61004756 Kenmore Refrigerator

Pull out fridge and unplug
Remove drip tray from dispenseer
Unscrew face plate (star bit) 2 screws
Carefully disconnect wire strap from faceplate controls
Unscrew dispenser from chute - 3 screws and one is hddend next to actuator.
Carefully disconnect another wire strap to remove unit.
Remove actuator pad
... Read more />Remove limit switch (i small philips screw)
Replace switch & pad
Re-assemble

Neither the actuator pad nor the limit switch appeared broken or worn but it appears to have solved the problem.

Not a terribly complicaed repair but you need to take care not to damage anything as you take apart. More work than just changing a filter or bulb.

Upon careful inspection, I found that the dispenser also would occasionally fail to shut off when dispensing whole or crushed ice, which led me to think that the problem was in the dispenser actuator rather than in the water solenoid or fountain switch control board. To inspect the actuator mechanism, I shut off power to the refrigerator ... Read more , removed the escutcheon mounting screws, the escutcheon, the cable from the fountain switch control board, and finally the fountain bracket assembly. There was a small amount of hard water scale on the back of the actuator pad, but no groove in the plastic part of the pad that actuates the switch. I replaced the pad and switch (1 screw) and reassembled the dispenser. The dispenser no longer sticks and shuts off normally.

The actuator rubber pad had hardened over time so that it wouldn't allow the solenoid to retract and stop the flow. To fix: Turn off fuse to fridge. Removed the screws on fountain faceplate. Remove faceplate. Unscrew fountain computer assembly (2 or 3 screws) to access the actuator pad from behind. Unplugged the computer ribbon. Repla ... Read more ce black actuator pad.

It works fine now.