4317943 Kenmore Refrigerator - Instructions

1. shutoff water
2. removed 3 screws holding old ice maker. A small nut or screw driver is needed to get into a somewhat tight area
3. detached electrical connector
4. cut indicated area for water inlet to lie in
4. attached new electrical connector (no splicing needed)
5. attached new ice maker with 3 screws
6. put on water

Removed the top two screws and one on the bottom which attach the ice maker to the side of the freezer. I unclipped the wire bundle from the side of the ice maker and unplugged the connector, totally removing the unit . The maker came with several different wiring setups, but I just used the existing. The contol arm on the new unit basically snaps into place and the above process is reversed to install the new unit. My old ice maker had an accelerator which blows cold air to the bottom of the tray to speed up ice production. This component was undamaged and by taking off the new units outer end cap and borrowing the clips from the old unit, this component can be installed on the new ice maker.

Unplugged refrigerator. Used nut driver to remove small bolt retaining wire cover on right side of ice maker. Removed wire cover, used flat head screw driver to depress side-rail clips. Ice maker slid out, unplugged. Timer module cover pops off easily. Three screws removed the timer module. Installation was reverse of removal. Had ice in less than an hour, bin was full by next morning. If you have a screw driver and know what it's for, this job should come easily.

I unplugged the fridge. Loosened the 2 top screws on the ice maker and removed the lower screw. I disconnected the wiring harness and removed the Ice maker. I removed the plastic timer cover in front. I then loosened the screws on the face of the ice maker and removed the broken ice stripper and replaced it with a new one. Re-tightened the screws on the face, installed the timer cover, plugged in the wiring harness, re-attached the ice maker. Plugged the fridge back in and walla, it was making ice in 30 minutes!

Turn off water supply too ice maker and unplug the fridge power. using a nut driver remove one bottom screw from the bottom, near the front. The other two from the side atop the ice mold. (loosen screws and ice maker will lift up and off.)
I set the ice maker on the counter, snapped of the front cover by hand. using a phillips driver, remove two screws near the bottom corners.(they go through the circuit board into the ice mold)
circuit board in one hand, other end of ice mold in the other, slowly pull apart about 1 inch. remove the silver colored "on, off" bar at the end by snapping the retainer out of the ice mold. (the silver bar stays with the circuit board end)
Watch how the ice guide(white fingers stationary on side of ice mold) hooks too the ice mold on each end. swap ice guide to new ice mold, insert three guide pins on end into holes on the circuit board, while holding ice guide onto ice mold, watch rotation bar while inserting into motor.(it only splines one way.) when each piece is lined up, simply push together and reinstall two screws. snap circuit board cover into place. reinstall ice maker into freezer in reverse order.

removed screws that held the ice maker in place, then removed the cover (popped off) The drive element was easy to remove, three screws and it was out. I put in the new part and reinstalled the icemaker with the three screws that hold it in place. I never call Sears for any repair. They use contract help and I have heard horror stories about those guys!

Took off door to ice maker. Unscrewed 1 nut. Slid out unit. Unplugged electrical connector. Unsrewed 3 nuts from bottom of old unit & attached mounting bracket to new unit. Reconnected electric connector. Slid back in. Put screw back in. Put icemaker door back on. Turned icemaker on. Ice in 20 minutes!

ridiculous how a tiny plastic broken part required a full motor assembly replacement. that being said, i went online, found this website and easily identified the part i needed to order. i was impressed when it arrived within a couple of days. removing the old motor and replacing the new was a piece of cake...and i am NOT mechanically inclined,

Pulled close out panel exposing valve kit. Removed water lines, removed retaining screw, removed both electrical connections. Installed electrical connections on new valve, installed assembly, connected water lines. Replaced ice maker by removing three screws, unplugged connection. Installed connector on new unit , installed screws and plugged in unit. Everything worked just fine.

I called the local Amana repair man, wanted $150 for a new ice maker because they could not get the part I needed. Found Partsselect.com and the part cost $17 with shipping. They saved me over $100. The repair was very easy too, just removed a couple of screws.

Thanks,
Matt

We rolled the refrigerator out away from the wall and it was obvious where the break was located. We took out the old water spout for the ice maker and replaced the tube and the tubing from the solenoid. We turned it on and soon we had water dripping everywhere. We unloaded and defrosted the freezer which got all of the remaining ice that was stuck in there. We put everything back together. I read in some instructions in the manual that it might take 24 hours for the ice maker to reprogram itself and start producing ice. I was only about 12 hours and we had ice again and everything worked well. You really do not have to disconnect the water from the main line, the solinoid controls that part of operation and turns the water off until the ice trays are free and clear.

JLB

The part received was a straight replacement part - no modification required, just a simple remove and replace. This made the job really easy. Used the socket set to lower the front wheels to move the refrigerator, the nutdriver to remove the back cover and the valve, and the adjustable wrench to remove the water line. I had to cut the supply line tubing because the ferrule was too far up the line to make a good seal (minor leak quickly corrected with parts available in the kit - nice touch!) What took the most time was cleaning the coils and lint, etc. - hey I hadn't moved the unit in years! - but I did not include the 45-60 minutes this took in the repair time. Directions supplied were clear and easy to follow - but in my case I could have done the job without them - easy to see what needed to be done, but the stated precautions were nice.

The replacement valve was identical to the old one, so I didn't have to use any of the adapter parts sent with the new valve. This made the installation rather simple. After removing the back cover on the lower part of the refrigerator, I turned off the water and electrical supplies, and removed the water supply line to the valve. Then I removed the two screws securing the valve to the refrigerator. Next, I removed the two electrical connections from the valve, and unscrewed the plastic nuts holding the tubing to the valve. I didn't have to use a wrench to do this as they were hand tight, so when I attached the tubing to the new valve I tightened the nuts hand tight. This seemed to be sufficient and avoided the possibility of stripping the nuts. After checking for leaks, I attached the electrical connections and secured the new valve to the refrigerator. Then I attached the water supply line, but before replacing the back cover, I turned on the refrigerator, and let it cycle through it's first load of ice.

At age 65 I have never attempted to repair a refrigerator, until now. It took longer than needed because I did not read these articles carefully. Please note that when you open the door and the light blinks twice, waits a second and blinks again, the optics are working fine. I ordered an emitter and receiver when I didn't need to. I sent it back, the money was refunded, and ordered the ice maker. I replaced the old icemaker by removing three screws and slipping it out of its holder.

Here is how I found out I needed the new ice maker. I took the supply line apart that runs down the back of the refrigerator. I blew through it without any trouble. This told me that the line was not frozen within the refrigerator. I put the supply line back together, and jumped the solenoid that was connected to the supply line at the bottom right of the refrigerator. My model is the side by side, so it has two solenoids. The solenoid that runs the water to the dispenser in the door was always running, so I knew if there was a problem it would be with the ice maker solenoid. So, how did I jump the solenoid. Kids, don't try this at home. I disconnected the wiring harness to the solenoid by pulling it straight out. Then I took the female end of an extension chord and placed a twelve two electrical wire with the ends stripped into the positive and negative slots. I then jumped the solenoid. Water ran to the ice maker, but there still wasn't any ice made. Since the optics and the solenoid were working it seemed to me that the ice maker wasn't doing it's part. There are easier ways to check the solenoid in this forum, but this worked for me. I saved a lot of money and the parts got here quickly.

The gooseneck on the icemaker fill tube extends out beyond the back cabinet of the refrigerator, and is easily broken. Luckily, this part is a piece of cake to replace. You'll literally spend more time pulling out your fridge and cleaning out behind it then you will replacing this part.

Shut off water supply line, and turn off ice maker (lift the metal bar in the ice bucket all the way up). Loosen the hose fitting, and remove two screws. Pull out the old tube, and slide the new one in. You may have to wiggle the tube around from the inside to get the alignment correct. Replace screws and fitting. Turn water and ice maker back on, and check for leaks. It really is that easy! It took me longer to type this than to actually replace the part.

Only one potential catch. The instructions warn that you may have to cut the new tube to match the length of the old tube, so make sure you compare the length of the old and new tube. I didn't have to to do anything - the replacement part was the exact same length of the original. If by chance you do need to cut the tube, you'll need small saw of some sort, such as a coping or hack saw.