10646 - Instructions

Purchased new motor from Partselect.com. When it arrived it came with a new rubber washer that fitted on top of new motor that was not on old motor, that how water got into old motor. However, the instruction sheet did not give info on how to access the proper way to the motor that is the door. Not wanting to damage the freezer door assy. called in a tech who made it look easy, but even he had a little problem locating access panel that was directly under the motor in the freezer side of the door. After that it was a piece of cake.

I first removed the power cord of the refrigerator from the receptacle. I then removed the screws (3 each) from both the emitter and receiver face plates with a phillips screw driver. I than carefully removed the connector to the each of the circuit boards. A simple pull maneuver. I removed the circuit boards from the face plates. I took the new parts and put them back in reverse order. I put the power cord back in the receptacle.

Removed the filter and put the cap on the new filter and inserted it as instructed on the filter box. Really easy now that we have the new cap.

First I removed the old lightbulb from the socket and replaced it with a new one to confirm that the bulb was not the problem. I then pryed the socket out with a flat-head screwdriver. I could tell that the socket was anchored in its hole with clips so it was relatively easy to pry it out. Once the socket was out, I disconnected the lead wires and ordered a replacement socket kit from Partselect. When the new one arrived, I reconnected the lead wires to it, snapped it back into its hole, screwed in a new lightbulb, and presto!! The light was back on with no further problem. Thank you, Partselect!! A $15.00 part saved me what probably would have been at least a $100. service call and heaven knows what the technician would have told me I needed!!!

The repair was actually easy; however I have an ice dispencer/crusher attached and the which the diagram supplied with the part did not include. I had to make several calls before I was e-mailed the diagram.
Suggestions: note that the screw at the end of the auger goes in the reverse direction (this took me about 20 minutes to figure out even though it was shown in the diagram). Also, be sure to keep the ice crusher parts in order and be sure the white plastic tab on the crusher fits into a depression in the housing. I did not notice this and had to take it all apart and redo the install. It works great!!!

It turn one turn on the filter holder, pull out and put new filter in done

replaced with new shelves

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.

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!

First disconnected the quick release electrical connection. Then loosened the three screws that were holding the motor in the bracket. However, space is limited and even with small hands it was rather difficult as the screws were in there very tight. There are a few sharp edges on the bracket and in the surrounding area of the motor area, and nicked myself a couple of times. Removed the fan blade from the old motor and attached it the new motor with the old flat washer/screw. Reconnected the electrical connection and that was that. All-in-all an easy repair.

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.

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.

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.

I used a flat screwdriver and released the lock tab on the bottom of the light switch, and pried the switch out, being careful to not damage the plastic around the mounting place of the switch, unplugged wiring from old switch, plugged in the new one and pushed the new switch into place. Job finished light switch now working.

I saved my Whirlpool Refrigerator (Model ET21GKXHN00) and learned a lesson. Don’t put off cleaning the refrigerant coils underneath the refrigerator. I replaced the refrigerator about 10 years ago and began to notice that the sound of this one running had changed slightly. I remembered that’s what happened to the first one just before it died. I removed the panel on the bottom front and saw that the refrigerant coils were covered with dust. It was really bad. I vacuumed them with the “radiator attachment” on the vacuum cleaner and plugged the refrigerator back in. It still didn’t sound right and I couldn’t feel the air blowing out like it should. So I rolled the refrigerator out and removed the back lower cover to see the compressor and the cooling fan. The fan was clogged with dust so I vacuumed that as well. But the fan wouldn’t spin freely by hand. The fan motor only had 3 screws holding it onto the plastic fan bezel and was easily removed by unsnapping the electrical connector on the motor. I removed the fan motor and tried to clean it with a few drops of WD40 on the shaft. But when I put it all back and plugged it in the fan just barely started turning. I unplugged the refrigerator and ordered the fan motor from PartSelect.Com (Item Number PS371043). The picture looked exactly like the motor that was in my refrigerator. I threw everything away in the refrigerator, cleaned it out and left it unplugged until the motor came. The motor arrived in a few days and it looked exactly like the one I had removed. It had the same electrical specifications stamped on the back and the electrical connector was the same and in the same location on the motor. I put the fan blade on the new motor and installed it exactly like the old one was. It only took 15 minutes or so and was very easy to install. When I plugged the refrigerator in the compressor started right away and so did the fan. It ran like a champ. In a few hours the refrigerator got cold and began to cycle on and off like normal and the fan blows like new. The sound is normal and the total running sound is quiet again like a new refrigerator. So for $84.67 I saved my $1300 refrigerator and learned not to neglect checking the build up of dust in the compressor fan section. I’m sure that’s what happens to most of the refrigerators people put out for trash pickup in front of their houses. The cause of the problem is when air flow is restricted across the refrigerant coils too much heat returns to the compressor and eventually causes the compressor to fail. I appreciate that we live in a time when you can order exactly what you need on the internet and make home repairs when you need to. Thanks Part Select for sending me the correct part. It’s nice to have milk and cold drinks again.