How to repair most refrigerator ice-makers for less than $20 

Great Video! I just replaced my control module and will look at replacing the motor on the bad unit that I removed! Your video was one of the best that I have seen on this subject!

Outstanding video. Fixed mine in 15 mins replaced the whole module. Kudos to a good man exchanging info for us DIYers. Thanks

Thanks so much for posting this video, I was able to buy the front section of my icemaker that included the plastic gears etc. and the motor for about 25 bucks. Saved me a bundle of money and was able to do it myself. Thanks again

Thank you so much for this video. I was able to repair my icemaker by myself for only $23. I am NOT very handy and with your help it was easy.

Thanks for such an easy to follow, simple instruction. It gave me the courage and motivation to get started diagnosing. The shunt wire proved that my motor was working, the fins were dipping into the non-existent water, Checked water supply, tube from valve to the outside back of the ice box area. Next I tried to 'blow' through the tube from the end I disconnected from the valve and could not blow any air through into the ice cube/water area. This indicated to me that there was a blockage somewhere between the valve and the cube. Suspected frozen tube, used the hair drier to warm the tube inside the ice box. After a few minutes I tried blowing through the tube again and was successful. Reassembled everything, turned the water back on and let the shunt run the motor through a cycle and heard/saw water come into the mold. YAHOO! I have water, now we wait for ice to confirm repairs successful.

Thank you. It costs me more than $2.50 to replace mine, but doing it myself makes me feel good. Thanks for the clear instructions.

Was originally going to order an entire new ice maker, then i stumble upon this video, where for $29 bucks I could replace the entire Motor module control. worked like a charm! couldn't have been easier --- the hardest part was taking the plastic over off the front of the machine to be honest! if people are scared about just replacing the motor, i purchased the entire module and it was a breeze and mentioned in the note.

Your a life saver !! Just fixed our ice maker thanks to you. Great video

Thank you! We couldn't find the individual motor, but we were able to purchase a complete front control panel for 25 bucks off of eBay and replace it. You saved us at least a hundred dollars with your video, if not more!

I bought one yesterday for $28 on eBay. The "retail" parts seller wanted $70! The first time this went out I was embarrassed to observe how easily the repair man fixed it and shocked at the bill. This time I saved over $100 doing it myself.

That was about the best video I have watched today in my research to fix my ice make

HAMMYDUDE! You are my hero. I honestly was lost until I saw your simple yet very helpful video. Thank you for the assist!

Wonderful video. Straight to the point without all the fluff. Thanks!

Thanks for the video. One thing to check is the contacts on the module. There are several pins that contact the metal runs on the module. On mine, I found corrosion on one of the contacts. After cleaning it up the ice maker is working again.

Yes, it was out of stock when I looked too. I ended up getting the whole module at an onsight repair parts place. Under $20. & well worth it. It took about 5 mins to take out the old one & replace. Thanks so much for your vid though. It made fixing/repairing/replacing an undaunting task. I would never have thought to replace parts myself. Also had to change out my thermostat - again - cheap, easy & a perfect fix. Thanks again

your the MAn on mods and fixing and investigating motor/honest fixes, you should be a college professor, back in 2012, you help me mod?trouble shoot my double horse, syma helicopter,,, your the man, thanks for your patients and kindness to help other people

This is very good video. My Frigidaire stopped making ice. I ordered a replacement ice maker from Amazon and removed and replaced. But, taking the old one apart, I confirmed the motor had failed, and was stuck in the heater on position. Next time I have a bad ice maker, I'll check the motor first.

I have an associates degree in hvac and i had to take a course on domestic refrigeration and domestic ice makers. THIS INFORMATION WAS NOT ON THE COURSE AND WISH IT WAS. it's a shame that after spending all of that $$ that i had to turn to youtube to get information on how to make a repair with out condemning the entire ice maker. I spent half of the money by following your instructions, thanks ! $52 with tax. u.s.d for the new part.

Great video! I was NOT able to replace just the motor. Mine did not twist off as demonstrated. However, I was able to order the entire module for $21 with shipping and tax (McCombs Supply). I performed the quick and easy replacement of the module and now have plenty of ice.

Just replaced mine today. I am back in action. Great video very helpful

Wow, that motor replacement couldn't be simpler provided someone shows you how to do it. I just replace my entire icemaker as the coating on the ice mold tray is old, blistering and flaking off. Anyhow, I salvaged the original motor and added it to my surplus parts collection. Thank you for sharing this.

thanks for the info I checked mine out everything was good. except for the broken water filling line next to ice maker,it had came off i took off back covering in freezer only to find a frozen tube encased in ice water was running down behind the cover. Cleaned it all up put everything back wa la ice.

Great video. Short to the point and informative.

Excellent! I was looking for the sequence of operation!

Excellent video. Thank you so much for creating this.

Thank you, I fixed my ice make with this video!

Thank you for sharing. You saved me several hundred dollars.

Instead of waiting hours for the unit to cycle you could pop the cover off the front and stick s jumper wire in the holes at the bottom marked T and B. If your ice maker is working, within 1 min the unit will start to rotate. If it doesn't then the ice maker is in need of repair. One note though NEVER rotate the cam by hand. This will save you hours of time and I use it every day on my appliance repair job.

Very clear instructions. Well done and thank you!

Great and well produced video. Some people would replace the whole module not go in and swap the actual motor. That's level 2 DIY! :) Thank you!

Thank you for making this video.

Fantastic video!

Great idea with the paper

Exceptionally good video. Thank you.

I have a cheap skate ice maker repair book. This ice maker is in it and I have fixed it at least once. One thing to do, besides waiting for the paper to fall, is to make a short jumper wire, maybe 2 " long. strip the ends and insert each end of the wire into the 2 holes located about 5 o'clock on the gear. That will start the motor. Quicker than waiting.

Such a great video. Thank you.

Nice work!

Great vid, guess i will try it, mine just quit, thanks for posting

Very good video thanks having trouble with mine good start lol

I was trying to figure out why my Kitchenaid ice maker stopped working and found your video. I opened up the modular unit and took a look at the points. They were corroded a bit, but one of the contacts where the things from the other side of the unit was completely vaporized. The black plastic on the adjacent side was melted, too.

Great video.

Thank you for sharing

Good video, fixed! Now I have another one I need to test. Can you tell me how to bench test an icemaker so I don't have to uninstall the other one and install this one to use the jumper? I assume two of the four wires at the jack would need 110v, but which ones?

I just pulled my module off and I found my motor did not separate. Additionally, I found my gear drive had a stripped tooth. Video have me the confidence to pop that sumagun open.

I can piece part my fridge out to buy a new one . amazing on the mark up of parts.

These videos are extremely helpful and well presented. Thanks! If I may humbly offer one piece of advice for future videos, your voice is cut off when you fade between takes, so some of the words are difficult to hear. If possible try a straight cut, and when recording leave a second or two after the last spoken word before stopping the camera. Again, thanks for the helpful tips!

My I maker stopped working about 6 days ago and the arm is stuck half way I did pull the cover and arm and replaced arm to the lowest position ... now just waiting to see hopefully it works will check out if I got ice in few hours ....

Dude, I can't thank you enough. I am an uninitiated and, therefore, generally, terrible do-it-yourselfer. I know nothing about ice makers and never heard of a "power module" in my life. Thanks to you, I was able to diagnose, buy the replacement module for about $22 online, and easily repair my ice maker.

Thanks for the advice. Could you explain how to reinstall the plastic gear I asked about so it is properly aligned? I presume it might be referred to as a sequencing gear for the icemaker?

great vidio now I can fix my ice maker lol.

I checked skycraftsurplus and they list the M004 motor as out of stock. that's where i bought mine. hopefully they will get it back in stock. the motor is also known as 2m 5228b 130rpm. if you find another supplier please let me know.

Thanks 🙏

good help video

Great video, Great response from skycraft. Discovered the large plastic gear spindle is also broken, Presume the number printed after the word ...Manually 628358 is the part number for this control part. Suggestions where I might purchase? Don't think super glue is the way to go.

I just replaced the inlet valve. My ice maker has an issue. Water is not being sent up to it. I ned to know if you have a video showing me what to look for ? I also wish to know, would confusing any of the plastic tube leads cause this ? The 2 for the bottom of the chambers are 2 different sizes so no confusion there. However there is 1 firm,opaque lead for the front of the inlet assembly and 1 that runs off to a second attachment, also opaque and firm. I saw your video on how to install the inlet valve and it showed me what I had already figued out but yours only required 1 of the firm lines. The part that yours came with that MINE uses, you discarded. Anyway, input,ideas ? Thanks ahead of time. GOing to try to figure this out tonight, hoping you see this today. Have a party tomorrow for the family and not wanting to buy and deal with the logistics of storing 5 bags of ice :)

awesome! ty

The thermostat to start the cycle is behind the modular head. with no water at front the thermostat cools faster, The water doesn't. Cycle will trip,, bust through ice, which is half frozen. As it rotates, the water will drain out of the center of the cubes, back into the mold. Hollow ice is then dropped into the bin.

Can someone post a link to where they have purchased the motor component for a low price

I have a different type of motor. Its a m006 15 w 120 v 60hz it doesn't disconnect with the gear shaft easily, by turning, and is improbable to reconnect without the proper tools. just wondering if you had any advice for this type of motor for cheap repair.

You touched on the base module going bad. Do have a video for that?

I have a double Door GE refrigerator and ice maker. My ice maker is making this constant clicking noise won't stop and it's driving me crazy. I cut off the ice maker but it's still making the noise. Can you help

Does this unit control the water inlet flow? Or how does it know when to supply the water?

I have the same ice maker but their is a little copper arm that came off. In your video at about 2 minutes I see you removed to arm lever. Under the white plastic piece that the lever arm actuates is where the copper arm goes. How do I put it back?

Sir: I have the same ice maker as in your video, but there is no power to the ice maker cable. Any idea why?

My ice maker makes cubes, but sometimes the cubes don't make it into the ice bin. The cubes fall onto the first shelf or they just stay on top of the ice maker. Any ideas as to why this happens?

Any ideas? I broke off the piece you said to put the paper on. Can it work without that piece?

The hole to the left which signals the water to run has burnt out. The tiny copper sheets. How to I fix that part? The module runs and runs well but no water due to that area being burnt out.

I'm having a lot of trouble removing the motor from the gear. Any suggestions?

Great tip thank you, But skycraft does NOT ship to Canada. Do you have a Company that does? I have tried everywhere here where I live and have had no luck.

are the 2 holes at 5oclock labeled t&h? i thought the motor test was L & M?

I have this problem. The white dial you see in this video has broken off, so I assume that if i replace the motor it will work?

P.S. My icemaker worked intitially when I bought my fridge. But the ice tasted nasty. It had almost a metallic taste. We tried emptying the bin .. letting it make more ice... dumping it... more ice but it still tasted gross so we never worried about it after that. . I hope I can fix it & get better tasting ice. But cant find the M004 motor that you used?

Anyone knows which cables to check for power? It seems the ice maker doesn't get power at all.

Ice maker Motor is working can see it turn. Valve is working tested by swapping with water soleniod. Yet no water comes to the ice maker. Any ideas would be welcome.

My icemaker was not dumping the ice. I removed the icemaker and when I took off the motor cover, everything was coated with ice. I removed all of that, scraped off the blue corrosion, and reinstalled the icemaker. The teeth seem to be working now but I can't get the icemaker to fill with water. It was filling before, just not dumping. Did I do something wrong when reinstalling?

Our Kenmore side by side refrigerator ice make does NOT make ice even though the water pressure to the dispenser is fine. I've tested the water dispenser and it fills (8) ounces in about (12) seconds. Could a defective water inlet valve be preventing ice making?

Very good video , however, tried numerous sites and this motor and it does not seem to be available.

or if there is a place where I could get the gear base that the motor sits on that would fit.

+hammydude, but how long did that new chinese motor last ya?

I have replaced the icemaker and water valve in my Maytag Model #m9bxxgmymoo with no success at making ice. I have checked that there is no obstruction in the delivery of water to the ice maker, it seems that there is no power to the unit. Where else can I look for the problem?

I have ice still frozen in the unit. but, no ice is coming out. This fridge is 23 years old. Got my moneys work from it for sure! So, what is the part I need? The little blades are not showing. What about the heating part of it to loosen the ice? Could that be the issue? Also, your fridge looks like it still has power. Did you not unplug it before taking it apart?

What's the cause for hollow ice cubes?

My ice control arm popped off. Now after reattaching it, Ice maker makes too much ice. Control arm moves when Ice is harvested, yet it does not stop making ice when the bin is full and control arm stops on top of ice pile. Also, If I put control arm into top position, I hear a click; nevertheless, the ice maker continues to make ice??? . Any fixes for this???

The contacts have been burned out on most of the ones I see. The thermostat on the Ice maker could be bad as well.

The ice maker in my whirlpooI stopped working. Estimated the repair bill to be about $200 in labor and $100 in replacement ice maker, if done by service guy. After viewing this video, i dared to remove my ice maker model W10469286, tested it, motor did not work, so I took it apart to replace the motor. But I found that the motor cannot be separated from the gear box. It is attached with metal hooks. I pried the gear box apart from motor by wedging a flat head and hammer. Yes, it separated but this is not a screw on type. Then I looked for a replacement motor on ebay. No luck. There is no M004 motor that even looks like the original (or one that looks like one in this video). The entire front motor module was available for $25+, but it does not fit my model . So I ended up ordering a new ice maker, same model, supposedly OEM Whirlpool original just for $38 free shipping from Amazon. Looks similar in picture but I will know for sure when I get it in a week or so. For that price I would recommend just changing the whole ice maker rather than go through the hassle of disassembling every thing. After ordering the whole unit, I decided to search it non-ebay. I found Fleck part # 18743, the motor with the gear box for $18, looks similar to the original (don't know if the gear ratio is the same or not). Thanks for the video.

You sound like Bill Murray

Simply pour water into the ice maker cube area yourself. If it only makes 1 tray of ice, you have a water supply problem.

great tutorial video. my question is, during the time it took to make ice, did you happen to notice the freezer temperature rise anywhere from 0-8 degrees and back and forth like so? i'm wondering if making ice with no ice in the container does have the freezer temp fluctuate until stable? any advice would be helpful

At 1:37 of the video it doesn’t show how to remove the gray metal cover of the motor. Help! :-)

Hi I would like to try repairing my icemaker Tried skycraftsurplus & get no results for M004? Any idea where else to buyer this motor? I am not having any luck searching. Thks very much

Why you dont test icemaker cycle puting wire to two holes H and T ? Will tell you if dispencer is working or or not and motor is OK.

my ice maker makes a terrible roaring sound when it dispenses ice. Can you tell me what is wrong. . It is a GE Profile ice maker with dispenser in ;the door.

Help...my my ice maker won't turn off...it is spitting ice out and the light won't go off

Where can I buy the motor at...thanks

what is the model number of your refrigerator?

sorry, i don't know where you can buy just the plastic gear

you can get the whole module on Amazon for $20.

I'm in an area where there is a high concentration of dissolved lime in the water. There is no water coming into the ice maker through the electric valve from the copper water line. It is coming from bellow the floor and where it is tapped into the main water line it is not accessible below. I have been told that these tapped lines can form lime deposits over the years and I think that is my problem to point that it has choked off all of the normal water flow to the refrigerator ice maker. MY question - how can I clean this pipe out?

I followed this video and determined the issue was in the motor assembly, however just before cutting the wires, I hooked up 120v AC to the motor and turns out it was working fine. It was an issue with the gearbox which some cleaning and greasing fixed. I recommend everyone to test these parts separately first before cutting otherwise you'll need to re-solder wires if it turns out not being the motor after all

Mine keeps cycling . It will fill and stop filling and go completely around and repeat