RY495111 Maytag Refrigerator - Instructions

Interior surface of ice tray felt rough & flaky (coating deteriorated) so cubes would not release.
Unplug appliance.
Remove timer cover by hand pressure @ edge.
Remove single attachment screw & bracket at lower front of icemaker.
Disconnect wiring harness from socket @ rear of compartment.
Tricky part was determining what type of connection held the other two attachment points along the long edge of the icemaker. I did not have repair manual or useful drawing but looked @ PartsDirect pic of side brackets & used a small mirror to confirm that mine were also some sort of "snap in" attachment.
Remove icemaker unit by pushing upward and outward on the unit. I takes a good bit of pressure and will pop loose, but be careful not to break attachment bracket from freezer wall.
Scavenge shut off bar and wiring harness from old icemaker once you have it out & attach to new one before installing it back in freezer.
Again, you might find a mirror useful to align those pesky snap-in brackets with the new unit.
Since you probably kept your freezer running while waiting for the part, the plastic snap-ins will be cold and brittle. I warmed them up first by applying a dampened cloth heated in the microwave to make them a little more pliable.
A good push of the new unit towards the snap-ins along with some upward force will get it stable.
Reattach the metal screw in bracket & connect the wiring harness to rear plug... and don't forget to plug the whole thing back in.
It will take awhile for the first batch of cubes dump as the timer may need to cycle completely around to get to the fill cycle... be patient.
Dump the first couple of batches of cubes just to make sure you're free of any residue.

My ice maker has been shedding its non-stick coating for over a year. Within the last month of so, it started pouring water into the ice bucket below, turning it into a solid mass of ice. So I purchased a new ice maker assembly. I encountered two problems not mentioned in the 21 or so do-it-yourselfer repair stories that precede this one. First problem: one of the three screws that hold the ice maker to the refrigerator wall is hidden behind the large (black) end of the ice maker and is difficult to access. Before trying to replace the ice maker, make sure you have the physical dexterity to remove that screw. Second problem: it is not apparent how to remove the wire harness that plugs into the ice maker assembly. BEFORE you can remove the wire harness, you MUST remove the large white cap that covers the black end of the ice maker assembly and then push in a retaining tab to release the wire harness. If you don't do this, the wire harness will not release. Other than those two problems, it was relatively easy to remove three screws, unplug the wire harness, transfer three small, metal parts from the old ice maker to the new, plug in the new wire harness, mount the ice maker assembly so that the water tube is in the proper position, and then re-install the three screws. The ice maker works fine now. (P.S. I was told by an expert that the real problem might be a malfunctioning fill valve. I would have replaced the fill valve if replacing the ice maker assembly had not fixed the problem.)

I used a flat-head screwdriver to pop out the old light rocker switch. Then, I unplugged the wires, plugged them into the new light rocker switch, and then popped the new switch into the hole. That's it! Lights began working again.

Installed new ice maker. It was easy - loosen two screws and unplug old wire harness. Put new unit in place. Did not realize new unit would not come with wire harness, but transferred old one to new ice maker (easy) and, "voila" some ice in 24 hours -- much ice since then. I am a 68 year old woman and it was "sort of fun" doing this job.

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 cracked 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.

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 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.

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.

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 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.

The lid that covers the front of the lower meat / produce drawer hinges upward on two small ( easily broken) plasic pins, one on each side of the drawer. One pin is moulded into each "END CAP" that also supports the drawer glides and glass shelf above. The entire end cap must be replaced to repair the hinge. The left side is easy (it's the only one I had to replace); the right side might be more difficult because the right end cap includes a temperature control.
1) Remove the two produce drawers above the lower drawer.
2) Lift off the front glass shelf support, the glass shelf, and the rear glass shelf support from below the two produce drawers.
3) Slide the lower drawer half way out. Remove the drawer lid by disengaging it from the remaining undamaged hinge pin on the OK end cap. Careful not to break the good one.
4) Slide the lower drawer all the way out, then lift up and towards you to remove it from its glides.
5) Using a 1/4" nutdriver or socket, remove the three recessed screws. Leave the drawer glide alone for now.
6) Pull the front of the end cap up and towards you about 3/4" to disengage it from a small retainig button at the top front. Pull the end cap toward you to disengage the two rear retaining fingers.
7) Using a small Phillips screwdriver, remove the drawer glide from the broken end cap and attach it to the replacement end cap. Note which end is the front before removing it.
8) Reassemble in reverse order. Again, be careful with the hinge pins.

Perhaps a helpful hint:

When aI received the hose adapter/connector, I inserted the 2 hose ends only to have water drip from the connection.
I used a utility knife to remove an inch from each side, then reinserted the hoses. That made the differnce. Dry as a bone.

LG

Ordered a new filter cover, received in 2 days and installed it in about 5 minutes. Worked perfectly.

Once I saw the replacement part I understood how to pry out the switch with a small screwdriver. Then just unplug the old one, plug in the new one and pop it into place.

The PartSelect site made it easy to correctly identify the correct part, it was inexpensive, and the shipping was fast.

I'm very pleased!

Remove the light cover. Use a flat head screw driver to push in the tabs on the back of the program mount and pull down to expose the computer board. The Thermistor is clipped on under the vent holes on the right side. Cut both wires to remove the old thermistor strip a 1/4 inch off the remaning wires and the new thermistor wires twist both ends together crimp on the wire caps snap in the new thermistor reinstall the program board until the retainer clips snap into place, slide the light cover back on.

Unpacked, inspected, found two minor defects in the form of two tiny slivers along the seal edge which I cut with a small scissor, laid the seal down on the kitchen table, applied heat to the deformed areas and reshaped them with my fingers, heated the entire seal lightly, removed the old seal starting at the right hand upper corner using my fingers, installed the warm seal starting at the top corners by pushing it in its slot making sure the outer lip stayed out of the slot and worked my way around. I believe that the heat from the dryer made it pliable and easier to manage.

First I removed the Ice bin, I then loosened the ice bin rail under the ice maker and removed the screw that attached the bottom of the ice maker to the side of the fridge. I unplugged the power to Ice Maker from the back of the fridge and unscreewed the two screws that secured the ice maker to the fridge. This allowed the Ice Maker to be removed from the fridge. To replace the new ice maker I simply repeated the steps in reverse.