AS22 - Instructions

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 fi ... Read more gure 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!!!

I didn't know what the plastic was - just that it was unappetizing. Reading other posts, it must have been the teflon coating. The refrigerator is 13 years old and reading other posts, I guess I'm lucky it lasted that long.

My boyfriend did the repair and here is his story:

The first ice maker we received was cr ... Read more acked on one corner. Not knowing how it got that way, I was concerned that there might be additional internal damage and that the unit wouldn’t work properly. Part Select was contacted and a replacement unit was sent with no difficulty.
As other reviewers have said, the replacement was quite easy, taking less than half an hour. The only tools I needed were a screwdriver and a nut driver. To begin, unplug the refrigerator and turn off the water supply to the ice maker. Loosen, but do not remove, the two top attachment screws. Then remove the bottom screw. Lift the unit up off the top screws and remove the water inlet hose at the top right. It’s probably a good idea to have a container handy to catch the small amount of water that comes out, but you’ll need a third hand for this.
The electrical wiring harness is very short and may be tricky to disconnect. On my refrigerator there is a round vinyl connector that plugs into a receptacle on the back wall of the freezer compartment directly behind the ice maker. This was removed with no difficulty (accidently, actually). Once the unit is out of the refrigerator you can remove the connector from the ice maker by using a screwdriver to depress the latch tab that is visible in a window in the unit housing. When installing the connector in the new unit make sure it is fully seated. Next, reconnect the round vinyl connector to the receptacle on the back wall of the freezer compartment. This was the worst part of the whole procedure. You have to support the unit close to the back of the freezer (due to the short harness) with one hand while inserting the connector with the other. This requires both arms in a confined space. The first time I did it I apparently didn’t get a good electrical connection on one end of the harness, and it didn’t work. Because the connectors are directly behind the ice maker I had to remove the unit and re-install it, but it was much quicker the second time, less than 10 minutes.
Once the connectors are in place put the water inlet hose into the opening at the top right. You may need to re-use the retaining clip from the old unit for this. Slide the two top mounting ears down between the screw heads and the back wall of the freezer compartment and tighten the screws. Then install the bottom screw. Plug in the refrigerator, turn on the water and make yourself a frosty beverage.
All in all, a relatively quick and painless procedure.

Another note - we kept saying "is there ice yet"? I think the metal bar that controls the ice maker needed to be raised and lowered a few times before it would work properly as it seemed to raise 1/2 way but the ice would not drop so I put it down and it worked its way up. Had to do it a couple of times over a 4 hour span but once going, it is working like a champ.

Unplug the refrigerator first,then Remove shelves and back inside cover from the freezer. Cut old bi-metal thermostat off and installed a new one. This fixed the problem. Ordered a new timer also which I didn,t need but installed it any way. On the fridge side ,top front, removed the knobs and cover, R&R timer, ins ... Read more talled cover and knobs. Pay close attention to the instructions on where to put the black wire on the new timer. My refrigerator works great now. This was easy to repair if you are handy with electrical and mechanical repairs, if not get some help.

I first poured water into the ice maker itself and it made ice, so knew the ice maker itself was working ok. Turned the water valve at the wall off, removed the inlet valve from the back of the fridge with a nut driver, disconnected the solenoid wires and disconnected the water supply line entering the inlet valve and turned the water sup ... Read more ply back on and found that the water was flowing ok out of the supply line. Reconnected the water line to the inlet valve and disconnected the water line going from the inlet valve to the ice maker and reconnected the wires to the solenoid on the inlet valve and found no water going through and so determined that the inlet valve/solenoid was faulty and easily replaced it. Note that an ohmeter check said the solenoid was ok, so it could have been that the filter screen inside the inlet valve was blocked. It's a sealed unit, so there was no way to take the screen out to check.

First I removed the cover plate over the cover over the thermostat, by snapping it out. Then I removed the four screws holding the cover over the thermostat in place. Next I removed the screw, which held the cover over the thermostat sensor. I then removed that cover and the unit, which exchanges air, flow between freezer and refrigerator ... Read more . I then removed the two screws, which held the thermostat in place. I then removed the thermostat with the sensor and the white tube, which covered it. Then I removed the white tube from the sensor.

To install the new thermostat I first inserted the thermostat sensor into the white tub. I lubricated the sensor with a very small dab of Vaseline. Then I placed the sensor unit in the unit, which exchanges air between refrigerator and freezer. I next reinstalled the unit, which exchanges air between refrigerator and freezer. Then I reinstalled the cover over the thermostat sensor. I then installed the thermostat with the two screws, which held it in place. Then I reinstalled the cover the thermostat with the four screws, which held it in place. Last I snapped the cover plate in place.

After removing all the food items from the door, I popped the plastic cover off of the hinge assembly located on the top of the door. With a fine point Sharpie pen , I marked the outline of around the hinge assembly so I could return it to original position. I then loosened each of the 3 bolts holding the hinge on just enough to allow ... Read more me to clear the pin of the hinge out of the hole in the door. Once the top was free of the hinge, I lifted the door off of the bottom hinge/pin assembly. My cam parts on the bottom hinge and door were either broken and/or partially missing. I removed the broken and worn pieces by removing each of the screws holding the top and bottom (of the bottom hinge assembly) cam pieces and installed the new ones using same screws. I then reversed the steps and slid the bottom of the door back onto the bottom hinge assembly and then lifted the top hinge enough to allow the hinge pin to slid back into the hole on top of the door. Positioned the hinge so it matched the outline and tightened the 3 bolts. I checked the closing and made a slight adjustment to door as one of the shelves was hitting the interior as it tried to close. I did this by loosening the 3 bolts and pushing the door up and to the right (this door was on the right side of refrigerator). Tightened the bolts and reinstalled the hinge cover.
Pretty easy. My door cams were a little different so I didn't use all the parts in the kit. My shims were metal and did not move when I replace the cams so I didn't use anything in this repair except the 2 lower cam parts. I also put some grease/vaseline on the cams to lubricate them.
I figure the plastic cams just wore out over the years and all the heavy junk we put in the door shelves. I lived with this problem about 2 years before it donned on me that it was probably just a plastic piece or two that was broken or worn out.

Cleaning out the freezer took the longest time. Once the freezer was clean I turned off the freezer which did not deactivate the light in the freezer. This is a tight area to work in and not having to hold a flashlight made the job much easier. I then removed the shelf slider brackets for the 3 lower pullout drawers. The next step was ... Read more to remove the interior aluminum back panel (6 screws) which covers the evaporator motor and the coil. Before removing the 3 electric wires that are attached to the evaporator motor make sure the power is off to the motor. The removal of the motor was fairly straightforward and I would suggest removing the plastic fan blade first and then the connector wires. It helped knowing in advance that the plastic fan blade would come off with a little prying. Be careful when prying the fan off so that you don’t damage the plastic motor mount bracket. Once you have installed the motor I would suggest turning the freezer back on to make sure that the evaporator motor works before reinstalling the aluminum back panel and slider brackets.

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 po ... Read more wer 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.

I removed the ice maker which required removing 3 screws and then disconnecting the electrical plug. Once the ice maker was out, I removed the 3 screws that held the motor assembly to the unit.
I removed the motor, replacing it with the new one.
Plugged the power supply cord back in, replaced the unit with the 3 screws and with ... Read more in a few minutes the unit was receiving water and by the next day I had ICE. This saved me $50. for the service call, then another $25.00 installation fee when the part came in (had to be ordered) plus the markup on the motor (approx. $25.00) So I saved approx. $100. and only took about 30 min.

First I removed the 14.3 tons of freezer contents, closed the water valve, shut off the juice, and removed the freezer bins, the freezer door and the three screws that held the element in place. After bringing in 397 hand tools from my garage inventory, I loosened the unit and, after extensive evaluation, I finally disconnected the wiring ... Read more connector from its freezer rear wall connector counterpart. You ain't gonna believe the rest of my story--of total ineptitude by an experienced fix-it-yourself dummy.

I searched the internet for a replacement ice maker and found it at partselect.com. I called Sears to ask if I could add my refrigerator to my existing appliance repair account. Sears said sure--it would cost me only one arm, three toes and one grandchild. I abruptly declined their magnanimous offer—I don’t give up my arms and toes so easily.

I visited the local Maytag repair parts and service retailer, who advised they didn't do parts anymore. Expecting their repair price would be greater than Sears, I resorted to partselect.com. I called them to be assured what I was buying was not mistakenly a 747 Landing Gear. On the afternoon (West Coast) of 4/28/10, I ordered (via internet) one PS21215123 Ice Maker Assy. Much to my pleasant surprise, it arrived via FedEX on 4/30/10 (no freight charges to me).

My repair/replacement efforts were hampered by the effects of my right rotator cuff surgery a few months before and major left wrist surgery two months ago to remove fractured bones and torn ligaments.

Undaunted by my physical handicaps, I forged forward. After re-installing the unit, I turned the water supply and electricity back on. It was graveyard dead. I wisely then bought two bags of ice as an interim solution to the severe needs of my wife and me for our daily chilled evening cocktails. I removed the unit, checked it out and re-installed it. I bought two more bags of ice. All the while, I turned the water and electricity off and on as required by reasonable safety standards. High tediousness!

Several more home maintenance tasks then arose for Sergeant Super Fixer, but I returned to the ice maker problem on 4/8/10. Last chance--remove the device and insure there was no frozen ice in the inlet tube--or call the local partsless repairman. No ice found, but I did learn the wiring connector to the unit was awry--no contact! While explaining that to my wife, I realized the two upper mounting screws were intended to be partially installed into the freezer wall to accommodate the unit's slotted mounting holes! Then, tighten the screws. Oh my God! During my 143 installations and removals, I had installed those screws blindly--using the (handicapped) skills of my right and left hands without any benefit of direct eyesight.

I returned to my challenging project this morning (4/9/10), fully utilizing all the expertise I had gained yesterday. Fifteen minutes of amusing effort! Turn on the juice! Turn on the water!Two hours later, ice cubes were dropping into the bin like rhinoceros bisquits in the jungle.

Hallelujah! I now am free for the next challenge!

HINT: Put a bed pillow (an old one, or your wife's) in the freezer compartment to soften the harshness of its cold metal on your back, if you use the "crawl in on your back" approach.

1. turn off power.
2. pop off ice maker cover to access motor assembly.
3. remove three screws to assembly.
4. pull off assembly.
5. attach new assembly making sure metal arm and plastic
ice tray rod align with assembly.
6. screw assembly onto unit.
7. replace cover.
8. plug in refrigerator ... Read more .
9. enjoy ice again with no leakage into freezer.

open ice maker door, use mirror to view slot in front of ice maker, slip piece in place and done

We weren't sure if the problem was in the Water Inlet Valve or in the Icemaker Control & Motor Assembly. The water in the door did work. We removed the Water Inlet Valve & tested it with an Ohm Meter. It tested good so we put it back in. We then ordered the Icemaker Control & Motor Assembly. When it arrived we installed it and waited ... Read more a few hours but the icemaker still did not fill with water. We telephoned a parts store and were told the problem could be the thermostat or we could replace the whole icemaker. We replaced the whole icemaker.

Unplug the refrigerator. Remove face plate located in the upper back of the refrigerator compartment. Remove face place bracket on the right using nut driver. Removing these screws also frees the metal case enclosing the Defrost Timer. Pull the case away from the back of the refrigerator exposing the Defrost timer. Remove the electri ... Read more cal plug from the Defrost Timer. Then remove the Defrost Timer from the case by removing the two screws securing it. Reverse the procedure to install the new Defrost Timer.

1. Unplug refrigerator to remove power!
2. The timer is inside the control housing located at the top of the refrigerator compartment.
3. Remove two control knobs (the pull off).
4. Remove the front panel escutcheon. The panel is not held in place with screws, but can be gently pried off.
5. Remove two screws from the ... Read more back that hold the housing in place.
6. Remove screws from the front that hold the housing in place.
7. Drop housing down (still attached by wires - do not detach). Timer is inside housing, located on right.
8. Follow the instructions provided to identify your particular wiring setup. You'll find the wiring diagram (on my model) at the bottom of the refrigerator, alongside the defrost catch pan, behind the airflow grille.
9. Remove connector from timer terminals (4).
10. Remove two screws/nuts that hold the timer in place.
11. Install replacement timer following included directions. Read and follow ALL instructions applicable to your particular model and wiring setup.
12. Reassemble by reversing the steps above.
13. Note: You may need to "jog" the replacement timer when you first plug the refrigerator back in, if the timer happens to be in a "defrost cycle" (the compressor won't start). This can be done by inserting a wide bladed screwdriver into the hole below the timer, aligning it with the timer shaft, and slightly turning the shaft CW. Don't force it, and don't turn it very far.