ET8GTMXKQ00 Whirlpool Refrigerator - Instructions

Removed the old defrost heater screws and connected the new one. I have 46 apartment units here and have had about 15 defrost heater's replaced by service repair person at a very expensive cost. To my surprise it was extremly easy and a lot less in cost.

I checked the fuses and hoses in the back of the refrigerator to make sure water WAS in fact getting to the front of the fridge. Since the water through the front door worked fine, I had to check the water tube running to the ice maker. It was fine and water was waiting to go somewhere! I decided to pull the icemaker out of the fridge to see what I could fine. Once it was out, I took the ICEMAKER CONTROL AND MOTOR ASSEMBLY off (that's the side part with the dial on it). Only 3 screws to take that off, and it was EASY to see what was wrong once I took that off. There was a connection that was obviously bad (looked almost like it had burned out). My thought was that it was obvious what part was bad, what would it hurt for me to try to fix it myself? When I got online to find the part, PartSelect was the only one that I found that had the EXACT part that I needed, and lucky for me, there were multiple pictures of multiple angles of the part so I could compare and make sure I had the right one!! The part with shipping cost less than the cost of a repair tech to even come out and look at the fridge. Then add the cost of the part and labor if I had the repair tech fix it...I probably saved about $250!!!!

change it

I took out the ice collection box and auger to get access to the three screws holding the ice maker assembly against the left wall of the freezer. You can use a screwdriver or a nut driver. I then unpluged the assembly and wiggled it loose from the water fill tube. I assumed that unplugging the unit would disable the water valve but I put a plastic tub under the fill tube just in case. I studied the assembly on the kitchen table for a few minutes before I disasembled it. After removing a snapon plastick cover I removed three or four screws on the gearbox and was able to pull and wiggle the parts apart. The heater contacts have rubber O rings so you have to be firm pulling the mould out of and into the gearbox mount. Make sure it is fully seated. On reassembly note that the ice kicking arm is notched so it fits into the gearbox only one way and it helps to have it in position when you screw the gearbox back on. I also found the plastic ice guide that fits on top of the mold a little awkward in snaping back together. Make sure its fingers space evenly with the ice kicking arms.

I removed the ice maker assembly from the freezer compartment (four nuts/ nut driver) and unplugged the wire harness. I discovered the nature of the problem and I went on the Internet to look for replacement parts expecting I'd have to buy the entire ice maker. When I found PartSelect.com I looked through the pictures of the parts available for my ice maker. I found the correct part quickly and easily. And having an acurate photo on the site, I was able to match all the key features of the mold I had with the one on the screen. I ordered the part, and installed it the day it arrived with just a Phillips screwdriver and a nut driver. It functions perfectly.

The tiny piece of plastic that holds the wire that shuts off the icemaker, broke early on with our fridge (after just a few months.) We superglued it, but last week it bit the dust for good.

Once I got this part, I removed the freezer door and trays, and pulled the icemaker out by removing 3 flathead screws and unplugging the cables. Laying in the freezer on the floor was a bit unconfortable, but not too bad.

Then I inspected the icemaker. There was no obvious way to remove the part without disassembling the front of the unit (where the motor is) to release the spindle and free the part, so I did that - 3 or 4 nuts was all that held it together. Once that was out, I removed the spindle, swapped out the part, and put it all back together and back in the freezer. Plugged it in and waited.

It took a while to start making ice. Like 5 hours. Now it's going pretty slow (much slower than before.) Haven't had time to look into it, but my suspicion is the rubber hose that feeds water into the icemaker is blocked with ice or kinked. In any case, we have ice now (but not a lot), and the unit shuts itself off properly. However, we went from having too much ice (thing never shut off) to too little (thing makes ice too slow), so I need to shoot for somewhere in the middle ;)

Once I saw the replacement part I understood how to pry out the switch with a small screwdriver. Then just unplug the old one, plug in the new one and pop it into place.

The PartSelect site made it easy to correctly identify the correct part, it was inexpensive, and the shipping was fast.

I'm very pleased!

removed the three screw holding the broken unit - pulled off the old module.

Before I could install new module I had to loosen some fasteners on ice maker so I could turn shaft to align with new module.

Then push on new unit and three screws. Had tumbling ice in about an hour. My wife thinks I'm a hero. (I am)

I automatically assumed it was the defrost timer contcts or motor due to 2 previous experiences. After seeing troubleshooting guide in check out page of partselect.com site I tested the 2 other components and found defective defrost thermostat. Thanks to this guide I saved a lot of time and cost.

I was about to waste $1000 on buying a Refrigerator. Took 1 mins to search on google "Refrigerator doesn't work". Found a video on youtube, showed a step and step video to solve my problem. Order the part $50 and it took me less then 5 mins to install it. =)

I ran all the ice maker module tests that I could find online, I tried cleaning the contacts inside the ice maker control module, nothing worked...so I finally decided to purchase a new control module. I had already had the module out and taken apart a few times, so the new one was very easy to install. Just removed the entire icemaker from the fridge, removed a few screws, took off the old module, put on the new one, replaced the screws, re-installed the icemaker in the fridge (it just slides in and out similar to a shelf). And 30 minutes later I heard the first batch of ice cubes drop! And by morning the bucket was nearly full. After two weeks of no ice and trying to fix it myself - the family was glad to have ice again (it was July in NC!). In retrospect, I should have followed the advice I found online and ordered the new part sooner and saved all of those frustrating hours of trying to "fix" the part myself.

Ice Maker would seem like it was the valve was leaking and Ice would build up at the rear of tray.
After listening to it cycle, (drop ice and fill) valve would open up again about 20 minutes later.
Over flowed and iceberg would form at rear.
Replaced icemaker unit and works fine now.

Turn off the water supply.
Remove the two screws with a nut driver.
Disconnect the electrical connector.
Disconnect the water supply lines from the old valve.
Reconnect the water supply lines to the new valve.
(be sure to push the water line into the quick connect securely)
Reconnect the electrical connector.
Re-install the valve with the two screws.
Turn water supply on.

First I ascertained that valve was faulty. Ordered replacement and installed without issue. Water now overflowed only during fill and found that filler neck had ice in it as a result of initial leakage. Defrosted with a hair dryer, removed ice plug and it now works as advertised.

Followed instructions supplied. It was relatively easy and the parts fit exactly right. Sears wanted twice as much for the part and service would have charged me another $100 to come to my home. I saved over $100 doing the project myself.