WRS23MW3AWS Crosley Refrigerator - Instructions

In my specific appliance the water valve is located in the bottom right hand corner looking at it from the back. To get to it I remove the thin layer of cardboard the covers the back of the fridge. I then proceeded to disconnect the 1/4" copper tubing which is the water feed coming out of the wall. Then I removed the screws that hold the valve assembly in place. I took the water valve out and removed the electrical connections as well as the plastic tubing which feed the water dispenser and the ice maker. To install the new water valve it was just a matter of reversing steps.

Used pliers to remove the residual broken stud that was still attached to the wall of the refrigerator, and then just pushed the new part in place. The longest time was spent in removing the food and crisper drawers.

Even though my wife said that our icemaker broke, there was actually nothing wrong with it. It was the valve that let water flow in during the 'harvest' cycle.
A real easy way to test the icemaker without voltage and current measurements, is to fill the tray by hand with a little cup of water; wait till the water freezes and see if the maker dumped the ice into the bin.

Unplugged the refrigerator. Removed the 4 hex head screws on the lower back panel at the back of the freezer. Used a blow dryer to defrost the pipes and area surrounding the thermostat. Unplug the connection from the back of the freezer, unplug the 2 wires, one that goes to the heater, one that comes from power. Unclip the thermostat from the pipe and note which pipe you unclipped it from. Cut the wires on the old thermostat midway between the plugs and the sensor. Using the supplied butt connectors, strip the wire ends on color matched wires (should be a dark blue or black) and crimp them together. Repeat with the other wire. Discard the white shrink wrapping. I wasn't able to get it small enough with a hair dryer or lighter. Plug the thermostat back into it's respective plugs. Clip the thermostat back onto the pipe you removed it from. Replace the back panel with the four screws. Ensure the bottom of the panel is set inside of the drip tray. Replace any shelving you removed. Plug the refrigerator back into the wall. Your done!

Unplugged faulty ice maker, removed two screws holding it to the refrigerator and took it out. Reversed the operation with the new ice maker and after a few minutes presto, we have ice.

I had two problems, the first was that water was dripping from the through the door outlet and the second problem is that the ice maker wasn't making ice.

Replacing the water valve was a simple process:

1. Turn off the water to the fridge at the household shutoff valve.
2. Move the fridge away from the wall.
3. Unplug the mains power (AC) plug from the wall power outlet.
4. Remove the 5 screws with a nut driver that hold the cardboard backing off the refrigerator.
5. (This is a great time to vacuum off the coils and underside of the fridge.) Disconnect the water supply from household plumbing with a box end wrench or channel lock pliers. I kept a large plastic cup and rag handy for the left over water in these hoses.
6. Remove the two screws from the water valve bracket on the right hand side and pull the water valve straight back from the fridge and line up the new valve in the same orientation.
7. Remove all the color coded electrical connectors (3 of them) and attach them to the new water valve.
8. Remove the remaining water hoses and attach them to the corresponding connectors on the new valve.
9. Dispose of the old valve and reinstall the new valve in reverse order.

The problem with the ice maker not making ice was because water was flowing so slowly from the valve that it was stopping in the fill tube at the back of the freezer and freezing stopping all water flow into the ice maker. I pulled the fill tube out of the back of the freezer from behind by rotating it 45 degrees counter clockwise and pulling straight out removing the ice blockage and drying the fill tube before I reinstalled.

Since I replaced the valve I had to take the cover off of the icemaker and set the water fill level down (screw toward the minus sign) and then adjusted it by checking the ice after each time it dropped and increasing the fill amount by 1 full turn (roughly 0.7 ounces) until it was just enough to make fully formed ice cubes.

removed screws,removed broken parts and installed new parts.

we researched the internet with our symptoms and most sites said it was the thermostat. At $800+ for a new refrigerater, we decided to order the thermostat. Found schematics on the net, the thermostat was located in teh freezer compartment . Unplugged, removed food from freezer, removed the bottom shelf in freezer, and the back panel It was EASY to find. Cut 2 wires, replaced with new thermostat. DONE! The new thermostat came with new connecters.

pulled fridge from wall, removed card board cover, unplug the fridge. turn the water off to the fridge. remove the water source from fridge first then remove 2 screws that hold the valve. then the wire plugs. hoses.. they were color coded.

First I pulled the fridge out and unplugged it. Then I removed the drip tray at the bottom of the water and ice dispenser. This exposed three screws that held the frame of the dispenser mechanism to the freezer door. I removed the three screws and lifted it up a little and I could pull it out and tip it to get at the inside of the dispenser mechanism. I could pull the whole mechanism out a bit, but I was afraid to pull it out too far for fear of unplugging something and tearing or breaking a wire. The water dispenser actuator piece has two round plastic "pins" on either side to allow the actuator to rock back and forth. These "pins" are held in place in a round channel by two metal plates which were in turn held in place by two screws. When I tried to take out these retaining plates, I dropped one of the screws in the dispenser mechanism. I had to fish it out with a magnet. By the way, the plates did not respond to a magnet, so when I dropped one of these, I had to use needle-nosed pliers to fish it out. It took a while, but I finally got the old actuator out and out the new one in and carefully re-attached the retaining plate with their respective screws and re-attached the little spring to the actuator. Before I put it back together, I cleaned off the little door to the ice dispenser. It looked a little crudded up and I just wiped it off with some damp Q-tips. I then put the dispenser mechanism back on to the freezer door, put the screws back, slid the drip tray back, plugged it in and it (surprisingly) works fine. Looking back, I probably should have bought a part for the ice dispenser, too, and replaced that at the same time.

When cleaning the coils on your refrigerator always remember rule number 1, unplug it first. I was cleaning the coils and hit the fan blade while it was moving with a brush, thus breaking off one of the fan blades. I ordered a new fan and installed it in about 15 minutes. Very easy repair.

Repair was very easy - and to my great delight, they have replaced the old-style compression fittings with PEX push-fittings. You just clip the old compression ring and nut off the tubing and insert the tubing firmly into the fitting. SNAP! VOILA! PEX fittings are the greatest things since sliced bread. I used it to plumb my new house.

When I first noticed that my refrigerator coil was iced up, I read a little bit about the defrost cycle of a refrigerator. I decided to try replacing the least expensive parts first. First I tried the defrost themostat, it was a very easy repair. My coil still froze up after a couple of days. Then I learned how to force my fridge into a defrost mode (on a frigidaire you just click the light button in the fridge 5 times in under 6 seconds). Then I noticed that the defrost heater was not heating up...this repair was more difficult. You have to first remove the two shelves, bin, and tracks. Then you remove the back panel...4 screws. Then you have to take out a couple of screws and drill out one rivet on the drain pan and pull the drain pan out so you can get the defrost heater which snakes up through the coil from the bottom of the coil. Be careful, as the drain pan and coil fins are very sharp, I sliced a couple fingers messing around with these parts. The defrost heater itself is relatively easy to put in once the coil is in the right position (there are videos on youtube on how to do this). After I put in the new heating element, and buttoned everything back up, I was excited to check my work...I forced the fridge into defrost by clicking the light switch 5 times, and the heater still didn't come on! It dawned on me that this problem started about 5 days after a major power outage (hurricane Irene)...When the power came on, it must have surged, and zapped the defrost control board...Long story short, I replaced the control board (about $75.00 from partselect.com) and my problem is fixed...at least I have a 100% brand new defrost system now...Of course it won't be too long until my wife wants another fridge to match her Stainless Steel applicances...oh well, this one will do fine in the garage.

turned off water supply at water line to fridge. removed two hex head screws @ bottom of rear of appliance that hold the water valve in place.
Simply moved color coded elect. plugs from old one to new one, same with water lines. Only difference is, the replacement one I got uses push in water lines and my original was compression fit. No problem though, just cut the nipple off of original line going into new valve and you are good to go. Might want to have an extra 1/'4" brass compression washer though for the one remaining line. Whole process I did on my lunch break at home less than 30 minutes.
Only problem though was nothing changed. Spoke with service man over the phone and he said MOST of the time it is water freezing up in the inlet tube top of machine, inside. Remove water line from rear outside on top behind freezer and with a straw try to blow through, if it is froze it will not go through. Mine did not go through. Used hair dryer inside freezer in back on incoming line 5-10 minutes,thawed out, makes ice. Go figure. Changing valves was easy and well described as stated, just not necessary in my case, but now I know. Thanks, Warren in Iowa

To access the part you have to remove the back panel of the freezer compartment from the inside of the freezer itself. There are four screws to this panel. I emptied the contents of the freezer, took of 2 shelves and brackets to gain access and removed the cover. Located the part , cut the wires with a wire cutter and left a small tail ....MAKE SURE TO UNPLUG REFRIG OF COURSE ... the part is clipped on the coils , added the new part. matched the color wires and added the connectors , crimped the wires and added a little electrical tape and put the panel and shelves back. THE REFRIG IS WORKING LIKE A CHARM