JEACS50SL8 Whirlpool Ice Maker - Instructions

Wires in cutter grid were broken and wouldn't freeze/cut ice. Replaced with the new ice cutter grid that came completely assembled. Put it in with a screwdriver in less than 10 minutes. Ice cubes ready in 45 minutes. Repair guy told me it would be $455 for him to repair it. With shipping, mine was $133 and 10 minutes of my time. Well worth doing it myself.

Took out one strap support with a nut driver, unplugged the device and plugged in the new one. Reinstalled the support strap. Job complete.

It was easy to remove the old grid and replace it with a new one.

Using a 1/4" ratchet removed the old motor, a bit difficult due to small space to get your hand and ratchet in position. Before installing the new motor I used one of the screws to tap the the 3 holes in the new motor so it would be easier to start the screws attaching motor to mounting bracket. Attached cable. plugged in the fridge. Great to hear a quit running refrigerator again.

fan motor housing had to be drilled through both sides of housing to attach to existing bracket. Possible damage to wiring inside the unit may disable condensor fan motor when motherboard is replaced. (Motherboard on order.)

My husband watched the video on the repair and followed it step by step...works like a charm! The repair shop wanted 299.55 to fix it - the part was 79.00....big savings by doing it ourselves.

The thumbscrews that hold the cutter grid can only be removed by using a needle nose pliers , you cannot turn them by hand. The electrical connections for the grid and level sensor can be removed by pressing the front side of the connector while pulling down. Re-installing the cutter grid is in reverse to the removal, just follow the instructions. But be aware that all wiring remains outside the grid perimeter when reconnecting. One other thing: While you are at it, remove the lower outside panel to expose the evaporator coils which need to be vacuumed. Replacing these parts is tricky. I had to remove the door then loosely install the upper retainer bracket for the lower panel so I could slide the upper edge into that bracket before installing the lower screws. I used an ice pick to line up the holes while using a blade screwdriver to push the panel in its place to install the retaining screws. It took me about a half hour after I figured out what to do.

1 Turn off ice maker and drain water reseviour (cap at bottom of reseviour) 2. Remove internal ice storage door to give you more working room 3. Remove water resevious (two screws on either side of reseviour) and disconnect plastic tubing in reseviour 4. Remove cover shield at top that covers the ice cutting mechanism (two screws at bottom of cover 3. Remove cover shield covering pump (1 screw) 4. Remove small plastic tubing on side of pump (this part is a little tricky) 5. Remove the three screws holding pump to unit (one at back and two on the side (one in front of pump and one in back of pump) 6. Disconnect power supply to pump 7. Remove pump and replace

I determined the pump was not working by running the ice maker. After it started a cycle, I could fell the underside of the cold plate to insure it was indeed cold, but no water was flowing.
First, be sure the water pump electrical plug is in., it releases by pressing together the tabs at the ends, not sides.
To replace the pump, turn off the water supply and cover the drain hole at the bottom of the ice bin so you don’t drop parts down it. The screw-plug at the bottom of the water tank or a quarter will do.
Remove the water tank below the pump by taking out the thumbscrews at both ends. You can then see the hose at the bottom of the pump. If it is off, that may be the problem.
To remove the pump, pull the fill hose to the left out of the slot and bend it behind the pump to get it out of the way. Unplug the electrical connector and the pump hose. There are three ¼” hex head screws, teo on the side wall, one in back. The middle one is the hardest to access. I used both a nut driver and a socket wrench with a 4” extension.
When installing the new pump, be sure to plug in the electrical connector, the discharge hose at the bottom and position the fill tube as you found it. Forget any of these and nothing works. Re-install the water tank, replace the drain plug and turn on the water supply, in that order.

Simple, remove water reservoir (2 screws). Remove pump cover (1 screw). Remove 2 screws on bracket holding pump and unplug pump. My wiring was somewhat corroded and it took a bit of pulling to unplug. When you replace with new motor make sure to snap in new plug snug or it will not start up. Reassemble and away you go.Making ice no problem.

A bit of a tight squeeze for my hands, but very basic as I followed the instructions and watched the installation video. I only had the fridge unplugged for about 20 min..The fridge is as quiet, as it was brand new. The only tool I needed was the 1/4 inch socket wrench. A portable lantern was very helpful as well. Runs very quiet now, like new! Thx!!!

Fast after a little help from a friend

Pretty much followed the how to video. Biggest pain was removing the screws to the bracket that houses the motor.

Unplug regrigerator power cordfrom wall outlet. Using nut driver remove cover from lower back side of refrigerator. Unplug wire connection to fan. Using nut driver remove the four screws holding the fan/bracket assembly. Carefully remove fan/bracket assembly from refrigerator. Using nut driver,remove the old fan from fan bracket. Using nut driver install new fan on fan bracket. Carfefully install new fan/bracket assembly and install the four screws. Plug wire connection to fan (you may need to use adapter supplied with new fan). Reinstall refrigerator lower back cover. Plug refrigerator power cord back into outlet. Note: you may wish to carefully vacuum dust from back of refrigerator before installing back cover. You should also vacuum dust from front side.

I found the part I needed on this website, watched the tutorial and saw how simple it was to do myself. I ordered the part and it arrived within a few short days. It took me no more than 15 minutes to change out the part. I saved myself several hundred dollars. It is rather shocking how much the "professionals" charge considering the cost of parts, labor and nominal service fees.