KSSS42DAX01 KitchenAid Refrigerator - Instructions

Unplugged refrigerator. Used nut driver to remove small bolt retaining wire cover on right side of ice maker. Removed wire cover, used flat head screw driver to depress side-rail clips. Ice maker slid out, unplugged. Timer module cover pops off easily. Three screws removed the timer module. Installation was reverse of removal. Had ice in less than an hour, bin was full by next morning. If you have a screw driver and know what it's for, this job should come easily.

Be advised that to do this job, you have to take the ice tray and feeder assembly completely apart. The only tricky part is that the nut, part 31 in the drawing, that holds everything together is reverse threaded. Since it's plastic, you're afraid you'll break it. If you know it's reverse threaded to begin with you can go ahead and apply the required force to get it off.

tested bulb good ,replaced door switch first(least expensive)then ordered light socket and circuitboard.If clicking sound is heard replace circuitboard first to save on return shipping because the switch and socket where ok

part arrived within 24 hours.
1. remove plastic front of freezer door water and ice dispenser by looking at bottom edge of plastic for two slots within which to place a stiff scraper blade. very difficult to pop loose and very fragile plastic so take care not to break it. it just pops off two spots on the bottom side and hangs from the top no screws or anything.
2. remove the two screws holding the water dispenser spout in place. oh yeah don't forget to turn the water off.
3. this is a long plastic water tube that runs from the dispenser thru a plastic tube channel set in the solid foam core of the door thru the bottom hinge and connects to the water inlet junction.
a. this replacement must be pulled from the dispenser area thru the door and out the bottom but it will not fit without cutting off the end of the spout. the hole in the hinge that it passes thru at the bottom of the door is to tight to allow anything other than the thickness of the tubing.
b. pull the spout end of the tubing upward after disconnecting at the bottom in front behind the air grill. if it moves freely you are in luck - if it does not move freely then it is taped in place on the back of the dispenser area and now that whole assembly has to be unscrewed from the front of the freezer door in order to remove the tape so that the tubing can be pulled thru.
4. once the tubing pulls easily as short distance in either direction it is time to attach the new tubing to the old tubing and pull it out the bottom of the door. i tried to use tape but it pulled off when i got to the door hinge on the bottom and it would not fit thru the hinge.
a. on my model even one layer of tape would not fit thru the hinge. so i put some bricks under the freezer door to hold it up and removed the bottom hinge off of the tubing that was disconnected only a short distance away.
5. use tape or place a screw with the head removed into both the old tubing and the new tubing so it can be pulled from the bottom moving the new tubing into place.
mine broke off in the middle of this process and i had to remove the freezer door. take it completely apart to expose the conduit the tubing slides thru, then run an electrical fish tape thru the conduit and drag the new tubing thru, not a fun process but doable - just takes a bunch of extra time.
6. once the tubing was out the bottom i could then simply thread it thru the hinge easily and reassemble everything.

I unplugged the fridge. Loosened the 2 top screws on the ice maker and removed the lower screw. I disconnected the wiring harness and removed the Ice maker. I removed the plastic timer cover in front. I then loosened the screws on the face of the ice maker and removed the broken ice stripper and replaced it with a new one. Re-tightened the screws on the face, installed the timer cover, plugged in the wiring harness, re-attached the ice maker. Plugged the fridge back in and walla, it was making ice in 30 minutes!

removed screws that held the ice maker in place, then removed the cover (popped off) The drive element was easy to remove, three screws and it was out. I put in the new part and reinstalled the icemaker with the three screws that hold it in place. I never call Sears for any repair. They use contract help and I have heard horror stories about those guys!

Turn off water supply too ice maker and unplug the fridge power. using a nut driver remove one bottom screw from the bottom, near the front. The other two from the side atop the ice mold. (loosen screws and ice maker will lift up and off.)
I set the ice maker on the counter, snapped of the front cover by hand. using a phillips driver, remove two screws near the bottom corners.(they go through the circuit board into the ice mold)
circuit board in one hand, other end of ice mold in the other, slowly pull apart about 1 inch. remove the silver colored "on, off" bar at the end by snapping the retainer out of the ice mold. (the silver bar stays with the circuit board end)
Watch how the ice guide(white fingers stationary on side of ice mold) hooks too the ice mold on each end. swap ice guide to new ice mold, insert three guide pins on end into holes on the circuit board, while holding ice guide onto ice mold, watch rotation bar while inserting into motor.(it only splines one way.) when each piece is lined up, simply push together and reinstall two screws. snap circuit board cover into place. reinstall ice maker into freezer in reverse order.

Took off door to ice maker. Unscrewed 1 nut. Slid out unit. Unplugged electrical connector. Unsrewed 3 nuts from bottom of old unit & attached mounting bracket to new unit. Reconnected electric connector. Slid back in. Put screw back in. Put icemaker door back on. Turned icemaker on. Ice in 20 minutes!

ridiculous how a tiny plastic broken part required a full motor assembly replacement. that being said, i went online, found this website and easily identified the part i needed to order. i was impressed when it arrived within a couple of days. removing the old motor and replacing the new was a piece of cake...and i am NOT mechanically inclined,

Cut off old nozzle. Tried electricians tape to join the old and new tubing for fishing, but tube with tape on it, wouldn't fit through hole in hinge at bottom of door. Fished nylon twine through new tube then old tube from dispenser end and was able to feed old tube out and new tube in. Fast and easy. Took more time to clean all the dust and dirt I found down under, than to make the repair.

I called the local Amana repair man, wanted $150 for a new ice maker because they could not get the part I needed. Found Partsselect.com and the part cost $17 with shipping. They saved me over $100. The repair was very easy too, just removed a couple of screws.

Thanks,
Matt

The hardest part of this job was removing the front cover over the water and ice dispensing unit.

Step 1: remove front cover by inserting flat head screwdriver into one of small slots on the bottom side of the cover. Push up firmly, but not too hard (don't beak the plastic cover). As you are pushing up, slightly pry the bottom edge away from refrigerator door. Then, do the same for the other side.
Step 2: Now with both edges slghtly pried away for door, you will now need to use your hands and apply an upward pressure on the cover. (Understand that there are three tabs on the top side of the cover that must come about 1/4" out of slots on the top side of the door.) Try wiggling the cover, while applying upward pressure. You may find the door handle restricting one of the tabs, but you can slide the cover to the side to get it out.
Step 3: with the cover removed, now you can use the nut driver to remove the one (1) screw that holds the mechanism in place. Be sure to see how it fits over the dispensing lever.

Step 4: Install the new delay mechanism by inserting the prong over the dispensing lever and seat into place. Insert screw and tighten.
Step 5: ensure that you installed the device properly by actuating the ice dispenser. If everything is OK, proceed to next step. If not, make sure you installed it correctly.
Step 6: Reinstall front cover by insering the three upper tabs into slots at the top of the dispensing area. Apply downward pressure with your hands, then push the bottom side of the cover in. You should hear them snap into place.
Step 7: Dispense ice into a glass, add water, and enjoy your finsihed project

First of all it's nice to have an exploded view of the ice/water dispenser.
First remove the trim around the ice'water dispenser by carfully prying the bottom out and popping the trim up to release the top.
Remove the 2 screws that hold the light switch and light, move out and to the right, do not disconnect.
Remove the 2 hex screws that hold the old arm in place. This will allow the arm to drop down so you can remove the arms' ice guide.
The arm has a spring for tension on the right side. Remove it and retain.
Above the water dispenser is a screw that holds the ice door closer spring, remove this screw and slide out the spring loaded closer
Loosen the right screw that holds the water dispenser, it is spring loaded.
You should now have room to remove the old ice dispenser arm.
Slide the new arm up into place behind the ice dispenser door
install the spring tensioner to the right side mount screw at the same time align it with the left side of the water dispenser arm. The ice dispenser arm and the water dispenser arm share this mount so both arms have to be in place in order for the arms to work properly.
Install the left mount and screw of the ice dispenser arm
Install the ice dispenser arm's ice guide using the screw removed earlier.
Next reinstall the Ice door tensioner spring and screw making sure the metal arm of the ice door is engaged in the slot of the tensioner.
Finally reinstall the screws to the light swithch and light bar and snap the trim back into place.

At age 65 I have never attempted to repair a refrigerator, until now. It took longer than needed because I did not read these articles carefully. Please note that when you open the door and the light blinks twice, waits a second and blinks again, the optics are working fine. I ordered an emitter and receiver when I didn't need to. I sent it back, the money was refunded, and ordered the ice maker. I replaced the old icemaker by removing three screws and slipping it out of its holder.

Here is how I found out I needed the new ice maker. I took the supply line apart that runs down the back of the refrigerator. I blew through it without any trouble. This told me that the line was not frozen within the refrigerator. I put the supply line back together, and jumped the solenoid that was connected to the supply line at the bottom right of the refrigerator. My model is the side by side, so it has two solenoids. The solenoid that runs the water to the dispenser in the door was always running, so I knew if there was a problem it would be with the ice maker solenoid. So, how did I jump the solenoid. Kids, don't try this at home. I disconnected the wiring harness to the solenoid by pulling it straight out. Then I took the female end of an extension chord and placed a twelve two electrical wire with the ends stripped into the positive and negative slots. I then jumped the solenoid. Water ran to the ice maker, but there still wasn't any ice made. Since the optics and the solenoid were working it seemed to me that the ice maker wasn't doing it's part. There are easier ways to check the solenoid in this forum, but this worked for me. I saved a lot of money and the parts got here quickly.

I first had to identify the faulty part. I ohms checked the micro switch in the door. It was fine. I traced the wiring to the inlet valve at the bottom of the rear of the unit. I checked the voltage to the solenoids and it was good. After checking the schematics on the Whirlpool website, I determined the only possible faulty part was the inlet valve. I found the correct part here on PartSelect and ordered it. When the part arrived I changed out inlet valves by turning off the water supply, unplugging the refrigerator, removing the two inlet valve mounting screws, and disconnecting the wire terminals. The inlet water line was a 1/2" compression nut and the water and ice outlets were hand turn compression nuts. I reversed the removal steps to install the new valve, turned the water on, checked for leaks, plugged in the refrigerator, and the new valve worked perfectly. The feeling of accomplishing a DIY project was only topped by a happy wife who really didn't want to spend the money on a new fridge!