JS42FWDWFA Jenn-Air Refrigerator - Instructions

Problem caused by ice cubes falling out of ice bin and collecting at rear and interfering with ice dispenser drive. Broke plactic drive ring. Pull down 2 clips at front bottom of ice bin. Pull ice bin out. Dump ice cubes. Remove 8 star drive screws to allow case to move far enough to clear broken drive ring. Replace drive ring. Reinstall and tighten 8 screws. Install ice bin. Correct loose right side ice cube retainer board to prevent cubes from falling out of ice bin.

First locked the control panel to prevent more water from coming out. Then figured out how to remove the panel (using torque bit), along with the control board and switch. Removed the switch from the assembly, and used a multimeter to diagnose that the switch was intermittently closing. Searched using Google to find the switch part number, and was able to get the best price and match at PartSelect without having to order in bulk. I'm always wary about ordering off eBay, and prefer dealing directly with a supply company. Once the new switch came, it was a snap to install it and reassemble the water dispenser board and front panel. Once assembled, the dispenser worked like new! Overall, it took about an hour or less of diagnosing and work, plus wait time for ordering, and about $25 for the part. Beat calling a repairman and paying $100 for the same work.

Pretty simple really...take out a couple screws and the face plate comes off. Take out the dispenser apparatus behind the face plate and you will see the little lever operated switch that activates the dispensers. Mine had one terminal slightly discolored like it got hot...so that is a good clue. Also, the whole system is pretty simple really, and the switch was clearly the culprit. I got the replacement switch from PartSelect in just a few days, and put it in. The whole deal only takes about 1/2 hour cradle to grave. The dispensers work fine now, and I think I saved at least $150 for a service call. BIG PAPA small

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.