GC5THGXLQ01 Whirlpool Refrigerator - Instructions

Changing the KITCHENAID MOTOR ASSEMBLY TO THE ICE-MAKER was fairly straightforward. The hardest part was figuring out WHAT was broken and how to fix it. I was determined to save myself hundreds of dollars by doing it myself and avoiding a visit by the 'repairman'.

1.) Went to KitchenAid website to look at Parts List for my side-by-side refrigerator and ice maker assembly (a PDF file, easily downloadable) . The illustrations helped me visualize the assembly and various parts involved.
2.) Removed cover on front of ice maker.
3.) Removed hex-head screw on undersurface of icemaker on the right, which stablilizes a plastic cover for the electrical connector to the ice maker. Once this is off, it's then possible to slide the ice maker out.
4.) Slide the ice maker out from it's 'shelf' in the freezer. You won't be able to completely remove it until you disconnect the power supply.
5.) Disconnect the multi-pin power connector. (It's probably safest to unplug the refrigerator altogether before doing this, but I did not. No exposed metal wiring or connectors. No problems when I did it this way.)
6.) Once the ice-maker was out, remove the white cover from the motor assembly (on the left side of the unit).
7.) Remove the three screws from the black housing of the motor assembly. (This is where I discovered that the connector between the motor and drive-train was broken and needed to be replaced.)
8.) Remove and replace the drive system for the ice cube ejector.
9.) Then reverse the steps to reassemble.

This may seem a bit vague, but it's really quite straightforward once the ice maker is out of the freezer. The replacement motor assembly includes the motor, the motor housing, the drive-train, and the ice-cube ejector. Very easy to re-asemble.

Shopping for and ordering the part took some time since there are so many different after-market parts dealers. In all honesty, I'm glad I decided on PartSelect.com. They had a decent price, safe checkout, and timely delivery. All the essentials of a good online store.

Thanks, and good luck to the next guy who has to deal with a KitchenAid snafu.

replaced with new shelves

The control bracket is made of plastic and holds two microswitches that activate the ice dispenser and the water dispenser. The plastic clips that held the switches on the control bracket broke so that the switches no longer operated when the ice dispenser lever was operated.

Two screws held the external dispenser bezel, and two screws held the control bracket in place. The wiring and switches were transferred to the new bracket and the new bracket screwed into place. Then the bezel was replaced.

Total repair time was less than 5 minutes. The control bracket was $16.50 with shipping and arrived two days after I placed the order.

The PartSelect website had a clear diagram of the control bracket so I was comfortable with the order.

The door is very easy to remove. There is one nut for the cap on the top of the soor hinge. Once the cap is removed, you need to remove the 3 nuts holding the hinge in place. Simply lift the door off the lower hinge and rest it on the dining room table. I set towels down to protect the stainless finish. The closing cam will be visible on the bottom of the door. I choose to replace the lower cam and the upper cam at the same time. I did not know what the problem cam was. The door works good as new. I put a small amount of vaseline where the two cams rub to provide a lubricant.

1) At bottom of ice maker trim there are two small slots at right and left ; use screw driver to pry away from door; lift trim upward away from door 2)using 1/4" nutdriver remove screws from 4 corners, 3) remove 2 screws from control panel 4) disconnect all wires/cables and set exterior panel aside. 5) locate 2" pin that runs through door spring and use needle nose pliers to remove round clip on left end of pin don't lose this clip 6) while pushing ice maker lever (where you would push with your glass) use needle nose to pull the long pin out to the right 7) Remove all remaining parts by hand (i.e. the pin, the dash pot and white lever and the ice door) 8)slide new control lever into slots on exterior side of the new door 9) -tricky part- using needle nose, push pin back through the right hinge point, the new lever, the new door, the new spring and the left hinge point (note the new door has no electric wire connector) 10) using the needle nose, carefully replace the little round clip on the left end of the metal pin. 11) reconnect all the wires (don't worry about the wire that had been connected to the door wire, just fold it aside) 12) replace two screws screws in control panel and four screws at corners of exterior panel 13) snap outer trim panel back in place.

I removed the ice maker which required removing 3 screws and then disconnecting the electrical plug. Once the ice maker was out, I removed the 3 screws that held the motor assembly to the unit.
I removed the motor, replacing it with the new one.
Plugged the power supply cord back in, replaced the unit with the 3 screws and within a few minutes the unit was receiving water and by the next day I had ICE. This saved me $50. for the service call, then another $25.00 installation fee when the part came in (had to be ordered) plus the markup on the motor (approx. $25.00) So I saved approx. $100. and only took about 30 min.

Originally replaced water inlet valve, not the problem. Tried to work from cheap to expensive.
1. Turn off power, shut off water supply
2. Loosen top two screws of ice maker (will slide up and off, no need to take top two out)
3.Remove bottom screw from ice maker
4.Pulled unit, snapped out existing wire harness
5.Cut hole for water inlet on end of new unit and attached wire icemaking on/off bracket.
6 Connected existing wiring harness to new unit
7. Slid new unit down onto top two screws, put in bottom screw and tightened all three
8. Turned on power and water supply
Had ice being made within two hours. Part Select has given me great service, highly recommend.

1. turn off power.
2. pop off ice maker cover to access motor assembly.
3. remove three screws to assembly.
4. pull off assembly.
5. attach new assembly making sure metal arm and plastic
ice tray rod align with assembly.
6. screw assembly onto unit.
7. replace cover.
8. plug in refrigerator.
9. enjoy ice again with no leakage into freezer.

I removed two screws on the top and one underneath the unit. Then I disconnected the cable. The hardest part was getting the nut driver on the bottom screw because it was obscured by the unit. The replacement unit plugged right in! I got my first batch of ice in about 20 minutes. All I really needed was the timer unit, but the entire ice maker wasn't much more expensive, especially when you consider the time saved on installation!

The ice maker was not getting water. I hotwired the water valve by switching the connectors for the water dispenser and ice maker water valves and water flowed into the icemaker when the water dispenser lever was pushed. I wronly assumed the water valve was good. I removed the icemaker and determined that the gear motor was not getting power in the position the icemaker had stopped.In this position, the thermostat determines when the motor gets power so I replaced the thermostat. The icemaker still would not get water! As it turns out, the water solenoid was sticking due to a deteriorated rubber washer which let the solenoid plunger get too far out of the magnetic field. I replaced the water solenoid assy and all is well. Don't get fooled by hotwiring the valve. If it isn't getting water, the solenoid probably is the culprit.

open ice maker door, use mirror to view slot in front of ice maker, slip piece in place and done

Received my kit quickly. Job was fast and easy. Removed 3 screws with nutdriver and unpluged the wiring harness. Use a flat blade screwdriver to lift the tab on the plastic end cap of the harness. The icemaker comes out in one piece. The wiring harness that came installed on the replacement icemaker matched mine perfectly. (It comes with two others). I plugged the new one in, replaced the screws, bottom one first to help hold it while replacing the top two screws. I used the shut-off arm from my faulty icemaker. Turned the power back on and put 1/2 cup of water in the tray and walked away. Ice dropping into the bin was music to my ears. Didn't need any of the clips or things that came with the icemaker. It was basically a "plug and play". I'm so happy to have ice again, and at a great savings!

I had a technician called out to the house to look at repairing several appliances that all have broken parts after just 3 yrs of use. Hood, Microwave, Oven, Fridge all in need of minor repairs..

Anyway - the estimate was $240 to replace the ice maker. I ordered PS358591 for $104. and it came in a couple days.. I took out one screw - slid out the icemaker, unplugged it - plugged in new one and slid it in the slot - and done !! Took about 20 mins.. didnt need any of the wiring harnesses in the box from partselect. Was way to easy to do !!

Thank you !

First, I unplugged the power to the entire fridge, and then removed the ice tray and ice door. Next, I unplugged the flat plug in the very back left behind the icemaker. Then I removed the 1/4" hex head sheet metal screws (2) and the phillips head screw (1) that hold the icemaker to the left side of the freezer wall. New icemaker came with a different style trip arm, so I used it. Plugged new icemaker in before reattaching it with the same (3) screws. Replaced ice tray and door, plugged in fridge, and waited....Dumped its first batch of ice maybe a couple of hours later. Not much trouble-shooting is needed when the entire icemaker is as easy and relatively inexpensive to replace as this. Twenty minutes, max.

First I removed the bolt that holds the cover on the top hinge bracket. Then I removed all items from the shelves inside the door by lifting the shelves out and placing them on the counter. Next I removed the 3 screws holding the hinge bracket on, this disconnects the top of the door from the cabinet. Then I lifted the door off the lower cam, removed the screws that held the cam in place on the door and the lower bracket on the cabinet and replaced the cams. I smeared some Vaselene on the cams and placed the door back on the lower cam, reconnected the upper hinge and replaced the hinge cover. All done and it works great!