Samsung DA97-08519A Refrigerator Dispenser Lever Assembly OEM Part

Had to replace the (assembly lever dispenser; AW3) unit because the ice and water paddles could not be bought separately. Hold the touch screen child lock icon for at least three seconds until the lock indicates a locked position, this will allow you to disassemble and reassemble the electrical connections on the old and new dispenser without having to unplug or turn power off to the frig. Remove the one phillips screw located to the right of the dispensing paddles on the bottom of the dispenser. There is no good information on this next step but I will do the best I can. The whole dispensing unit including the outer faceplate surrounding the dispensing unit has to be removed together. The whole unit is attached by one phillips screw previously mentioned and five pressure fitted internal tabs (which cannot be seen). Four of the pressure fitted tabs are located approximately 1-inch from the top and bottom inside edges of the outer faceplate on the sides. The fifth pressure tab is located at the top center of the faceplate. The tabs are used to hold the unit flush and in place while the screw secures it. I used two thin wide bladed pareing knives to wedge between the outer edge of the faceplate and the frig to start popping the bottom of the unit out first; then I worked up both sides until the unit come free. It appears to be designed to pop or pull stright out of its enclosure if done properly. The paddle/switch assembly slides in and out of the back of the dispensing unit. There is a small latching tab locate on both sides of the back of the paddle/switch assembly which has to be released simultaneously while trying to slide the paddle/switch out of its guide track. The three electrical quick connects also have small locking tabs that come apart. Do not pull on the wiring to disconnect the quick connects. I worked mine back and fourth a little to get them to come apart. Look at the pin connections on the electrical quick connects closely to ensure they go back together correctly. Do not force. Hope this helps.

This is non-obvious. I read the comments. They are not quite clear. Remove the screw. Most people get past this step with ease. Remove the touch panel assemble. This part is the first non obvious part. The whole assembly will lift/pull out. Just not easily. It's held in by tabs and grooves. The trick is to get the tabs out of the grooves in such a way that you don't break anything. Most people say...pull up and to the right. This would free the tabs on the left. There are two tabs on each side and one on the top. I think a slight twisting motion and pulling out motion will serve you best. Also the recommendation to shove a flat head into the slot by the screw hole is a good idea...to help you pull to get it loose. Once you get it loose feel free to grab the center and pull gently but firmly. Take a picture of the cable locations. Unplug the cables. Next remove the dispenser assembly. Again, not obvious. Also, a surprise. The dispenser assembly holds the touch panel to the ice cube selector panel. Take the whole thing to a carpeted area. I dropped mine on tile but was lucky it did not break when it no longer held together. The dispenser assembly is stuck on tight to a metal frame. There are also two tabs and grooves. One on each side. Using the flat head, get it under the plastic and roll the screw driver so that the dispenser assembly starts to slide back. At some point you will be able to shimmy it loose. Now you can replace and reverse the process. Which is much easier. Be sure to tuck the cables in right, and as a sanity check, plug in the cables and validate that the ice selector buttons still work, and any others you see fit to test.

When researching this I was mostly lead down the path to replace the ice maker - thinking the electronics where keeping the auger from turning and dispensing ice but eventually I ran across these other part options and read that the auger might not be operational due to the ice maker lever in the door not depressing the auger engage button. The more I thought about it I remembered when pushing on the lever I was getting water not ice made me think the lever was busted not the auger. Not sure which part to purchase I took a gamble on this part and sure enough that fixed the problem. I couldn't have replaced this part if not for the user input - READ MORE options - I removed the single screw as recommended and focusing only on the lighted part of the panel. Using a kitchen knife that was not pointed but round nosed - thin enough to get in the thin gap - carefully using two knives one on the upper right corner in about 3/4 of an inch and the other on the lower right edge it started to move - working my way around the edges not being too aggressive it eventually came out. The hardest part was getting the clear plastic lever assemble separated from the lighted panel - after looking long and hard I saw that there was some dried beverage junk kind of holding the assemble from slipping out so I had someone help me in holding the unit and prying on the old part still stuck in place being careful not to break the base unit I used the same knife that I used on the door to pry the clear plastic ends that have these little clear pressure clips - working one side then the other finally it started to move and eventually came free - popped in the new part replaced the lighted assemble and I was off and running - thanks AppliancePartsPros.com you and your user base made this a success and saved me a bundle!!! - great information!

In order to replace DA97-08519A, I placed duct tape around the entire electronic face edges to protect the stainless steel front of the refrigerator. There are five clips (not visible) which keep the system in place and one Phillips screw. The first clip is located center top. The the other four are located approximately 1" from each corner on each side. Remove of the electronic face is the hardest part. 1) Press the Ice/Water lock for 3 seconds to lock so you don't have to power down the system. 2) Remove the phillips screw 3) Using the stiffest putty knife you have, pry out the lower left corner. It will only remove 1/8". 4) Go to the upper left corner and repeat. 5) Go to the top, and repeat 6) The system should panel should be loose enough to pry out out by hand. 7) photograph the electronic connections but they are pretty intuitive. 8) Remove the electronic connections. Do not pull on the wires, pull on the plugs. 9) The easiest method to remove the old part is to break two vertical tabs located right in front of the springs. 10) Slide the new part in place by placing the entire front assembly on a few rags for stability and cushion, and then press into place with a wood block. 11) Reconnect the electronics 12) Snap the system back in place 13) Replace the phillips screw 14) Remove the tape 15) Don't tell the wife how much money you saved!!!!

I watched "Samsung refrigerator paddle ice and water replace" by Joe Wier on Youtube which was by far the best explanation that I found for replacing the dispenser levers on my Samsung refrigerator. The Samsung website instructions are confusing to the point of being worse than useless. I found that I could push the display just a fraction of an inch to the right and pull down and out on the left side of the display. The harder part for me was, once the panel was removed from the fridge, to remove the plastic levers from the metal bracket that held them. I resorted to cutting the small plastic retaining pins with a thin sharp knife since I was going to throw that old, broken part out anyway. It is easiest to see these retaining pins on the new part before you disassemble the old parts. I do have one piece of advice that I never saw on any website. I wasn't sure what was wrong with the ice delivery system before I disassembled it. It could have been the levers, the auger motor, electrical wiring or control display. But now I now that on a working set of levers, you can hear the small switch click as you push either the ice or water lever in. If you can't hear the click, it is likely that the switch is broken and that you have to replace these ice/water dispenser levers. Turning on the child lock first makes it easier to hear this clicking noise.