ECKMF83 Whirlpool Ice Maker - Instructions

Removed 2 screws holding water fill tube to rear of refrigerator and pulled out, matched old part with new to make sure of proper match. Guide new fill tube thru hole, making sure it is aligned with slot in ice cube tray on inside of freezer. Install new plastic line from water pump outlet to water fill tube, check for leaks, job done.

The ice maker had been slowly dying and one day just stopped making ice. No water was getting to the trays.

I read that this could be caused by a failure of the valve, even though the continuity test indicated that the solenoid was okay.

I ordered the part Friday afternoon. It was delivered Saturday. I did the repair in 10 minutes.

I pulled the fridge away from the wall.

I unplugged the fridge. I closed the water supply valve.

I unscrewed the two mounting screws using a flat head screwdriver.

I pulled the old valve out from refrigerator.

Using an adjustable wrench I detached the water supply from the valve. I detached the hose leading to the ice maker from the valve.

I pulled the electrical connectors from the connectors on the valve.

I attached the hoses to the new valve, attached the electrical connector, screwed the new valve in its place, opened the water supply, plugged the fridge back in, checked for leaks, and waited for a few hours.

My ice maker is working better than it has in at least two years.

Turned off water supply and unplugged appliance. Removed lower panel on back of refrigerator with 1/4 " nutdriver. Then removed supply line, and line to icemaker. removed valve from back panel and replaced with new valve. wrapped water connections with teflon tape, turned on supply line, checked for leaks, everything o.k..Replaced back panel and in 45 minutes had first drop of ice. Job requires moderate mechanical ability and minimum tools. Saved a PANT load of money by doing it myself. VERY satisfied with Partselect.com

Followed instructions supplied. It was relatively easy and the parts fit exactly right. Sears wanted twice as much for the part and service would have charged me another $100 to come to my home. I saved over $100 doing the project myself.

Removed two screws holding valve, removed two 1/4" water lines. disconnected wire clip from old valve.
Installed new valve, connecting water and electrical with ease.
Absolutely Simple!

We rolled the refrigerator out away from the wall and it was obvious where the break was located. We took out the old water spout for the ice maker and replaced the tube and the tubing from the solenoid. We turned it on and soon we had water dripping everywhere. We unloaded and defrosted the freezer which got all of the remaining ice that was stuck in there. We put everything back together. I read in some instructions in the manual that it might take 24 hours for the ice maker to reprogram itself and start producing ice. I was only about 12 hours and we had ice again and everything worked well. You really do not have to disconnect the water from the main line, the solinoid controls that part of operation and turns the water off until the ice trays are free and clear.

JLB

The gooseneck on the icemaker fill tube extends out beyond the back cabinet of the refrigerator, and is easily broken. Luckily, this part is a piece of cake to replace. You'll literally spend more time pulling out your fridge and cleaning out behind it then you will replacing this part.

Shut off water supply line, and turn off ice maker (lift the metal bar in the ice bucket all the way up). Loosen the hose fitting, and remove two screws. Pull out the old tube, and slide the new one in. You may have to wiggle the tube around from the inside to get the alignment correct. Replace screws and fitting. Turn water and ice maker back on, and check for leaks. It really is that easy! It took me longer to type this than to actually replace the part.

Only one potential catch. The instructions warn that you may have to cut the new tube to match the length of the old tube, so make sure you compare the length of the old and new tube. I didn't have to to do anything - the replacement part was the exact same length of the original. If by chance you do need to cut the tube, you'll need small saw of some sort, such as a coping or hack saw.

Confirmed that the solenoid controlled water valve (Part # PS358631) between the water source and the back of ice maker was defective. I did this by removing the valve and plastic hose from the back of the refrigerator and pointed the end that went into the icemaker towards the sink. I applied 110 volts to the valve and noted that no water was getting through. Replacing the valve was a snap.

The problem was discovered to be a cracked fill tube head, This part extends behind the refigerator and is VERY vulnerable to breakage when the box is pushed backagainst a wall space! Placing a shim under the vertical part of the fill tube fixed the problem even without replacing it with the new part. So, now I have a spare!

I was not sure what was causing the problem, I thought at first it was low water pressure causing the hollow ice cubes. After some trial and error testing I figured a likely cause could be the water valve in the ice maker itself. I replaced that part rather easily using the existing fasteners in about 15 or 20 minutes. The ice maker has been working flawlessly since the repair.

Unscrewed clamp holding water tube to refrigerator ice maker. Pulled water tube from ice maker and water valve inlet. Cut the new tubing to the exact same length and inserted one end to the water valve inlet and the other end to the ice maker then screwed clamp holding water tube back to the refrigerator ice maker.

First I removed the two screws that hold the element in place. I then pulled the element out about 3 inches and disconnected the two wires...) Then I put the new valve in, put the cover back on the refridgerator and was done. total time 15 minutes. My wife says I'm the man.

First pull out frig and unplug. Shut off water valve. I just had to remove two screws to disconnect unit from bottom rear corner of frig. Pull element out just a few inches and disconnect the plug that feeds it electric. Disconnect water hose and reattach to new unit. Reconnect electric plug and reinstall in back of frig, securing with two screws. I have an older appliance, so I had to jury rig a bit when reattaching new unit by drilling two new holes for mounting. Also, I had to buy a new water hose because the old part would not accept the standard female end of the hose to connect to. Home Depot has the standard icemaker hoses with two female ends. These two glitches would probably not apply to a newer appliance, but anyway, it's cranking out the ice just fine now! Sure I saved alot of money, even with the extra $10 investment for the hose.

Followed the video on parts page. I was worried I would brake the cover but learned from the video the right way to remove the front plate. I found the video very informing. Thank you for saving me a service call and the part cost was minimal compared to a new refrigerator .

Removed old valve first, found part # on it.
Entered part # into search box on computer.
It came up with the right replacement part the first time!!!
Ordered part, it came in sooner than I thought it would.
I attached the supply line, pushed in the plastic outlet hose, connected the power line, and attached it to the refrigerator frame. We had a full container of ice the next morning.It couldn't of had been easier.