I have no idea why Norm did not get an answer.
This forum is manned by appliance techs and DIYers, all of them are volunteers.
AppliancePartsPros fund this site and do not require anything from you, which I personally think is a very good public service.
Note that I am just a volunteer.
If you need/expect a response ASAP the I would respectfully suggest you try Sears (good luck with that) or one of the sites that will want a credit card number before they answer anything.
OK, there I have vented, now onto your problem.
Here are your parts
Replacement parts for KENMORE 596.51673100 | AppliancePartsPros.comUnfortunately there is no parts breakdown diagrams.
The unit is actually an Amana made by Whirlpool.
I have no way of cross referencing Sears model numbers to the actual manufacturers number and Sears does not give out any technical data.
[COLOR="Blue"]There is ice build up in the feezer[/COLOR]
Could be you have a defrost problem. It will show up first in the fresh food side and later in the freezer side. Remove the evaporator cover from inside the freezer so you can check the coils. If they are heavily frosted/iced up then defrost is not working and the fan cannot circulate air through the coils to cool it properly or push it into the fresh food side.
Usually this is troubleshot by forcing a defrost but I do not know how to do this on this unit. Hopefully someone else will jump in who does know.
You could try unplugging the unit then plugging it back in. See Page 40 in the below manual or by hitting the door switch 5 times in 6 seconds. You will know when it goes into defrost as the compressor and the fans will shut off.
https://secured.whirlpoo...6f05e168525744800711fe0/$FILE/defrost_systems.pdf
First remove the evaporator cover in the freezer so you can see the coils.
Not do not let them de-ice.
If they are heavily iced/frosted over you have a defrost problem.
If yes.
Manually force a defrost cycle.
Now check the defrost heater to see if it is on.
Be careful you do not want to burn your fingers.
If the heater is on then the defrost control board needs replacing, as it is not cycling automatically into a defrost cycle.
If not on.
Unplug the unit.
Remove the wire for one side of the heating element from the wiring and measure it for continuity, usually around 20 ohms or so.
If the heater is OK
Remove one wire to the defrost thermostat and measure it, should be 0 ohms when frozen. Note that it opens just above freezing so must be frozen to check it. Also inspect it, if it is bulged at all replace it even if it measures OK.
If both the above are OK then odds are the defrost timer contacts are toast.
Best way to test this is a live test to see if you have 120 volts across the heater/defrost thermostat combo.
Note: If you cannot force a defrost then check the heater and the defrost thermostat, if both OK then I would assume that the defrost board is shot. Only other cause I can think of is a bad wire or connection.
If you do not own a meter, I would suggest you purchase a one. You can get a decent digital multimeter for under $20.00. You do not need fancy though it is nice if the leads are a couple feet long.
If it saves ordering one unnecessary part it has paid for itself and you end up owning a useful tool.
Most places will not let you return electrical parts so if you order it, you own it.
A couple things to watch when measuring ohms and continuity
1. Always remove power from the machine otherwise you could blow your meter.
2. Always disconnect at least one side of any device you are checking. This eliminates the possibility of measuring an alternate/parallel circuit path.
3. When checking for closed contacts and continuity use the lowest scale (Usually 200 ohms). Then try higher scales. This scale is 0 to 200 ohms so if the device you are measuring is 300 ohms this scale would show an open circuit which it is not, you are just measuring outside the scale's dynamic range.
There is a good STICKY at the start of this forum about it's use.
