How to Troubleshoot & Replace Lg AP4650819 / 6600JB3001F Refrigerator Dispenser Switch

After my layman's diagnosis (hope) of a bad micro switch to the ice dispenser (would not activate and dispense ice through the chute) I purchased the both the ice and water dispenser micro switches (kill two birds with one stone). Albeit the video attached to these parts may be helpful to some it was not applicable to my refrigerator, as you could not access it from the front by removing the exterior dispenser plate. Don't try this on the LG, LFX25991ST series, refrigerator or you may break it causing you additional headaches. I would be in denial if I said I was not concerned with pulling out the entire panel dispenser / electronics panel from the door. I was worried about scratching or denting the stainless steel, or breaking the plastic panel insert itself. I used a 9-in-1 Multi-Purpose Tool, as I found this sturdier than the hard plastic putty knife I originally attempted to use. After getting the courage to force this insert away and out of the door I started at the bottom (after removing the water catch basin). I pried the handle upwards to until I heard a "pop" and was able to pull the bottom out about a 1/4 inch. I then worked my around to the right as you face the door, hearing additional "pops" as I did so, pulling on the insert a little at a time as I went around (bottom, right and top). I did not have to actually use the tool on the left side where the electronics are located, as it seemed to loosen up as the other three sides wiggled out of the door panel. After a couple moments I was able to pull it out completely without breaking any of the tabs. The switch was easily accessible at this point. It was heavily corroded at the wire terminal connection. I cleaned the terminal the best I could. The screw that holds it in place was also heavily rusted, but I cleaned it up too and reused it. This fix worked like a charm! 

Replaced micro switch, easy fix. Used stiff bladed putty knife to pry out bezel, then screwdriver to remove old, corroded and obviously non-functional micro switch. Electrical terminals also corroded; took a chance and just installed new one without doing anything about the corrosion. It's working so far. Here is a tip : there are 2 micro switches shown in the parts drawing, one for the ice dispensing and one for water dispensing without clear depiction as to which is which. The one with the straight blade actuator is for the ice dispenser, the hooked blade is for the water. I bought them both before I took it apart, I only wanted to do that once! 

It was super easy with the diagrams on the site to find the parts that I needed. Everything was shipped within a day and fit perfectly. I save myself about $400 from having a professional come out to do it. 

Replaced Dispenser Switch and the Ice Dispenser Door Motor. It seemed from Youtube videos that it was the Dispenser Switch but just decided to change them both out. I only did two tests after swapping the Dispenser switch (one screw and the wire connector thing is all that holds it in) and the ice dispenser kept the chute open as long as I held it. Still swapped the motor out. I wanted to swap out the Ice Bucket Assembly as it cracked on the bottom when trying to clear out one of the "ice damns" previously before I figured out what was really happening. This video was the only one I found that was directly the problem I was experiencing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mc9aUfHUgSw Got ice door front panel off using putty knife (seen in a lot of videos) and this one which didn't work until I loosed a few of the top and top sides first. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7V37EHMJjZQ Lock the fridge water and ice dispenser in case you press the buttons as you'll get water and ice on the floor. 

I ordered parts from Appliancepartspros.com for about $30.00. Watched their how-to videos, installed parts in under 30 minutes. Problem solved. Ordering was easy and fast. Their how-to videos installation was was also fast and easy. An appliance tech was going to charge me over $200 bucks to come to my house and repair it. He could not come for 2 days, that’s about the the time it took me to get the part. I recommend AppliancePartsPros.com. Before calling for repairs on appliances, you just might save yourself some big bucks ?? 

I examined the water intake in the back and found no issues. After some research, the suggestion was to replace the switch, due to corrosion. The unit was only two years old, but I ordered the part. The most challenging part was taking apart the front panel. I broke one of the clips, but the YouTube videos said this would be expected. After uncoupling the wires from the panel to the main unit, I decided to test before replacing the switch. After pushing the switch from the inside a few times, the pump that dispenses the water in the main unit stopped humming. I examined the part and everything appeared to be in order. Decided to not replace the switch and reassemble the unit. Everything has been fine for the past four days, but still keeping the bucket on the floor in case the unit decides to start randomly dispensing water again. 

The whole job took about 15 minutes. I used the tip of a butter knife to remove the dispenser panel from the door Started on the lower left and worked my way clockwise. It was a very simple process. The unit has 2 nearly identical micro switches. The gray one is for the ice dispenser, and the black one is for the water dispenser. My problem was a corrosion buildup on the wire contacts for the gray one. Most of my time was spent trying to slide the wire contacts off the old switch.Replacing the dispenser panel in the door was very simple. 

Removed and replaced micro switch.. 

The ice dispenser was making ice and the ice grinder was also working fine. The problem: the rubber door of the ice dispenser was stuck in the closed mode and would not open when using the ice dispenser. My husband and I removed the main panel to take a look at the possible cause. We found that although the motor had continuity in the circuit, the mechanical part of the motor was not working. During normal use of the ice dispenser, a lever comes out of the mechanical part of the motor which then pushes a second lever connected to the rubber door. This second lever causes the rubber door to open and close. The mechanical part was not working. We purchased a new replacement motor, replaced the old and the rubber door is now working as expected! 

Cleaned off calcium build up. Replaced both water and ice switches. Also replaced corroded attachment screws