12001688 Maytag Ice Maker - Instructions

First I removed to ice-bucket and noticed the plastic that holds the motor with a head of what I would call a two-prong fork had broken off the plastic (enclosure). Thus it lost contact to the ice bucket's screw that pushes the ice forward when the dispense button is pressed. After ordering a new enclosure I had to remove one screw nut and pull the wire plug (to the motor) out carefully. Then I had to remove eight screws holding the motor and related parts to the old enclosure and attached it to the new enclosure. The only tricky part was taking that fork off. It screws off, but in the opposite way. Also, I had to get a pair of pliers to hold the turn shaft from turning when taking the fork off.

The motor had broken loose from the plastic enclosure, so I first unplugged the motor from the power supply in the rear of the freezer compartment in order to remove it from the freezer. I then removed the four screws which held the motor against the plastic enclosure. I also removed the screws which hold the plastic enclosure to the freezer compartment.

The most difficult part of the repair was removing the 2 pronged fork from the shaft of the motor as it was reversed threaded on the motor. I held the motor in place on while using two pair of pliers to remove the fork from the end of the motor shaft. I used one pair of pliers to hold the shaft in place while using the other pair of pliers to turn the fitting in the opposite direction.

Once this was off, it took only 5 minutes to reattach the motor to the new enclosure and place it back into the freezer. Total repair time was about 30 minutes because I had to figure out how to get the fork off of the motor shaft. Everything else went very smooth. The new part fit perfectly.

1. Removed ice bin.
2. Removed vertical panel next to ice bin by sliding two top supports off of support posts and pulling the panel out and up.
3. Removed screw on left side holding ice enclosure in place.
4. Pull ice enclosure out about six inches and tip back end down exposing electrical connector.
5. Detach the electrical connector by pressing the release tabs on the top and bottom of the connector.
6. Removed ice eclosure by pulling it up and out.
7. Detached motor (4 screws) and relay (4 screws) from plastic enclosure. Make sure to keep track of screw positions since they are not all the same size. Use same positions to reassemble.
8. Hold shaft of motor with needle nose vise grips and remove the "U" shaped end piece by turning it clockwise. A sharp rap with a screwdriver handle breaks it loose. Pay attention to the orientation of the washer under the "U" shaped piece (the raised inner edge next to the shaft goes against the "U" shaped piece.
9. Attach the motor and relay to the new ice enclosure paying attention to the screw position.
10. Put the washer on the motor shaft (raised side up) and screw on "U" shaped piece (counter-clockwise).
11. The rest of the installation is a reversal of the removal process.

I had to cut off the old yoke since the threads had stripped and it would not come off. Once I did that all I had to do was to remove 4 screws on the auger motor and replace it with the new auger motor. Then I put the yoke on the new auger motor shaft and then put the unit back in the freezer. Work time was less than 15 minutes with no problems.

Very easy to remove one screw holding the enclosuer, then unplug the wire harness, remove 4 screws holding the solinoid, and the 4 screws holding the auger motor. The hardest part was removing the auger from the shaft of the motor. this took most of the time. reassembly went very fast.

Part selects cataglog for parts selection was very easy to use and the online service and delivery was great.
When I got the part, it was not apparent on how to remove the auger so that I could insert the new connector. There were about about 8 visible screws, with star drive heads that I fortunately had a screwdriver that fit, and I could not tell if I had to remove all of them or only a couple.
I ended up removing all, but still could not separate the dispenser portion which held the front of the auger from the back of the ice bin. I finally figured out that the dispenser door trip lever had to be disconnected and I almost lost it when I removed the metal clip that attached it to the outside of the ice bin when the spring loaded lever tried to unwind. I managed to hold it in place, separate the dispenser holding the auger from the rest of the ice bin and replace the connector. I them got the pieces back in place and was able to refasten the spring loaded lever and then replace the screws.
If the spring loaded lever had unloaded, it would have been tricky to try to replicate the amount of turns (load) on the spring tension.

First I rolled the fridge out and unplugged the power cord. I then removed the ice bin. There was one screw to the left under the ice bin rack holding it in. After removing that screw, I could pull the rack out far enough to disconnect the electrical connector. You have to squeeze the wings b-4 you can pull the connector loose. I put the rack on the countertop, removed two screws and the solenoid with plunger came out. I replaced the old solenoid, put everything back together, and realized I probably just saved myself $300. My Wife thinks I'm a Hero again. It works fine now.

The driver that turns the screw broke off the ice enclosure. I removed the side panel, removed one screw underneath the enclosure, unclipped the wire harness and removed the entire enclosure.

I did one unnecessary step and removed the magnet from the housing. Better to remove the entire housing, then transfer the motor and magnet to the new housing.

I noticed that others had problems unscrewing the drive unit (which you need to do to transfer it to the new housing.) I simply held the center hub with a pair of pliers, and gave the drive one tap with a hammer. Like the other reviews, note that it unscrews opposite way.

Reassembly was quicker and easier; just undo everything you did to get the housing out of the freezer.

Removed the four screws around the shaft. Removed the support nut on the underside of the enclosure. Pulled the enclosure out of the freezer. Removed the "blade" from the drive shaft - This was somewhat difficult as others have described. Needle-nose vice grips are almost a requirement or you'll never get it off. (Turn clockwise to remove it, as the threads are reversed). Attached the motor to the new enclosure with the four screws. Replaced the enclosure and screwed in the support nut on the underside. The difficulty in this whole process by far is removing the blade from the shaft. It takes a lot of force. At one point I almost gave up thinking that it was manufactured or pressed on. It finally came loose, and then the reinstall was no problem. My suggestion would be to let the motor and parts heat up to room temperature for a bit. It may help. A little spray of WD-40 may help as well.

This was the easiest project of the Holidays. Literally saw the part was broken, went on-line and ordered the part and in a few days it arived at my door. Removed a few screws, unplugged the electrical connector and transfered the motor to the new part.

Saved me a few hundred dollars the repairman would have charged!

THANKS

Remember the bolt holding U piece is reverse screw off.

No tool required! Pulled out tray, emptied ice into large bowl for reuse. Pushed in and pulled from inside the coil springed auger until could get old plastic ring off and put new one on. Useing care not to apply too much pressure to ice dispensing end so as not to break housing. Have to turn auger assembly at an angle to compress enough and get old ring off. Needs a little physical strenth & care not to force plastic housing to breaking point. Worked great reused saved ice. Took less than 10 minutes

Removed screw onder on left side of ice maker shelf. Then removed shelf while disconnecting the wires behind. Removed selonoid and yolk and simply reinstalled in reverse order. The customer service was great because I first ordered the wrong part and was easily returned and correct part sent. If you are ordering and have questions call them. If you sense your agent doesnt have the full knowkedge you need I would ask for another one. This is why my original part was wrong. They handled my problem and I was pleased.
Alan

I followed the directions from John from Virginia Beach, with the added warning: Unplug the electrical connection and bring the whole ice enclosure out before you remove screws holding the relay and motor to it so you can see how it goes together. When you remove the relay, notice that a metal cylinder (Michael from Vienna Va calls it a magnet) slides out of it. If possible, keep this unit together. If it comes apart, notice there is a spring on this metal rod. Don't lose the spring and remember how it all goes back together. This job was just as easy as it should have been.

I pulled the drive ring off of the icemaker and replaced it with the new part. Saved a $150 service call plus cost of part. It cost me a little over $11.00 and a repairman probably would have charged $30.