GC5THGXKT00 Whirlpool Refrigerator - Instructions

first I backed off top two screws and removed bottom screw. unplugged wire harness. removed old icemaker. harness on new icemaker was the same. plugged in hung new icemaker on top two screws installed bottom screw. turned water on job complete and very easy. I was very satisfied with the whole process.

The repair was extremely easy; after turning off the water valve on the back of the refrigerator, I removed the 3 screws (using a short length nut driver due to the confined space) and unplugged the harness. I did not need to splice the harness on the original ice maker and I simply plugged it into the new ice maker, screwed the unit back on and turned the water back on. It's great to have plenty of ice without having to use the ancient ice trays.

My wife had overloaded the original plastic Pan-Crispr basket with too much cheese which caused the flange to break. The replacement basket from Partselect was an exact match and simply slid in.

I'll definitely come back to Partselect for accessories and parts.

First I opened the fridge and removed the broken drawer. I then removed the new drawer from its shipping container and placed it on the tracks in the fridge. I then closed the fridge. Perfect!

Motor from Part Select was 185W instead of 260W that came out of unit. After a bit of searching online, I found out the 260W had been obsoleted for lack of torque when harvesting ice.

Removal instructions: Unplugged fridge. Then I removed the screw on the bottom right rear of the unit. Then removed the plastic cover that covered the power connector. Pulled out the icemaker by pushing in the tab on the bottom left middle of the icemaker unit and pulling unit toward me. Unplugged the connector on the back right hand side. Removed the cover on the left side covering motor. Took out 3 philips screws and removed old motor with broken axle that spun freely (the source of the clicking noise). Put new motor in aligning harvest arm (the thing with the fingers) and did reverse of removal. Then plugged fridge back in and it started a harvest and the next morning I had a half tub of ice.

The easiest thing to do was pull the ice make off. After taking the 3 screws out of the wall of the freezer, take a screwdriver (flathead) and push on the tab for the electrical plug and wiggle the cord out. Then you can take 3 screws out for the main cover and another 2 screws on the next cover. There's the part, pop it out and replace holding pins and start the process of putting back together the opposite way you took it apart.

Unplug the refrigerator. Snap off the ring surrounding the dispenser from the bottom. There are two slots on the bottom. This is the toughest part of the repair because my refigerator is older and the part stuck. Then unscrew the two hex screws and unsnap the parts, then reassemble with the new parts. Snap the ring back on and you're all set. Pretty easy.

I first opened a beer to gain some liquid courage. The crowd (dog and 2yr old) were anxiously watching while I first grabbed hold of the refrigerator door. The door swung open with a mighty roar exposing the huge gaping whole where the previous crisper pan once shelved itself in glory. I took aim, and slid that new crisper pan in like it was meant to be. The crowd went nuts...but probably because the tv commercial was over and Sesame Street was back on. Thanks partselect!

My troubleshooting narrowed down the problem to either the control assembly or the thermostat, so I bought both just in case. The motor assembly fixed the problem and I didn't need to install the thermostat.

The main thing I want to tell others who are doing this repair, however, relates to the thermostat. If you do indeed need to replace the thermostat (#PS380941) there is something you will need that is not included with the part or mentioned anywhere on this site. The instructions with the thermostat indicate you need to apply something called "Aluminastic" to the thermostat when installing it. I don't know about you, but that isn't something I have around the house, so be sure to order a tube of it when you get the thermostat so you don't have to take a trip to the store to get it to finish the repair.

Removed panel in back of fridge. Disconnected water line. Removed outlet valve housing and disconnected wiring. New part is a retro-fit and was modifiable to fit into same space as old part. Reconnected wiring and water line. Turned water back on to test. Checked water dispenser in front door panel. All good. Replaced panel and wheeled back into place.

removed the Ice Tray, removed the cover that the motor is attached to, The biggest problem I had was getting the coupler off the drive shaft. It would not tightyen up and would not turn auger. I had to remove the unit and take a hack saw to cut the coupler off
The other problem I could not get the wireing harness unpluged from the refigrator, and had to remove each individual wire from its contact. I had to remove the whole motor unit inorder to get the old coupler off.

First I removed the old lightbulb from the socket and replaced it with a new one to confirm that the bulb was not the problem. I then pryed the socket out with a flat-head screwdriver. I could tell that the socket was anchored in its hole with clips so it was relatively easy to pry it out. Once the socket was out, I disconnected the lead wires and ordered a replacement socket kit from Partselect. When the new one arrived, I reconnected the lead wires to it, snapped it back into its hole, screwed in a new lightbulb, and presto!! The light was back on with no further problem. Thank you, Partselect!! A $15.00 part saved me what probably would have been at least a $100. service call and heaven knows what the technician would have told me I needed!!!

The repair was actually easy; however I have an ice dispencer/crusher attached and the which the diagram supplied with the part did not include. I had to make several calls before I was e-mailed the diagram.
Suggestions: note that the screw at the end of the auger goes in the reverse direction (this took me about 20 minutes to figure out even though it was shown in the diagram). Also, be sure to keep the ice crusher parts in order and be sure the white plastic tab on the crusher fits into a depression in the housing. I did not notice this and had to take it all apart and redo the install. It works great!!!

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.

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.