MBJ51C Kenmore Refrigerator - Instructions

Bought ice maker and new harness. Had to buy harness because of water damage. Took out the three screws that attached the ice maker and removed old leaky ice maker. Detached old harnees. Attaced new harness to new ice maker and put on back on with the three screws. Had ice in about 30 minutes. So easy to do!

When that one came and I went to install it, I found that my fridge was so old (almost 30 years) that the wire harness on the old icemaker could not be transferred to the new one. The old one was hand wired into the guts of the machine with wire nuts and other connectors. The new unit needs a plug in harness to match a plug connection on the ice maker. Also, the bent wire arm that senses ice bin levels was different, old unit hooked in with clips and such, new one pops into a socket in the new ice maker.

I called PartSelect back again, and the clerk spent a lot of time in the books (no parts in the online listings) and found new style connector and wire arm. Another 25 dollars and problem is solved.

Once those parts came, the actual installation was a breeze. Remove three screws, unplug the ice maker from the back wall of the fridge, plug new wire harness into new ice maker and the back wall of the frige, install new ice maker with the same three screws, pop the new style bent wire arm into place and pop the plastic cover from the old ice maker onto the front of the new one. Done! Took me ten minutes (plus two weeks of chasing parts, but only half an hour of actual time in those two weeks).

I let it make a couple of loads of ice that I disposed of (to capture any dust and crud that might have been on or in the new ice maker) and then turned it loose. We had a nice full bin of ice in the morning.

Unplug fridge, unpluged fan motor from plug socket, removed bracket screws, removed fan retainer clip from shaft. removed screws holding fan to bracket

There are 3 screws holding the icemaker in place. After removing the ice bucket, I removed the screws, then twisted the unit to gain access to the power plug. The plug is held in place by a plastic flap which is part of the connector. It has to be pushed down to remove the connector. The new unit went in perfectly and performed flawlessly for 3 days until the compressor blew out! After feeling some sense of accomplishment having fixed the icemaker, I learned that my neglecting to clean the vent grill in the front of the refrigerator had caused its demise. Don't forget to clean the dust out of the vents!

This was a very easy fix. I took the old ice maker out, including the electrical harness. Switched the harness and stop bar to the new ice maker on my bench, then installed the new assembly. Ice initially had some hollow cubes. I checked the ice maker for level. But it was fine. Thought it might be moving too fast. But it seems to have cleared up. Perhaps it took some time to completely cool down.

removed screws, pulled element out, and put new element in

Removed top drawer from freezer. Unplugged the ice maker. Uncrewed the bottom screw. Loosened the two top screws. Removed old ice maker. Removed all the parts that didn't come with the new ice maker and installed on new ice maker. Reinstalled the new ice maker. Started making ice with no leaks in about 3 hours.

Ordered new single outlet water valve, received in less than two days. Removed old one, and the repair pretty much feel in place. Instructions were there as a backup. ........ Just curious if the connection from the water source to the valve outlet connection could b a quick connect just the like the water line going directly to the ice maker. Gregg in PA.

I watched the video regarding the instillation of this ice maker a few times and then followed it exactly. It was incredibly easy. We had ice cubes about two hours later and no longer had a leak making icebergs!

I watched the repair video on the web site a couple of times just to get comfortable with what to expect. (i.e. pressing tabs on wiring harness to remove, placement of lift arm for removal and installation) These instructions were a big help...I had the removal, modifications and installation completed in less than 30 minutes. Ice cubes (without the extra icicles) in 1 hour...

Reattaching the kickplate clip was easy, but the tab that holds in place was broken. It would slide back when the kickplate was installed. I fashioned a replacement tab out of a piece of 3/32 aluminum bent into a U with the hammer. To hold it in place I drilled and tapped one hole and used a 6-32 machine screw.

Replaced Icemaker

Five minutes with a phillips screw driver and the cube maker was changed. . . In the process, I failed to unplug the unit, and shorted the fill valve in the back. Again, five minutes with a nut driver and it was changed. No need for a PHD or the cost of a service technician for either job.

I disconnected power, turned off water supply, removed three hexhead screws, disconnected wiring harness plug, then reversed procedure. New icemaker seens to be a little slower in making cubes. However, the cubes are clean, perfect shape and THEY DO NOT CONTAIN ANY OF THE BLACK COATING AS THE OLD ICE MAKER CAUSED. THIS WAS A FAIRLY SIMPLE TASK.

Very easy to install the new ice maker. Removed the bottom screw holding the ice maker to the side of the freezer. Loosened the top two screws. The old ice maker came off just like that. Unplugged the power supply from the freezer and removed the whole apparatus.

I saved the wiring harness, screws, cover, and metal arm from the old ice maker. Installed these on the new one and mounted the new ice maker in the freezer. Done.

The only issue I had was that the water supply hose got kinked when I pushed the fridge back into place. Once that was resolved, the new ice maker started happily making ice.