Hi there!

Recently, my fridge has been clicking when the compressor starts up. There does not appear to be any loss of cooling in the fridge or freezer, just the clicking noise. I did a little research and determined that the start relay likely needs to be replaced. I entered my model number (ET1MHKXMQ03) into this website and came up with part #AP3601983 (Part Details - WHIRLPOOL Relay-start, part number: AP3601983).

The shipping was lightning fast and, from what I could tell, the replacement should be pretty easy. I was dismayed, however, to find nothing like the part I received already in the fridge. After taking things apart and a lot of swearing, I couldn't find anything that looked like this part nor any place where it could fit. Sure, it looks like it serves the same purpose as the part I have (based on prongs, plug holes, etc), but it definitely does not fit.

A little more searching around, and I found something on this website that actually looks exactly like what I have in my fridge: part #[FONT=&quot]AP3885081 ([/FONT]Part Details - WHIRLPOOL Starting device kit, compressor, part number: AP3885081[FONT=&quot]). Unfortunately, despite being the only thing I found that actually looks like the part I'm trying to replace in my fridge, my model is nowhere to be found in the very extensive list of supported models on that page.

Is there some sort of mistake or discrepancy that I am missing? Will the 2nd part work in my fridge, or is it a waste of time/money and I should just get a serviceman in since I'm not capable of finding where my first purchased part goes.

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!
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Thanks for the quick reply. The part I have indeed looks like the little white box you describe. It's essentially the #3 picture at the link I provided above, with the capacitor plutting into it. Without reopening my fridge, however, I thought it had three holes to plug into the compressor, not 2 (which is another reason why the part I ordered does not fit... it only has 2). Let me know if you need any more information. Thanks!

Thanks again on the quick reply and for your help. Bummer that it's not something I can/should fix myself. Was hoping to save a few bucks. I did actually have that little box pulled completely apart and put back together, however, but it's probably not best to play with fire. It was a minor miracle the fridge started up again, I think. :D

Thanks again.

All the evidence points to a problem with the compressor. Most people who have this problem just replace the whole start device and hope for the best. I encourage you to do that, worth a try, you might find a burnt wire, or just a bad klixon, though rather rare.
If you have a meter, you can check your old start device. Take apart the box and measure across the round disk, should be 5 to 12 ohms. The klixon should be around zero. If everything checks out ok, you have a hard starting compressor.
I have an article, "replacing compressor start devices" but never mentioned it as you would not be able to use it without a meter.

In all this, I assume you are getting full 115 volts to the compressor when it is hard starting, if so, that would exhaust all checks and confirm a bad compressor, sorry.