ATB2 Refrigerator - Instructions

Removed all screws on the door that retained weatherstripping, removed weatherstripping and inside of door. Inserted new weatherstripping, lined up inside of door and loosely re-installed screws. After minor alignment adjusting, went back and tightened all screws. Replacement part was a perfect fit.

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.

remove back lower panel using nutdriver. Locate and remove Relay and Overload parts from side of Compressor which were located inside a small white box shaped cover unti held on by a spring clip. Attach new Relay and overload to 3 pin terminals on side of compressor. Attach 1 white & 1 orange/white wire to relay terminals. Attach supplied ... Read more white jumper wire to Overload and other end to Blue wire. Instal new cover supplied with kit replacing old box type cover.

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.

First of all, let me say that I'm a 50 year old single woman. If I can do this repair, anyone can! After unscrewing the back of the unit that houses the compressor, I found the relay overload switch which is attached to the compressor. I pulled the part off and discovered that it comes in one piece. The replacement part came in 3 piec ... Read more es. I intially thought they sent the wrong part. After a little thinking outside of the box, I figured out that the replacement part was indeed the correct part and that it comes in 3 pieces instead of one. It would have taken 5 minutes to repair if I had realized this early on. Once replaced, the refrigerator/freezer was cooling within 10 min. I sent the Run Capacitor back after telephoning a customer service rep. She was so courteous and helpful! What a fabulous company. I highly recommend. I saved myself approx. $250.00 doing it myself.

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.

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 ... Read more 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.

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.

To make instalation much easier, I removed the door and layed it on a table. I then remobved about 45 screws,removed the inner door section, removed the seal and installed new seal in reverse order being careful not to over tighten the screws. Having the door lying on the table made it much easier to place the gasket in place and make any ... Read more minor adjustments. I then replaced the door and everything workes just fine.

rmv panel (5min) rmv fan/motor 3 screws (10 m) cut wire 2in from motor, re route remainder of wire to front so can strip for wire nuts. ( 10m) attach old fan to new motor, place in old opening ,3 screws, a little fussy to align, ( 15m ) route and strip wire from new motor , zip ties work well, wire nuts , plug in fridge vola, no noise, c ... Read more lose up, reverse panel. ( 20m). i also took time to clean grilles with small vac and damp rag, ( looks and sounds like new) bob Wi.

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 ... Read more 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.

Pull out old module...
Remove 2 wires...
Tape to inside wall [don't want them to fall down into side panel]..

Order new switch..

Fed Ex pkg came on 2nd day..

Install wires on switch...
Press into opening...
Check door light on..[OK]
.. Done

If the fan blade needs replacement you will hear a loud noise coming from the refrigerator while the refrigerator cycles on. It will go away when it cycles off. (Note: in many cases you only need to replace the fan blade and retaining clip. Purchase both parts together. I thought I could use my old clip just to find out that the fan b ... Read more lade design changed and the old retaining clip would not work.)

NOTE: My refrigerator has an ice maker. delete the steps for the ice maker if you do not have one.

- I call the evaporator cover the back panel.
- I call the tunnel assembly the fan cover.

1) Empty contents of freezer - Only freezer. (Note: leave refrigerator section alone) Remove wire rack by lifting and pushing in one side to free the other side. It may be a bit of a struggle but the holes that the wire rack sit in are recessed in the middle to allow removal. (Look at other wire rack holes to see where the holes exist.)

2) Set dial in refrigerator to "OFF" then unplug refrigerator (safety first)

3) Remove one screw below the ice maker holding the ice maker to the side of the cabinet.

4)Push up on ice maker - Slide Ice maker up and dismount from mounting bolts.

5) Once the ice maker is dismounted you will expose the ice maker wiring harness - Unplug ice maker harness from rear panel.

6) Remove ice maker.

7) Remove ice maker mounting bolt closest to rear of refrigerator to facilitate removal of back panel.

8) Remove 4 screws on back panel and slide panel toward you.

9) Un-clip wiring harness attached to back panel that serves the ice maker (this protrudes from the back panel.) and push it through the back panel -

10) Lay panel down and unclip fan housing (Tunnel Assembly) from back of panel (Evaporator Cover) (note other instructions will tell you to remove this before the back panel. I found it easier this way. (Note the fan is attached to the back panel (Evaporator Cover).

11) After the fan cover is un-clip it hinges from the top. Lift panel - unhinge fan cover and expose fan.

12) The fan has a clip on the end that looks like a compressed wire spring. Pry off with a flat tip screw driver.

13) Pull fan blades towards you and remove from motor shaft.

14) Inspect shaft and wipe it off.

15) Press new fan blade assembly on shaft with you fingers. you will be able to see the shaft from the front of the fan blade as the fan blades have a split in hub area. Seat the fan blade on the shaft as far as it will go.

16) Install new fan blade clip (I used a flat screw driver and pushed it on the fan blade by working different sides of the spring (be careful).

17) Reassemble in reverse order.

I hope this helps. The job is reasonably easy for the novice and will save on a repairman coming out to install a fan blade and clip which is really a 15 minute job for the professional.

Very pleased with the delivery time. Was able to repair the refrigerator before the beer got hot. Replacement was easy.
Removed blower housing. Replaced motor. Put blower housing back in place.

I unplugged the power cord. Then, I removed the housing at the inside-top of the refrigerator by removing the two screws that hold it in place. This exposed the defrost timer. I removed two clips that hold the timer in pace. Then unplugged and removed the old timer, and plugged-in and secured the new timer. Then, screwed the housing ... Read more back to the top of the refrigerator. Just be careful, I partially broke the tops off the two pins that slide through the timer's body (when attempting to removed the clips that sit on the pins). Not a big deal, as the timer will remain in place without the top of the pins. Next time, I would cut the clips using diagonal cutters.