RB184PDV Magic Chef Refrigerator - Instructions

Removed all screws on back and 4 on front. That part is easy IF you have a Torx of the right size. Slip out the ice bin a bit and replace the drive ring. Reassembly is a bit harder since some internal shift can occur -- rotate or tilt the whole assembly to get two -- I think -- screws started. No need to over tighten screws; snug is good enough.

Very easy to install the new ice maker. Removed the bottom screw holding the ice maker to the side of the freezer. Loosened the top two screws. The old ice maker came off just like that. Unplugged the power supply from the freezer and removed the whole apparatus.

I saved the wiring harness, screws, cover, and metal arm from the old ice maker. Installed these on the new one and mounted the new ice maker in the freezer. Done.

The only issue I had was that the water supply hose got kinked when I pushed the fridge back into place. Once that was resolved, the new ice maker started happily making ice.

There are 3 screws holding the icemaker in place. After removing the ice bucket, I removed the screws, then twisted the unit to gain access to the power plug. The plug is held in place by a plastic flap which is part of the connector. It has to be pushed down to remove the connector. The new unit went in perfectly and performed flawlessly for 3 days until the compressor blew out! After feeling some sense of accomplishment having fixed the icemaker, I learned that my neglecting to clean the vent grill in the front of the refrigerator had caused its demise. Don't forget to clean the dust out of the vents!

This was a very easy fix. I took the old ice maker out, including the electrical harness. Switched the harness and stop bar to the new ice maker on my bench, then installed the new assembly. Ice initially had some hollow cubes. I checked the ice maker for level. But it was fine. Thought it might be moving too fast. But it seems to have cleared up. Perhaps it took some time to completely cool down.

I disconnected power, turned off water supply, removed three hexhead screws, disconnected wiring harness plug, then reversed procedure. New icemaker seens to be a little slower in making cubes. However, the cubes are clean, perfect shape and THEY DO NOT CONTAIN ANY OF THE BLACK COATING AS THE OLD ICE MAKER CAUSED. THIS WAS A FAIRLY SIMPLE TASK.

Pried out old part with screwdriver. Unplugged. When new part came, just plugged it in and pushed the part into place.

Turn off refrig water supply, remove cardboard rear lower cover, disconnect two plastic lines (one for icemaker, the other for in-the-door water dispenser) and one copper fitting (supply line). Replace valve (mounted with one screw), reconnect, test for leaks.

The valve I was so sure was bad wasn't, replacing it didn't solve my problem. Turned out to be a frozen up icermaker water feed tube at the top rear of the refrig. The Fix: heat a metal rod of appropriate size in boiling water or with a hair dryer, poke it gently up into the water drop tube (sticks out just above the rear of the icemaker) from the inside and melt out the ice plug. Be sure to test this tube if you have the same problem, you should be able to disconnect the line on back of the refrig and blow air through the tube if it's clear. Saved the valve anyway for a spare.

When that one came and I went to install it, I found that my fridge was so old (almost 30 years) that the wire harness on the old icemaker could not be transferred to the new one. The old one was hand wired into the guts of the machine with wire nuts and other connectors. The new unit needs a plug in harness to match a plug connection on the ice maker. Also, the bent wire arm that senses ice bin levels was different, old unit hooked in with clips and such, new one pops into a socket in the new ice maker.

I called PartSelect back again, and the clerk spent a lot of time in the books (no parts in the online listings) and found new style connector and wire arm. Another 25 dollars and problem is solved.

Once those parts came, the actual installation was a breeze. Remove three screws, unplug the ice maker from the back wall of the fridge, plug new wire harness into new ice maker and the back wall of the frige, install new ice maker with the same three screws, pop the new style bent wire arm into place and pop the plastic cover from the old ice maker onto the front of the new one. Done! Took me ten minutes (plus two weeks of chasing parts, but only half an hour of actual time in those two weeks).

I let it make a couple of loads of ice that I disposed of (to capture any dust and crud that might have been on or in the new ice maker) and then turned it loose. We had a nice full bin of ice in the morning.

Replaced Icemaker

Five minutes with a phillips screw driver and the cube maker was changed. . . In the process, I failed to unplug the unit, and shorted the fill valve in the back. Again, five minutes with a nut driver and it was changed. No need for a PHD or the cost of a service technician for either job.

I just popped out the old switch with a flat head screwdriver. Removed the connections and then installed new switch by reversing steps. Popped in back in and the light went on.

Removed the screws that held the main ice bin and slid back the bin to leave space behind the auger to remove the broken ring. Replaced with new ring and replaced screws to hold ice bin back in place.

removed screws, pulled element out, and put new element in

I watched the repair video on the web site a couple of times just to get comfortable with what to expect. (i.e. pressing tabs on wiring harness to remove, placement of lift arm for removal and installation) These instructions were a big help...I had the removal, modifications and installation completed in less than 30 minutes. Ice cubes (without the extra icicles) in 1 hour...

The plastic fill cup part is also used to hold one end of the wire “one/off” switch that is manually activated or activated when the ice tray is full. This wire piece fell out because one end, that is part of the plastic fill cup, broke off. The wire switch was fine.

The video demos show you exactly what to do. The repair man showed me a trick to speed up the testing process. The trick is to insert a wire jumper cable to actuate the ice maker and make it rotate. But this isn’t necessary.

Hardest part of this fix is emptying the freezer (bottom with a slide out door) and removing the door.

Why this part is so expensive is beyond me. But I’m happy it was available for a 24yo fridge that still works!!