Fixitnow.com Samurai Appliance Repair Man » Ice Maker Repair

An Application of the Kinetic Impact Method to Clearing a Frozen Icemaker Fill Tube

Samurai Appliance Repair Man — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 12:17:15 +0000

Ice bucket empty;
inner Babe Ruth awakens.
Batting a thousand.

To learn more about your ice maker, or to order parts, click here.

To learn more about your refrigerator, or to order parts, click here.

Whirlpool-Kenmore Side-by-Side Refrigerator with In-Door Ice Dispenser: Poor Ice Production and Deformed Cubes

Samurai Appliance Repair Man — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 12:52:45 +0000

Kenmore Side by Side,
sporadic ice, deformed cubes.
Nouveau torque module.

To learn more about your refrigerator, or to order parts, click here.

High Altitude Icemaker Service Call on Franconia Ridge

Samurai Appliance Repair Man — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 15:55:30 +0000

Oh, the places the Samurai doth go to service broken appliances. This place had 50 mph gusts and -15°F temps. Can you believe this was a broken icemaker call? And there was no way to get my service van up there– believe me, I tried! No, I had to trudge four miles up the mountain on the Old Bridal Path through snow and clouds carrying all my tools on my back. Never did find the house, either. I think they gave me a bum address. Here’s a video of me looking for it.

Oy, I’m gettin’ too old for this bidness.

(Video shot on Thursday, January 21, 2010)

Manually Starting a Harvest Cycle in a New GE Icemaker

Samurai Appliance Repair Man — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 12:09:01 +0000

To learn more about your ice maker, or to order parts, click here.

Visualize Your Appliance Repair Experience

Samurai Appliance Repair Man — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 07:00:49 +0000

Appliance Breakdown Diagrams

Grok on these mind-expanding, interactive breakdown diagrams of various appliances so you can see how they’re put together. An indispensible troubleshooting and repair aid! Just click on the appliance you’re working on and run your mouse over the diagrams. It’ll popup pictures of the various key components inside as well as give you insight into how to disassemble. It’s the miracle of Flash!

If you need more detailed help, start a new topic in the Samurai Appliance Repair Forum and we can get you more info.

Dryers

Freezers

Ice Makers

Microwave Ovens

Ovens, Ranges, and Stoves

Refrigerators

Trash Compactors

Washing Machines

Troubleshooting Flowchart for the Whirlpool-built Modular Icemaker

Samurai Appliance Repair Man — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 17:41:48 +0000

Here it is, the flowchart you’ve been painfully waiting for while laying awake at night knotted up with anxiety: the Internet’s first systematic troubleshooting flowchart for the Whirlpool-built modular (that means “in your freezer”) icemaker. Go ahead, steal this pdf and share with all your friends… and your enemies, too!

Troubleshooting the Whirlpool Modular Icemaker

To learn more about your ice maker, or to order parts, click here.

Manually Starting the Harvest Cycle in the Whirlpool-Built Modular Icemaker

Samurai Appliance Repair Man — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 17:15:04 +0000

The Whirlpool-built modular icemaker is used in just about all refrigerators made today, regardless of brand. One notorious exception is the crappy IM6 icemakers used in GE-built refrigerators. Why they didn’t just go with the field-tested Whirlpool-built units is a seedy story of corporate sleaze and extortion now playing in a theater near you!

Any-freakin-way, one of the basic diagnostic things you’ll do on these Whirlpool-built modular icemakers is to manually start the harvest cycle. This is useful for finding out reasons why the icemaker isn’t working. For example, it may not start the harvest cycle at all: bad control module. Or you may find that water never comes in: could be a frozen fill tube, bad water inlet valve, bad water supply.

“O mighty Samurai,” you ax, with stars in your eyes, “how does a neophyte on the path of higher Appliantological wisdom accomplish this miracle of initiating the harvest cycle of which thou speakest?”

An astute question, my fine, young apprentice, and elegantly phrased. Behold the revelation of the mystery:

(click for larger view)

To initiate the harvest cycle: use an insulated length of wire with about a half inch stripped off each end. Insert each end of the wire into the test points marked T and H, as shown above. You’ll see the icemaker rake arm begin to move. In just a few seconds– if you listen real close-like– you’ll hear a faint “click,” that means you can pull the jumper wire out and the harvest cycle will continue all by itself.

Ahh, Grasshoppah, can you snatch this pebble from my hand?

To learn more about your ice maker, or to order parts, click here.

Repair Guide for the Whirlpool-built Stand-Alone Ice Machine

Samurai Appliance Repair Man — Thu, 14 May 2009 14:24:17 +0000

This is the ice machine that makes a slab of ice and slides it onto a grid that cuts the ice into little squares. Along with clear and cogent explanations, this excellent and comprehensive repair guide for the Whirlpool-built stand-alone ice machine also contains lots of links to parts and other repair resources for these machines. This guide also applies to GE and KitchenAid labelled ice machines– they’re all built by Whirlpool.

Buying a Replacement or Add-on Ice Maker

Samurai Appliance Repair Man — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 17:20:20 +0000

Looking to replace your dearly departed icemaker? Sick of filling ice cube trays and you’re finally going to install an icemaker kit in your fridge? Figuring out which kit you need can be confusing. Let this handy table be your guiding light.

Refrigerator	Replacement or Add-On [1]	Icemaker Kit to Buy
Whirlpool and Kenmore with Flat-Style Plug [2]	Add-On	Whirlpool Add-on Icemaker Kit w/ Flat Plug
Whirlpool and Kenmore with Round-Style Plug [2]	Add-On	Whirlpool Add-on Icemaker Kit w/ Round Plug
Whirlpool and Kenmore	Replacement	Whirlpool Replacement Icemaker [3]
Whirlpool and Roper made from 1993 to present.	Add-On	Whirlpool Icemaker Kit w/ Flat Plug
Maytag, Magic Chef, Admiral and Jenn-Air. 1989 to current.	Add-On	Maytag Add-On Icemaker Kit
GE and Hotpoint. 1987 to present.	Add-On	GE Add-On Icemaker Kit
Frigidaire, Westinghouse, Kelvinator, Tappan, Kenmore (253 series), and Gibson brands (IK4, IK7, IK8).	Add-On	Frigidaire Add-On Icemaker Kit
Amana with Round-Style Plug [2]	Add-On	Amana Add-On Icemaker Kit
Amana with 4-Pin Male Receptacle [2]	Add-On	Amana Add-On Icemaker Kit
All Brands	Add-On	Copper Icemaker Water Installation Kit [4]
Whirlpool and Kenmore with Flex Tray Icemaker	Replacement	Icemaker Defrost Timer [5]

Notes:

[1] Replacement means you’re replacing an existing icemaker in a fridge that already had one. Add-On means you’re installing an icemaker kit in a fridge that never had one. Add-on kits come with the water valve and ice bin, replacement kits do not. You can use an add-on kit for a replacement but you can’t use a replacement kit for an add-on.

[2] The style of plug refers to the type of icemaker electrical receptacle that you can see on back wall inside your freezer.

[3] Kit comes with both a flat and round receptacle plug.

[4] This is the type of water installation kit recommended by manufacturers. Uses only genuine copper tubing with a drill-type saddle tap valve. For more information, see this page.

[5] The defrost timer is built into the flex tray icemaker. If you just want to get rid of the flex tray icemaker in your fridge, you’ll need to install this replacement defrost timer kit or your fridge won’t run. You’ll have a hard time finding a replacement flex tray icemaker because they suck so bad. If yours is busted and you can’t fix it, you’re better off without it.

To learn more about your ice maker, or to order parts, click here.

Ice Maker Ice Mold Flaking Off Crud into the Ice

Samurai Appliance Repair Man — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 17:34:59 +0000

Noticing some weird crud in the ice from your icemaker lately? You may have a defective mold, like the one shown here (click for larger view). A healthy ice maker should NOT look like this. This rough appearance is caused by the teflon coating on the ice maker mold flaking off, depositing Teflon flakes into your ice. Very hazardous to your long-term health! If yours looks like this, then you may be interested to know that ingesting Teflon causes systemic arthritis in all the joints. Think twice about using an icemaker with this affliction because eventually you’ll find your own body afflicted as well! The only cure is to replace the icemaker. Come git you one!

To learn more about your ice maker, or to order parts, click here.

Icemaker Fill Tube Freezing

Samurai Appliance Repair Man — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 02:20:18 +0000

This annoying problem can have a variety of causes. Check these four things first:

Make sure the water supply is greater than 20 psi. If too low, the water valve won’t seat properly and it’ll “weep.” Common causes of low pressure are gunked-up saddle tap valves, kinked water supply line, and using a reverse osmosis filter to supply water to the icemaker.
Check between the valve diaphram and valve seat for sediment. If found, do not attempt to repair, buy a new valve.
Check to see if the black, flexible portion of the fill tube is wrinkled, twisted, or kinked which can cause ice dams that block the fill tube.
Find out if the water has been shut off while the icemaker has kept on cycling. This, too, can cause the fill tube to freeze up.

If all the above checks out and you’re still getting fill tube freeze-ups, there’s still one thing left to try.

It turns out that the manufacturer’s have been scratching their heads about this, too, and have concluded that the new fill tube air slit design helps prevent this problem. Buy your replacement fill tubes for your fridge through the links below:

Well al-l-lrighty then.

Still confoosed, Grasshoppah? Browse all the FAQs on ice maker repair. To learn more about your icemaker, or to order parts, click here.

Broken Ice Dispenser on a GE Refrigerator

Samurai Appliance Repair Man — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 03:42:34 +0000

This problem is common in the GE Profile side by sides with ice dispensers, such as the GE Profile PSS26MGPABB. The dispensers in these otherwise troublesome refrigerators have been a cause of acid reflux and intestinal cramping for billions of unsuspecting owners of GE refrigerators.

The root problem is that the freezer just gets too warm. Ice at the bottom of the augur bucket melts just enough to add a thin layer of water around the augur screw assembly. The water then re-freezes and immobilizes the augur screw. Now, if you go and use the ice dispenser, the mighty augur motor starts to turn the augur screw and… breaks the drive mechanism. You’ll usually end up needing one of these:

And it may well happen again due to a screwup in the design of the refrigerator which lets the freezer get warm enough to cause all this mess in the first place.

You could also try replacing just the augur screw– not a user-friendly repair, see this topic in repair forum for details on that.

So, whoever’s gonna buy GE appliances again, raise your hand. Bueller? …Bueller?

To learn more about your refrigerator, or to order parts, click here.

How to Fix a Frozen Ice Bin Augur in a GE Refrigerator

Samurai Appliance Repair Man — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 06:21:52 +0000

The ice bin augur
in my GE fridge is stuck.
See GE recall.

How to Diagnose the Emitter and Receiver Boards in the Optical-Sensing Icemakers

Samurai Appliance Repair Man — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 13:53:19 +0000

This topic at the repair forum has some excellent instructions from Sublime Masters of Appliantology on how to diagnose the infernal optics control boards on these over-engineered icemakers that use the optical ice level sensing… as if that’s appropriate technology to have in a silly little icemaker inside your freezer.

What are the manufacturers thinking when they put out this overblown garbage? It’s as though they had a bunch of electrical engineers sitting around one day and said, “Oh, I know! Let’s design an icemaker that uses a bunch of flimsy, expensive electronics to replace a function that could be done more reliably and less expensively by a simple mechanical feeler arm!” Brilliant.

To learn more about your ice maker, or to order parts, click here.

Icemakers in Frigidaire Refrigerators Stop Making Ice

Samurai Appliance Repair Man — Sun, 02 Apr 2006 00:12:18 +0000

If the icemaker in your 2005 Frigidaire refrigerator won’t make ice unless you jiggle the ejector arm, then you need to replace the icemaker hold switch and cam. There’s a “dead spot” between one contact opening and the other contact closing that causes the icemaker to stop because both contacts are open at the same time. The cams are also out of tolerance and should be replaced. Here’s your shopping list:

To learn more about your ice maker, or to order parts, click here.

To learn more about your refrigerator, or to order parts, click here.

Broken Icemaker? Buy a New Refrigerator!

Samurai Appliance Repair Man — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

So, this guy’s icemaker broke. His solution? Why, buy a whole new refrigerator! Related posts:Broken Ice Dispenser on a GE Refrigerator Appliance Tip of the Day: Buying a Replacement or Add-on Icemaker GE Arctica Refrigerator: Broken Air Damper and Everything’s Freezing in the Beer Compartment! Related posts:

Appliance Repair Revelation: Installing an Icemaker Water Supply Line

Samurai Appliance Repair Man — Tue, 28 Sep 2004 07:30:07 +0000

There are as many different ways of installing an icemaker water supply line as there are people doing it. Some are good, most are marginal or just plain wrong. Here’s a handy list of reminders on the correct way to install a water supply line from the source to the water inlet valve on the refrigerator:

You’ll find all kinds of el cheapo plastic tubing kits out there in the hardware sections of Wal-Mart or wherever but 1/4″ copper tubing is the gold standard.
Connect the water line to a frequently used cold water line so you’re sure to use only fresh water to make your ice cubes.
If you have a choice between a vertical or a horizontal water line to tie into, always pick the vertical line.
Use a horizontal line if and only if a vertical line is not accessible.
On horizontal water lines make your connection on the top or sides of the pipe, never on the bottom. If you install the saddle tee valve on the bottom of the pipe, you’re pretty much guaranteeing a future plumbing job because that valve will get crudded up with scale, rust, whatever. Additionally, the accumulated crud in the saddle tee valve will restrict water flow and pressure causing other problems like frozen fill tubes. This picture shows you how to properly install the valve:
The self-piercing valves included in many kits are trouble waiting to happen. Always use a drill-type saddle-tee valve when connecting to the water supply line–avoid the self-piercing saddle valves.
Be sure to leave enough coils of copper tubing behind the refrigerator so that you can roll the refrigerator out from the wall when you you need to work back there.
If you’re installing a new icemaker in your fridge, these how-to pages will help: Page 1 and Page 2.

You can learn more about your icemaker and order parts here.

Appliance Repair Revelation: Icemaker FAQ

Samurai Appliance Repair Man — Sat, 14 Aug 2004 11:28:43 +0000

In most refrigerators, the icemaker is a completely independent appliance that just happens to live inside the freezer. The one exception to this is the gawd-awful flex-tray icemaker that has the refrigerator’s defrost timer built into it making it an integral part of the fridge. All icemakers work with a water fill valve which supplies household water to the icemaker. On most refrigerators, the water fill valve is located down in back, in the compressor service compartment. On Sub-Zero refrigerators and other built-in models, the water fill valve is in front, behind the grill at the floor. This illuminating and inspiring Appliance Tip of the Day will answer all your burning questions about the humble, yet ever-so crucial icemaker.

Q. How do icemakers work?

A. All icemakers are based on a fundamental thermodynamic property of water where, below 32ºF (or, for those of you trapped in a communist country, that’s 0ºC), water becomes a solid that we Ameedicans call ice and those infernal godless Swedes call früzen glaza.

You want the boring answer? Ok. First, the icemaker signals the water fill valve to open and allow water to flow into the icemaker tray. Note that the water is not “pumped” in–the only pump in your refrigerator is the compressor and you don’t wanna be drinkin’ what it’s pumpin’, you dig? The water fill valve simply opens and lets water flow in under household water supply pressure. The amount of water that comes into the icemaker is controlled by the icemaker itself.

Once the tray is full, the water sits there until the thermodynamic state change from a liquid to a solid occurs (that means “until it freezes” but it was more fun to say it thata way). When the water tray thermostat senses the ice tray has reached a certain temperature, it starts the harvest cycle–that’s when it dumps the ice into your bucket. This keeps on going until so much ice mounds up that it raises the metal arm on the side of the icemaker. Then the icemaker stops until you use up some of the ice.

Here’s a bonus Fun Fact to Know and Tell: icemakers won’t make ice if the freezer temperature is above 17ºF (that’s -8ºC for you pinko-commies). So, if your icemaker stops making ice, the first thing to check is the freezer temperature because it could be an early warning that there’s something wrong with your fridge, such as a defrosting system failure.

Q. Why do my ice cubes smell or taste bad?

A. Impurities in the water, dirty fridge, old ice…these are just a few of the reasons your ice can smell or taste foul.

Try cleaning out your freezer once in a while. You’d be amazed at the oozing crud you’ll find lurking in there underneath all that frozen stuff that’s been in there for years. Sanitize the inside of the freezer with an antibacterial cleanser. Throw out all those old fad diet food packs that taste like the bottom of my shoe and all those semi-melted pop-sickles and cans of orange juice concentrate. As a bonus, you’ll probably find you won’t get sick as often.

Use a filter to clean up the water–garbage in, garbage out. Here’s a newsflash: all water has some impurities in it, even water that tastes fine when you drink it. But when you freeze this same water into ice cubes, these impurities are magnified and can become noticeable, sometimes disgustingly so. So, even if the water in your house tastes good when you drink it, this same water can make stinky ice. Come git you a water filter.

Q. How long can I ignore changing the water filter for my icemaker?

A. This really depends on the strength of your body’s immune system. You see, as the filter removes the impurities from your water, it not only becomes saturated with those very impurities, but it is transformed into a veritable metropolis for bacteria. These little creatures multiply and grow to such an enormous extent that they actually begin to clog up the filter with their dead corpses. New little bacteria babies begin living and feasting on the rotting corpses of their fallen parents and cousins, clogging the filter, causing low water pressure, and the resulting hollow ice cubes. At this point in the filter’s life, millions of dead and living bacteria, the mixture variously called scum or puss, normally not visible but in extreme cases may cause the ice cubes to appear cloudy, begin sloughing off and traveling with the water to your icemaker. As you use the ice, you ingest these little creatures where they attempt to make their new home deep inside your intestines. The results could range from simply bad tasting ice, to a feeling of a sour stomach, to mild nausea, to violently vomiting up the entire contents of your stomach along with much bile and other slimy secretions.

For optimal ice quality and minimum health effects, change your icemaker water filter at least every six months.

Q. Why won’t my icemaker make ice?

A. I dunno–mine works fine so I’m all set, thanks. But you might try reading through the diagnostic guide in the icemaker diagnostic section. I know, I know, I’m always telling you to read stuff. Sorry about that. I’m still waiting for Microsoft to come out with those new electrodes that you shove deep into your skull and then plug into your computer so you can download stuff from the internet directly into that fermented brown mush ‘twixt your ears. Hope you don’t get one o’ them nasty viruses. Ahh-CHOO!

Q. Can I add an icemaker to my refrigerator/freezer?

A. Ya sure, ya betcha! Picking out the right kit for your fridge can be a little confusing so let this venerable Appliance Tip of the Day be your guiding light through the maze of choices. As a special bonus to my loyal grasshoppers, brand-spankin’ new icemakers are on sale now through August 22, 2004–come git you one!

And, hey, if you need help installing your new icemaker and even a new water supply line for it, we got installation help for you ratcheer, Hoss.

For more pearls of wisdom on icemakers, click here.

Attention Maytag and Amana Refrigerator Owners

Samurai Appliance Repair Man — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

If you own a Maytag or Amana refrigerator with an ice and water dispenser in the door, keep reading. Amana and Maytag have used a Y-connector in their refrigerator water supply tubing. This connector brought two water lines into one, and is located right after the fill valve. The Y-connector can be in the icemaker or chilled water lines, or both. This connector has had problems with leaking and, even worse, breaking and is now no longer available.

To eliminate this potential flood hazard from your fridge, come git you this Maytag valve kit or this Amana valve kit. Problem solved!

Mailbag: Slow Flow from a Refrigerator Water Dispenser

Samurai Appliance Repair Man — Tue, 28 Oct 2003 19:17:52 +0000

John W. Turner wrote:

I have a GE Refregerator model TFX24R,with Water and ice in the door. When I go to get water from the door there is a hesitation and it then comes out slow. Can hear it as soon as I push lever , and have changed filter and lines but still does the same thing. Is ther a part that is holding up the water??
Tahnk You John

_______________________________
The above message was sent when you were offline, via your LivePerson site.

Message sent from IP: 205.188.209.107

Start by checking the water supply going to the fridge using the technique of the Master:

Turn off the water at the saddle tap valve.
Disconnect the water line in the back of the fridge. Place the disconnected end in a bucket and open the saddle tap valve.
Observe the flow rate–water should shoot out vigorously. If not, then the saddle tap valve is probably gunked up with sediment and you’ll need to replace it.

That should restore normal water pressure. You can buy a new water supply kit, which includes the saddle tap valve, here. More tips on the proper installation of a water supply line and saddle tap valve here.

If the water supply flow rate test, described above, appears normal, then the water inlet valve on the fridge may be gunked up with sediment. Here’s how we check for that:

Reconnect the water supply line to the valve and turn the water back on.
Disconnect the nylon tube from the dispenser side of the valve and replace it with section of tubing so you can out the other end in a bucket.
Now actuate the water dispenser and observe the flow out of the tube. It should be the same as the flow you observed in the first flow test described above. If not, then you know the valve is restricting the flow–replace the valve.

The foregoing discussion is neatly contained in this haiku (inspired by Fixum in the Appliantology group forum):

Fridge water flows slow.
Saddle tap or solenoid:
it’s one of those two.