the problem was a bad compressor relay. This relay is plugged on the compressor with 3 or 4 wires connected to it. After removing and inspecting the relay, the part smelled like burnt ceramic.
This kit has relays for different compressors. At first, I was confused because my bad relay did not look anything like in the picture and was hesitant on ordering this kit. Installing the new relay is simple. The instructions included will tell you which relay to use. To find the model of your compressor, there is a sticker, near the relay, with the model number on the compressor.
I have used the small black, one of the small white, one wire and the black cover. Anybody who has bought this kit and has those parts left over, please let me know. I am assuming we both have parts that we don't need and I'm willing to do a trade so it will both save us time and money if this relay goes bad again in the future.
Buy Whirlpool Refrigerator Relay and Overload Kit 8201786 Now
WOW, GREAT ITEM--IT CAME WITH SEVEN PIECES BUT I ONLY NEEDED TO USE ONE PIECE---***MY REFRIG HISTORY** (MY REFRIGERATOR AND FREEZER STOP WORKING COMPLETELY--NO COOLING/NO FREEZING AT ALL) SO I ORDER THE RELAY KIT---I INSTALLED THE ONE THAT HAD A BLACK DOT ON IT(THE WHITE/BEIGE UNIT THAT HAS A WHITE POLE(THE OTHER ONE HAS A RED DOT) AND MY REFRIGERATOR IS NOW WORKING LIKE NEW----VERY EASY INSTALLATION--THANKS
Read Best Reviews of Whirlpool Refrigerator Relay and Overload Kit 8201786 Here
It's hard to add more info beyond the very well written reviews already posted by J. Swingler, S. Tauchi and others. However, I'll try in the effort to create more hits for search engines to bring people here to buy these parts. The kit sold on Amazon is the same kit sold by appliance sites, but far cheaper. The kits are shipped VERY quickly, too (even without Amazon Prime).
As others have said, don't be mislead by the fact that the kit has lots of parts in it even though you only seem to have one bad part. The kit covers MANY different refrigerators. It is apparently based on the compressor used. Many refrigerator manufacturers use the same compressors.
Here are some of the brands that "may" use this relay kit: Whirlpool, Kenmore, Crosley, Estate, Kitchen Aid, Roper, Magic Chef, Maytag, Admiral, Amana. Contact your refrigerator manufacturer to find out what start device part number they recommend. Or, take off your start device (pictures and instructions can be found on many appliance forums) and look at the part number, then see below.
This kit sold by Amazon replaces the following "Start Relay" part numbers: 2188829, 2188830, 2188832, 2188833, 2188844, 2188845, 2188846, 2188847, 2212193, 2212194, 2216697, 2216722, 2220474, 2220475, 2220476, 2220477, 8201531, 8201532. There may be others, too. Check with your fridge manufacturer.
A bit of background on mine: It is a 2003 Kenmore Coldspot, part number 106.53659300. This refrigerator is made by Whirlpool (as are all Kenmore refrigerators starting with number 106). I have owned it since new and it always ran great. Then, in a one week time period, I had intermittent instances of ice cream melting, then getting hard again. One day, the ice cream melted and did not recover. A few hours later, the ice in the ice storage bin started to melt and my ice maker began spilling out water. The fridge seemed to be staying cold, at first, so I thought it was a problem with the defrost circuit. I looked at the bimetal defrost thermostat behind the metal panel inside the freezer, but that was fine. That's when I knew there was a bigger problem.
Thanks to the power of the internet, I found many helpful forums describing this problem. IMPORTANT: Several forums recommended that if your refrigerator is doing this, don't leave it plugged in. You might ruin the compressor or start a fire. Move your food to another fridge or several ice chests.
After I removed the bottom cardboard cover from the back, I found that the compressor was VERY hot to the touch. I unplugged the fridge for about 10 minutes to reset it, then plugged it in again. I heard a click, some quiet humming, then another click. The compressor never came on. The cooling fan was running, which was a plus. However, I've never seen so much pet hair build-up in my life! I have a dog and two cats and keep my house clean, but never thought about cleaning under the fridge. BIG mistake! There was literally zero air flow. I took off the lower front cover, too, then used a long wand on the vacuum to get the worst hair. However, to get it perfect, I had to use a small brush on a long handle and some compressed air, then vacuum again. It ended up looking like new.
I removed the parts from the left side of the compressor. In my case, they were only held on by a long, bendy metal clip. Just pop that clip off, unplug the wire harness, then pull the white/tan plastic box to the left away from the compressor. On my refigerator, there was also a square, black capacitor that came away with the assembly. This was a 5-minute job. Super easy!
The two-tone white and tan plastic box on my refrigerator is a combo start relay and overload device. It was TOAST! Literally. I'm kind of surprised there wasn't an electrical fire. It was charred black inside and stunk of burnt electrical bits. It rattled inside when I shook it. I decided to pry the halves apart. There was nothing left inside but little bits of charred debris.
Although the sealed black capacitor looked fine to me, several forum posts recommended replacing it at the same time. Since it is not in this kit, I ordered it seperately. Amazon has it for only $22. I figured that was cheap insurance.
All of the parts arrived very quickly! Then it only took 5-minutes to install them. One forum I read was posted by a single mom who didn't have the money for a repair. She chose to take a chance on this kit and was overjoyed at the low cost and the ease of installation. I have to agree. This easily saved me $150 in labor and it requires almost no mechanical experience. If you can operate a screwdrive and plug things in, you can do this repair. Just be careful to follow the instructions and compare the parts you have to the model number on the compressor. Another thing that's helpful is the color of the dot on the start device. The one that I took off had an orange dot. The one I put back on had an orange dot. That is what was required for my compressor.
End result, my compressor fired right up and all is well. Thanks to all who wrote good reviews and to Amazon marketplace vendors who sold the parts for a fair price and shipped them immediately.
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Before you purchase this kit be sure your compressor is a Embraco. This is not made to run Tecumseh compressor's.
If you have a Tecumseh.... you may need a new Embraco. Look up that Tecumseh model number. I found that mine had a history of getting warm and stopping. It starts easily once cooled down but as it ran it would stop running again. Bad bearings inside causes this problem, so I was told.
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I bought this to cool off the cockpit of a small 4 seat airplane and it was totally ineffective....
