How do I get to the control lever and take off the top.

Turn it upside down and flood it with penetrating oil. Cover it with clingfilm and leave it for 24 hours. Then the screw will budge.

The starting position for those top speed control plate screws with the lock nuts it 8 full turns in when you fit the plate. Correct adjustment begins in or out from that point. The bottom screw should have been left where it was to start with as that is for adjusting the start position so that when the lever closes the switch contacts to start the mixer the plate only starts moving when the lever moves to the second click. Try and get the bottom one roughly right and then work on the top ones. Turn it to the first click on the speed lever and then EVENLY adjust the 2 top screws to have the planetary turn 13 to 15 times per 15 seconds. Lock up the lock nuts and then check that the bottom screw is in the correct position with speed increasing a small amount as the lever slips into the second click.

Shelly, usually this can be repaired without needing ANY parts! Its pretty simple but you do have to tear apart the mixer. Here is a link to the service manual: http://ep.yimg.com/ty/cdn/mendingshed/kitchenaidservicemanual.pdf

99% of the time you are dealing with a loose screw. So take the mixer apart, once you have done that you will find the speed control lever with knob has a screw that holds it in place and in contact with the spring. That screw can work loose and if not all the way tightened will allow your mixer to pop back into speed one. Simply tighten the screw and see if the mixer will operate correctly.

If the speed lever is working through all 10 speeds correctly re-assemble the mixer. If it does not correct the problem you will want to buy the speed control lever kit.

This will include a new speed control lever with knob, the spring, link and a gearbox gasket.
KitchenAid Mixer Speed Control Lever Kit 4176230

The part number you will be looking for is 4176230, it is only about $7 plus shipping of $3.25.

-Colleen @ Mending Shed

Get A Copy of the Repair Parts List from Kitchenaid.com
Make sure the Speed Lever and and the Speed Link are in place
and operating smoothly. The two Large black screws you are referring to
are the Motor Brushes Caps. The Carbon Brushes are keyed and
designed to be inserted into the Motor Housing but one way. If you
insert them in wrong, they will not make contact with the Motor Coils
and you mixer will never run.

All you have to do now is adjust the mixer speeds (if necessary):

Remove the screw holding the End Cover and locate the three screws from the Control Plate.
All three (2 top left and right, and 1 bottom) must be adjusted.

1. Loosen the lock nuts enough & Turn the 2 top screws clockwise until they cannot be turned
anymore. Leave the bottom screw alone for now.
2. Use a dab of white paint or paper whiteout to mark the positions of the Phillips screws.
3. Plug in your mixer and Set the speed selector to "Stir".
4. Turn each top screw One full turn couterclockwise (alternating between Left and Right)
Keep making one full turn at the time (for both left and right) until the motor starts running.
5. Put your hand near the Agitator shaft and allow it to brush your finger slightly. Use your
watch or clock and start counting the number of times the shaft touches your finger in
60 seconds. The correct count should be 60 RPM (Rounds Per Minute). If it is less
or more than 60, give each screw 1/4 turn counterclockwise or clockwise and start counting
again. Now tighten both lock nuts.
6. Set the speed selector to "6" and turn the bottom screw either clockwise or counterclockwise
to achieve a speed of 180 RPM.

For your reference, the planetary RPM's for the 5-qt. tilt-head Artisan Stand Mixer are as follows:
Stir speed - 60
Speed 2 - 95
Speed 4 - 135
Speed 6 - 180
Speed 8 - 225
Speed 10 - 280

There is a spring, item #4, which hooks on to the bottom of the control plate, item # 25, and pulls it back when you move the lever to off. Remove the rear cover and see if that spring is still connected to the control plate and to the lever arm, Item # 3. Here is the diagram:

http://shared.whirlpoolcorp.com/assets/pdfs/literature/Repair%20Part%20List%20-%208212369.pdf

Hi JBOYLES3, from the symptoms you describe, it’s likely the Speed Control Lever has become jammed internally. You should be able to inspect this yourself and determine if that’s happened with just a little effort.
Be sure to have your Parts List Manual on hand, too. If you don’t have the original you can easily download a PDF version from the KA website: (http://www.kitchenaid.com/flash.cmd?/#/page/home).
Click on Customer Care>Locate Manuals & Guides> Enter the 6 character model number, in your case use K45SSW, and select the first file K45SSWH0.pdf (341.41 KB) listed under Parts List (1) and then check to verify this matches your mixer model.
Turn to pages 6 & 7, titled ‘Motor And Control Part’. Locate Illus. Nos. 1, 2, 3 & 4, Pivot screw, Spring washer, Speed control assembly lever, and Control plate spring, respectively. Carefully inspect these parts to see if they have not come loose, particularly the pivot screw and spring washer. Or quite possibly Illus. No. 5, Speed Link & Cam is jamming against some other mixer component and ‘locking’ your speed control lever. I would concentrate my attention in this area.
If a part has broken and needs to be replaced, here are five potential online vendors in no particular order: RepairClinic.com; mendingshed.com; searspartsdirect.com; partstore.com; and Grainger.com. Prices can vary widely between vendors, so do your comparison shopping.
It can be messy but quite gratifying to diagnose and repair your mixer yourself.
Finally, here are some links to several excellent websites that detail the disassembling/reassembly of a KA Mixer. The mixers displayed in the links are different KA models, but the principles are the same.

• http://www.artisanbreadbaking.com/discussions/kitchen-aid.htm
• http://www.neilcrockett.com/mixer.htm
• http://www.foodonthefood.com/food_on_the_food/2009/04/how-to-repair-a-kitchenaid-mixer-yourself.html

Between these three websites and their excellent pictures and descriptions and your Parts List manual, you should now be able to completely disassemble and reassemble your mixer, should you decide to go that route.
If you feel troubleshooting and repairing is beyond your capability, then I would seek out a local small appliance repair shop in your area. KA Customer Care can give you names of local KA authorized repair shops in your area, but you can also do an online search to supplement what KA may provide you. Call to explain your circumstances and find out their hourly rate and get an estimate of what they think it would cost to repair your mixer. Also, always obtain three or more estimates – do some comparison shopping. Good luck and have fun. I hope this helps. Howard, Burke, VA. If this solution was helpful, please rate it, thanks! – hslincoln

You need to take the back cover off and then split the gear cases to find the mechanical reason why the lever is stuck. Take the motor off the pedestal, remove the planetary and undo the 9 screws that hold the bottom gearcase to the top housing. You will need to unplug the white and the black wires from one side of the speed control plate.

Remove the philips screw at the back of the head, and remove the name band. This exposes the 4 screws underneath. Unplug mixer. Remove the 4 screws and lift the top off of the head. Switch and motor are right there. Gently remove the 4 wire plugs, after marking them. Unscrew the 2 screws holding the switch down and lift out the switch.

I just did this last week!
1 Unplug Mixer 2 Remove screw on TOP of mixer body, at back. 3 Remove rear cover and paper-gasket thing (its not the end of  the world if you end up tearing it a little). 4 the phase control (little circuit board w/wires) is at the top (you  should see it very easily) held on by one screw, remove it. 5 when the circuit board is unscrewed, disconnect all the wires  that are connected FROM THE CIRCUIT BOARD to the  black control plate (NOT all wires-there should be 4 left on  the control plate at this point).  you don't need to  remember where all the colors go as the control plate is  labeled->but looking at them and making sure you  understand the abbreviations would be beneficial  (BK=black, BL=Blue RW=Red&White W=white R=red etc.   6 install new phase control (screw), either buy new thermal  grease (used to keep the board cool->it transfers heat to  the mixer's housing) or try to salvage what you can from  the old one. 7 connect wires, paying attention to labels. 8 reinstall paper gasket, then cover, then screw to hold on back- cover.