Proper Operation
Learn how your appliance is supposed to operate so you can determine if it is malfunctioning.
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Loss of Defrost Function
The control head of the twist tray icemaker contains the geartrain, actuator lever and defrost microswitch that switches the compressor off and the defrost heator on. After 15 minutes the heater is turned off and the compressor is turned back on. This also explains why the compressor power is lost when this icemaker is removed from the refrigerator.
Problems with the defrost function can usually be traced back to the synchronous motor. There was a new motor kit for this icemaker that contains a new defrost gear housing. Whirlpool engineers decided that the motor output shaft needed to be supported so an additional bearing hole is provided in the new gearcase provided in the kit.
Install the new motor, defrost geartrain and gear housing acording to the instructions included in the kit
If you don't mind doing without the icemaker part, there is an aftermarket timing device which will plug in place of the icemaker and control the defrosting functions for the refrigerator.
You can see the timer kit at this link: Replacement twist-tray icemaker defrost timer kit.
Alternate possible supplier: Replacement twist-tray icemaker defrost timer kit
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