10644029603 Kenmore Refrigerator - Instructions

Changing the KITCHENAID MOTOR ASSEMBLY TO THE ICE-MAKER was fairly straightforward. The hardest part was figuring out WHAT was broken and how to fix it. I was determined to save myself hundreds of dollars by doing it myself and avoiding a visit by the 'repairman'.

1.) Went to KitchenAid website to look at Parts List for my side-by-side refrigerator and ice maker assembly (a PDF file, easily downloadable) . The illustrations helped me visualize the assembly and various parts involved.
2.) Removed cover on front of ice maker.
3.) Removed hex-head screw on undersurface of icemaker on the right, which stablilizes a plastic cover for the electrical connector to the ice maker. Once this is off, it's then possible to slide the ice maker out.
4.) Slide the ice maker out from it's 'shelf' in the freezer. You won't be able to completely remove it until you disconnect the power supply.
5.) Disconnect the multi-pin power connector. (It's probably safest to unplug the refrigerator altogether before doing this, but I did not. No exposed metal wiring or connectors. No problems when I did it this way.)
6.) Once the ice-maker was out, remove the white cover from the motor assembly (on the left side of the unit).
7.) Remove the three screws from the black housing of the motor assembly. (This is where I discovered that the connector between the motor and drive-train was broken and needed to be replaced.)
8.) Remove and replace the drive system for the ice cube ejector.
9.) Then reverse the steps to reassemble.

This may seem a bit vague, but it's really quite straightforward once the ice maker is out of the freezer. The replacement motor assembly includes the motor, the motor housing, the drive-train, and the ice-cube ejector. Very easy to re-asemble.

Shopping for and ordering the part took some time since there are so many different after-market parts dealers. In all honesty, I'm glad I decided on PartSelect.com. They had a decent price, safe checkout, and timely delivery. All the essentials of a good online store.

Thanks, and good luck to the next guy who has to deal with a KitchenAid snafu.

replaced with new shelves

Removed two screws and popped loose the ice door. Disconnected the single electrical connector. Slid out the old, slide in the new. It worked like a charm. - Still dissappointed that the whirlpool icemaker broke after only 2 years, but the new one works great!

1) At bottom of ice maker trim there are two small slots at right and left ; use screw driver to pry away from door; lift trim upward away from door 2)using 1/4" nutdriver remove screws from 4 corners, 3) remove 2 screws from control panel 4) disconnect all wires/cables and set exterior panel aside. 5) locate 2" pin that runs through door spring and use needle nose pliers to remove round clip on left end of pin don't lose this clip 6) while pushing ice maker lever (where you would push with your glass) use needle nose to pull the long pin out to the right 7) Remove all remaining parts by hand (i.e. the pin, the dash pot and white lever and the ice door) 8)slide new control lever into slots on exterior side of the new door 9) -tricky part- using needle nose, push pin back through the right hinge point, the new lever, the new door, the new spring and the left hinge point (note the new door has no electric wire connector) 10) using the needle nose, carefully replace the little round clip on the left end of the metal pin. 11) reconnect all the wires (don't worry about the wire that had been connected to the door wire, just fold it aside) 12) replace two screws screws in control panel and four screws at corners of exterior panel 13) snap outer trim panel back in place.

While looking for parts I read the advice on you web site under the ice maker parts. I also had problems reading the LED codes. They would change each time I unplugged the refrig and powered up. I took the other guys advice, ordered the emittered and receiver and the next morning I had ice. GREAT service guys, thanks. Also the part was on my door step in 1.5 days. Sure beat an expensive service charge.

The ice maker was not getting water. I hotwired the water valve by switching the connectors for the water dispenser and ice maker water valves and water flowed into the icemaker when the water dispenser lever was pushed. I wronly assumed the water valve was good. I removed the icemaker and determined that the gear motor was not getting power in the position the icemaker had stopped.In this position, the thermostat determines when the motor gets power so I replaced the thermostat. The icemaker still would not get water! As it turns out, the water solenoid was sticking due to a deteriorated rubber washer which let the solenoid plunger get too far out of the magnetic field. I replaced the water solenoid assy and all is well. Don't get fooled by hotwiring the valve. If it isn't getting water, the solenoid probably is the culprit.

The procedure was straightforward. I removed the cardboard backing on the lower back of the refrigerator to expose the fan unit. I then undid the electrical harness at the fan. I then removed the three screws securing the fan motor to the metal bracket. This is the hardest part in that I had to reach through and get to the screws with my small tools. I then removed the old motor and blades and placed the new motor and blades. Again, a bit tricky trying to get the three screws mounted into the bracket...small tools and hands helps. After that I used the electrical harness supplied with the kit to plug into the new motor and I was done.

An easy job for smaller hands. Removed the two bolts holding the light cover. Removed two electrical connections from the old switch by pinching the retaining clip,removed the switch, snapped in the new one and re-attached the connectors. Your online illustrations helped me to know that the plastic housing for the light switch would only swing down so far and was not intended to be removed. Saved me from breaking that plastic cover's tabs. This home repair saved me more than 5 times the cost of hiring a professional to do it. Very happy homeowner.

This product comes in a bottle with a brush like Liquid Paper. It goes on incredibly easy. A second coat might be needed. I wanted to prevent rust from setting in so I covered the scratches and dings. The paint is a little brighter since my washer is 10 years old but it still looks great.

If you remove the bottom vent panel of the refrigerator there are two schematics for the refrigerator. One for the fridge and one for the icemaker. The icemaker has an emitter and a receiver that will tell the icemaker when it is ok to dump ice and add water. The receiver has an LED that blinks different codes. The codes give you an idea where your problem is located. In my case it coded out to be the optics (emitter and receiver). Replacement of the parts involves the removal of three screws on each component and disconnecting a wire harness on each component. Install the new components by following the removal process in reverse. The total cost was $80.00. This was half the price Sears wanted for the parts and about the same price to have a Sears repairman just show up at the house.

I have a side by side so in order to access the bi-metal switch I first had to empty out the freezer. The switch is clipped on to the top of the evaporator coil. I had to remove 8 screws to remove the back panel of the freezer compartment. The bi-metal switch was right there in plain view. There are two colored wires that come out of the switch. I tried pulling them out of the socket they were plugged into but gave up for fear of breaking something. I ended up cutting the wires and splicing them together. I used the plastic twist caps. I made sure when I closed everything back up that the open end of the caps were pointing down so no water can accumulate in them. It has been 3 days now and so far so good

DISCONNECT POWER. Removed all shelves/baskets.Popped upper panel off (just clips in) Removed 6 screws in lower back panel ( 3 each side) slid panel in place but down. You can then easily see the defrost thermostat/defrost termination switch. Cut the wire connectors (pink n brown wire) stripped back wire, attached new defrost thermostat. Thermostat clips on. New thermostat ohm's at 5.5, old one was "open". Slid cover back up meeting the upper cover grooves. Screwed lower panel in. Put shelves etc back in. Plugged in. Turns on, put a bottle of water in freezer. Checked a while later, frozen. has been frozen for a week.
-James

Removed the old one. Removed the handle attachment and placed it on the new drawer and slid it in place. Just that easy.

I removed the screw holding the spring steel retainer/clip using a quarter inch ratchet wrench a swivel with a quarter inch socket and a short extention, then just installed the new one. This spring steal through the door ice maker / water despenser lever spring was an easy fix.
I found you by googling appliance repair parts, and found your site really easy to use. I couldn't believe how fast the part came and the very reasonable price. I put you on my web browser's favorites.
Thanks,
Ron

First removed the outside cover plate which was some what scary not to break plastic cover. Had read about another discription of removal of cover to start from the bottom because the top is inserted in slots that would have broken if removed from the top. After cover plate removed it was simple to remove the broken parts and install the new parts. The most difficult part to put back in was the spring and rod had to be inserted the same time.