****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
I have a Kitchenaid counter depth refrigerator made in 2011. The icemaker is located in the refrigerator section, not the freezer as this fridge has a bottom load freezer and the top is all refrigerator. The icemaker stopped making ice a few days ago and before calling a repairman and being fairly handy I looked into trying to figure out the problem myself. The icemaker is not easy to remove and I couldn't find any online videos pertinent to my model. After quite a bit of time I was able to remove the icemaker. Again back to online tutorials. I found that most of the problems with icemakers have to do with the control module located on the front of the unit. I was able to test the function of the module and the water supply solenoid by using a jumper wire and accessing the points on the front of the module (all of the info for this can be found online). I was glad to find that the water supply solenoid was functioning fine. The module however wasn't. Testing this required me to reinstall the icemaker as it needs power in order to test it. The module has 3 screws that attach it to the icemaker. Once I removed the module and examined it I saw that one of the contact points (to the heater coil) was badly burned. Looking online I saw that this was a very common problem due to the use of copper contacts and an aluminum heating coil (dissimilar metals). I felt that I needed a new module and started looking at them online. It seems that most of these modules are universal and fit most icemakers. After comparing pictures of my old module and the ones that I saw I went to Amazon and found this one for about $30. I ordered it and it showed up a couple of days later. I also ordered a tube of Gardner Bender OX-100B compound for about $3.50. This is used to increase compatibility between the copper contacts on the module and the aluminum heater coil. Once I received the module and compound it was a 5 minute fix. I reinstalled the icemaker and shortly after I heard the sound of the icemaker calling for water and in an hour I had a batch of ice. Woke up this morning to a full bin of ice. For about $35 I saved what probably would have been a service call of $300 or more. If you are comfortable attempting a repair and with the help of Youtube you can easily fix the icemaker problems yourself. In most cases you do NOT need a new icemaker but just this control module.
