RB18DN-3AW (4B48A) Magic Chef Refrigerator - Instructions

Given that the augur motor had broken away from the ice tray, removal of the ice tray was simple. Simply remove one screw and slide the tray up and out. Removal of the motor was simple by squeezing the top and bottom of the wire harness plug located on the back of the freezer compartment wall, although it was by feel. The real problem came with trying to remove the augur from the motor shaft (it has a left hand tread) it is on tight and while trying to remove it – I stripped the threads on the motor shaft and couldn’t get the augur off. That’s when the cussing started. No easy fix for this so in addition to the ice tray, I had to order a new ice bucket auger drive motor kit (which included the augur for the end of the motor shaft). Once all the parts arrived, and I had the motor and solenoid assembled and mounted to the back of the tray, the hardest part was plugging the motor back into the plug on the back of the freezer wall- you’ll be doing this by feel (which is a poor design). One suggestion, take a picture of the wire connections between the motor and solenoid – just to be on the safe side – before taking it all apart.

Removed bad motor with socket set and pliers then removed the connectors from the old motor and soldered them on the new one. Then installed new motor. Works like new! Problem Solved! Easy fix!

Well the repair was not bad the package came in real fast thank you very much. Doing the work was real hard took about an hour to do and then putting it on I do not think it stayed on good still using some duck tape to hold it and the top and bottom are real fat and will not sink on in. I do not know what to do or what I did wrong. I am kind of afraid to take it off because it might rip. Some of it ripped as I was putting it on too. Do you have any ideas of what I can do or what might be my problem? Thanks.

Sincerley,


Dustin Takla

Easy disassemble removing screws to separate front of ice bin.Be sure to note how metal rod is attached to rear of ice bin. Installed drive ring and reattached face (front) of ice bin in about 15 minutes.

I pulled the dispenser bin and emptied the existing ice (the maker worked, the dispenser would not dispense). Though there appears to be more, there are about 4 (reciting from memory)very small tap screws holding the front of the dispenser unit to the bin. The dispenser activation screw mounts over protruding items at each end. The item at the back (away from the dispenser gear package) is the drive ring that was broken. The drive ring is a small plastic cup that inserts into an opening at the back of the bin (female side to the rear) and slides into the distal end of the activation screw on the same end. One must line up the small slot on the inside of the drive ring with the end of the screw. Slide the assembly together (make sure that the cube/crush switch rod is properly clipped in place with the return spring hooked to the clip), GENTLY install the 4 or so screws and return he assembly to the freezer. It should work flawlessly. Elapsed time: 15 - 20 minutes.

Easy repair - Don't over complicate it. 1) Flip up ice bar to stop making new ice. 2) Pull out the complete ice bin/tray. 3) shut freezer door while you work on the ice bin. 4) All you need to do is remove the 4 screws holding the ice bin holding tray to the front of the Ice cutting section in the front. 5) Screw drive can then be pulled forward to remove the old/broken white drive cap. Just replace the White Drive ring, put the drive screw back into the ice bin tray and re-install the 4 screws. 6) When re-inserting the bin, you may have to twist the screw drive slightly to re-align with the motor bracket in the back of the freezer. Suggestion: throw out old ice because if it is wet or slightly melted, when you put it back in the freezer the ice will freeze/clump together into a large ice clump; not cubes. Also dry out the ice bin so there is no water to freeze up or create a new jam when the ice bin now re-freezes.

removed torx screws and replaced ice bin drive ring.

First, watched video on Part Select Website. Very good. Pulled Appliance out from wall, Pulled the power plug, and removed the back shield covering the working parts of the unit. Found the fan and it was almost the same setup as on the video except that I could not get to one of the screws holding the motor in place so had to remove the entire bracket with the fan. Not too hard. Cleaned away dust and gunk around the site and noticed that the fan pulled air through a tunnel-like condenser coil that was packed with gunky lint...this is what probably killed the motor. I cleaned out the tunnel with the bottle brushes and vacuum and installed the new motor / bracket assembly. Then replaced the shielding around the fan and the back cover .panel. This is important because these form the channel that guides air flow throughout the condenser coils. This particular refrigerator has a barrier underneath which guides air flow from the front left to the condenser, through the fan, over the evaporator drip pan and out the right front. I cleaned all the lint and gunk from this area as well. I also made an air filter (cut from a furnace filter) and wedged it in front of the air entry section. This should keep the condenser coil cleaner over time but you have to remember to change the filter once a year. Probably should clean the condenser coil every 5 years as well. This unit has been very reliable over 20 years and may well go for another 20. Good luck with your repair.

My husband put in in, no problem and all is well. My husband is a mechanic for large machinery/motors so installation was no problem. Thanks, better than buying a new fridge!!!

My Son who is not an appliance repairman did it for me. He had some difficulty getting the nuts and bolts loose mainly. Sorry I'm not much help other than that! I would like to compliment you on your fast service, first time ordering from you and it was for an older model refrigerator that my repairman said he couldn't find. It's working fine now and I'm a satisfied customer!

I folded in half twice! and took the back off the fridge(cardboard) and took one brace off and just took the screws off the fan from the other two braces. Turned the fan enough to get at the wires for the fan and cut them off an inch from the old fan, stripped the insulation and wire nutted them to new fan. Make sure they don't interfere with the new fan and put the new fan in place put the screws in and we're making ice and cold fridge again.

The kit I recieved was perfect. All parts fit and where a perfect match. I will give you an A+ in handling my order and shocked by speed of your delivery.

Moved fridge out from wall, unplugged power cord. Laid on floor, removed 6 screws from cover. Removed one threaded bolt to allow assembly to slide out. Removed special nut, and took fan off. Removed 3 motor mounting bolts. Unscrewed 2 wire nuts, and untwisted wires. (option 1, no ground) Vacuumed entire area around motor. Used 3 bolts to mount motor to holder assembly, and special nut to install fan. Stripped wires back about 3/4 inch. Twisted two wires together CW, and installed new wire nuts. Slid motor assembly back into slot,(keep wires away from blades) and used one threaded bolt to secure assembly. Reinstalled cover plate with 6 screws. Plugged power cord in to test air flow (out through cover vents). Moved fridge back into place. The loud whirring noise did not stop for a day; then quiet!

It wasn't quite as easy to get to the bolts as the video showed. The lay out of the part wasn't exactly like the video either. However, I managed to put the new part in. Unfortunately, it didn't solve the problem. At first the fridge cycled on and off but after 12 hrs it started to freeze liquids again. Since the appliance was 17 years old we opted to just get a new one.

Researched this problem on the web. Disassembled the main refrigeration unit (slide out freezer floor panel). The cooling coils were completely iced up. Thawed overnight. Tested the coil thermostat with a multimeter and discovered it worked. Note that the activation temp on this thermostat is 15 degrees Fahrenheit so the ice-water bath test on many web videos will NOT work. My test was in another refrigerator freezer compartment (everyone has two, right?). When the temperature went below 15 and stayed there for 15 minutes, the thermostat opened the circuit. Further investigation revealed that the defrost heater was burnt and shorted. Replaced the defrost heater only to discover that the defrost timer was also broken. After replacing the defrost timer and testing each component thoroughly, the refrigerator is back in service. Freezer maintains about 8 F and the main refrigerator stays at about 36. The unit cycles off properly and the defrost timer is correctly initiating a defrost cycle. Further, when the defrost heater is cycled on, the thermostat correctly shuts it off once the coils are defrosted. Watch the youtube videos. Find your parts and note their specifications so you can test them properly. And good luck.