CSW45PA1B0 Whirlpool Ice Maker - Instructions

The repair was simple. Unplug the refrigerator, unplug the power connector from the fan and remove 3 screws. I removed the fan blade clip with the pliers and cleaned it off. Reversed the process, cleaned all the dust out with my shop vac and all works perfectly now. It took longer to pull the fridge out of it's normal position than to perform the repair. Every day it continues to work is one more day I don't spend $2000 or more on a replacement.

It was easy to remove the old grid and replace it with a new one.

Took out one strap support with a nut driver, unplugged the device and plugged in the new one. Reinstalled the support strap. Job complete.

Wires in cutter grid were broken and wouldn't freeze/cut ice. Replaced with the new ice cutter grid that came completely assembled. Put it in with a screwdriver in less than 10 minutes. Ice cubes ready in 45 minutes. Repair guy told me it would be $455 for him to repair it. With shipping, mine was $133 and 10 minutes of my time. Well worth doing it myself.

I undid the bottom screws off the bottom front of the ice machine under the door... Knowing the water valve was at the front it made it super easy to get to and I didn't have to pull the machine out from under the counter etc. Turned off the water supply at the wall, disconnected that line at the valve, removed the line from the valve to the water reservoir. Unscrewed two screws that held it to the machine wall and put the new valve in, reconnected both lines and voila! Done! Running like its never run before. I filled up that reservoir for weeks by hand many times a day so the satisfaction is huge to have saved a fortune by fixing it myself! And I'm female which makes it even more satisfying. A monkey could put this part in. Anything a man can fix, I can fix too! Ha!

This causes more than one problem. When the system does not get enough water it makes thin ice. When the ice is thin it does not have the mass to slide down on to the cutting grid and stops about half way down. When the pump starts running again, the water hits the ice sheet that did not make it to the grid and water goes all over the place thus emptying the reservoir then it makes no ice. Water was entering very slowly into the reservoir with very little pressure. Changed the water valve and now pressure is higher and fills the reservoir completely enough to flush the reservoir as it is supposed to do. Works great and makes plenty of ice now. Just take the front bottom cover off by the 4 screws holding it on and look to the left and you will see the water valve. Get the vacuum cleaner and clean the condenser coils while you have it open.

This repair was super easy. there are only 5 screws to remove to get at the defective switch. 3 in the housing where the light bulbs are and 2 in the front trim piece where the cooling adjustment dials are. I never did unplug the fridge ,but probably should have although nothing bad happened. I removed all 5 screws using a 1/4" socket ( a nutdriver would work well also). there is also a small dia rod that comes down from the coolness adj. wheel that when you re-assemble goes though the middle of the wheel. The switch has only 2 wires that clip on with the push on flat type connectors. Very simple. I removed the wires and then the switch can be removed( it is only held in by 2 squeezable side clips). I put the new switch in and connected the wires , checked to see that the lights went on and off. which they did. then just put the screws back in.....done. also I would like to say that when I ordered my switch it came super fast. I ordered it online at 11:00am on a tuesday and it was on my doorstep in wisconsin by 10:00 am the next day...Thanks

1 Turn off ice maker and drain water reseviour (cap at bottom of reseviour) 2. Remove internal ice storage door to give you more working room 3. Remove water resevious (two screws on either side of reseviour) and disconnect plastic tubing in reseviour 4. Remove cover shield at top that covers the ice cutting mechanism (two screws at bottom of cover 3. Remove cover shield covering pump (1 screw) 4. Remove small plastic tubing on side of pump (this part is a little tricky) 5. Remove the three screws holding pump to unit (one at back and two on the side (one in front of pump and one in back of pump) 6. Disconnect power supply to pump 7. Remove pump and replace

Once I determined easier access to the fan motor, I removed the three fan motor screws that held the motor on place. After removing the motor I remove the fan blade assembly held by one nut and reattached to the new motor. I then reattached the new motor with 3 new screws which were provide and reattached the power cord with the cord clip and began reassembling the icemaker housing, then moved the unit back in place which was installed under counter. I could do this repair in less than 45 minutes now that I have done it once. I saved several hundred $ from the original estimate and the parts were delivered in 2 days after I ordered online. This is definitely a DIY project!!

The thumbscrews that hold the cutter grid can only be removed by using a needle nose pliers , you cannot turn them by hand. The electrical connections for the grid and level sensor can be removed by pressing the front side of the connector while pulling down. Re-installing the cutter grid is in reverse to the removal, just follow the instructions. But be aware that all wiring remains outside the grid perimeter when reconnecting. One other thing: While you are at it, remove the lower outside panel to expose the evaporator coils which need to be vacuumed. Replacing these parts is tricky. I had to remove the door then loosely install the upper retainer bracket for the lower panel so I could slide the upper edge into that bracket before installing the lower screws. I used an ice pick to line up the holes while using a blade screwdriver to push the panel in its place to install the retaining screws. It took me about a half hour after I figured out what to do.

remove cutter grid (two screws in front)remove cover in front of water pan(two screws)thermister clamps on the line behind the water pan unclamp and replace with new one

I determined the pump was not working by running the ice maker. After it started a cycle, I could fell the underside of the cold plate to insure it was indeed cold, but no water was flowing.
First, be sure the water pump electrical plug is in., it releases by pressing together the tabs at the ends, not sides.
To replace the pump, turn off the water supply and cover the drain hole at the bottom of the ice bin so you don’t drop parts down it. The screw-plug at the bottom of the water tank or a quarter will do.
Remove the water tank below the pump by taking out the thumbscrews at both ends. You can then see the hose at the bottom of the pump. If it is off, that may be the problem.
To remove the pump, pull the fill hose to the left out of the slot and bend it behind the pump to get it out of the way. Unplug the electrical connector and the pump hose. There are three ¼” hex head screws, teo on the side wall, one in back. The middle one is the hardest to access. I used both a nut driver and a socket wrench with a 4” extension.
When installing the new pump, be sure to plug in the electrical connector, the discharge hose at the bottom and position the fill tube as you found it. Forget any of these and nothing works. Re-install the water tank, replace the drain plug and turn on the water supply, in that order.

didn't go well at first. Got it all hooked up relatively easily but it didn't work. Called customer service who suggested hooking pump up to other power source to be sure it worked. It still didn't work. After closer inspection a connection wasn't hooked up on pump. After connecting got it back in about 30 min. Working like a charm now.

Technically, the repair did not require specialized knowledge. However, replacement of the motor required some effort. Because the motor is located at the bottom of the unit in an area with copper tubing & wiring hindering access it was physically difficult to remove and then replace the motor. A problem arose because the shaft on the replacement motor was larger than the original motor's. Thus the fan would not fit on the new motor. Luckily, I found a fan locally that fit the motor. It would be very helpful if a fan was included in the motor kit. The ref. is now running smoothly

Fan was barely rotating. So unplugged, removed back cover, removed fan and motor from frame work. Removed fan blade from motor shaft. Spun motor shaft which seemed fine. Pryed off back cover of motor to find a large but dry felt washer and a helical capillery slot formed into the motor shaft for carring oil from felt washer to the bearings. Added 30 wt motor oil and some 3in1 oil to felt and reassembled motor, fan and frame work. Plugged in power chord after getting rid of dust and dog hear on coils and is working like new.