in the not so distant past, ice makers lasted for the average life a refrigerator but now with all of our advances in marketing technology they last about five years. So before you sink a bunch of cash in to repair, inspect every part of the ice maker for damage especially the teflon-coated ice mold which is common to break down and corrode. I hate to say it but because ice makers have such a short life expectancy these days more often than not replacing your ice maker is the most cost effective form of repair fortunately replacing an ice maker is extremely simple and you can save a hundred to hundred and fifty dollars by doing it yourself first unplugged refrigerator.
The ice maker is held in place by two or sometimes three quarter inch screws to remove the ice maker loosen the two top screws that hang the ice maker to the freezer sidewall the bottom screw if there is one must be removed completely allowing the ice maker to be lifted from the two top screws after the ice makers lose you can disconnect the rear wire connection to reinstall your new ice maker just run that reverse. you may also need to swap out the wiring harness to match up with the plug if your refrigerator see that wasn't so bad before you go and buy new ice maker through ApplianceAssistant. com it would be wise to understand the causes the failure so that you know you're on the right track please excuse my shameless plug.
There have been several different ice maker designs through the years all have the same basic mechanics but some minor mechanical variations in this video will be looking at the extremely common Whirlpool built modular ice maker installed in almost all whirlpool produce refrigeration which includes Maytag, Kitchen Aid, Roper, Estate, and Sears Kenmore just name a few Ice makers are like a separate appliance in your freezer they have their own control system timing and mechanical components independent for the most part from the rest of the refrigerator's functions on average the ice maker will produce one batch of ice every one to two hours as I discussed in the circuit training video all appliances have a power source conductor control device and a load that actually does the work with an ice maker there are three control devices the thermostat the bail arm switch and the ingenious rotating gear switch there are also three loads the motor the water valve in the mold heater will look more closely at each of these in a moment first insert your screwdriver into the water supply tube that carries water from an automatic water valve to the ice maker through the freezers rear wall this tube can freeze solid blocking any water from filling the ice makers mold and stopping ice production even if the water valve is being energized if this tube is frozen thaw it out and hope for the best If it soon refreezes you may need to replace the automatic water supply valve not necessarily the ice maker ice buildup in this tube usually means that the water valve is not closing completely and slowly seeping water buildup in this tube. As I mentioned earlier, the ice maker temporarily energizes an automatic water valve behind the refrigerator for about seven seconds when the solenoid is energized it lifts a small internal gate allowing four to five ounces of water to flow into the ice makers more Some refrigerators have water filtration systems to remove all those pesky contaminants which is good because minerals in the water can cause the extremely thin coating on your ice makers mold to break down even more rapidly the mold coding is important because it allows ice to slip from the mold easily if it breaks down a becomes rough or flakes off completely exposing the metal the ice will jam in place and you will need to use those plastic ice cubes your next cocktail party water filters are designed to be replaced every six months or approximately 400 gallons water filtration if the water filter or filter housing becomes clogged the amount of water reaching the ice tray may be reduced causing smaller or hollow ice cubes if the refrigerator has a water dispenser a quick way to check the water volume is to dispense water into an eight-ounce glass it should take fifteen seconds or less reverse osmosis or RO systems can cause similar problems giving the user excellent water quality but very low water pressure after the ice maker is filled with water we wait rushing nature is fine sometimes like when you really want yesterday's pizza hot in 30 seconds the removing heat from water takes a little more time once the thermostat sense is that the water is frozen closes a circuit energizing the motor and heater as the timer advances the ice sensing arm raises and the harvesting arm rotates until it comes in contact with the ice the motor is unable to move the ice until they hear loosens it from the mold when heater has done it's job the harvesting arm continues its rotation after the ice has been removed from the mold the thermostat reopens the ice setting bail arm will now attempt drop however if it is blocked from completely dropping to its neutral down position power will not be supplied to the motor and the ice maker will stop production in this way the ice maker can sense if the ice container is full opening a circuit and stopping ice production the ice makers a fairly simple mechanical device made of six main components the control module which contains a small motor that drives a gear with a conductive pattern on the back energizing various components at the proper times as it rotates the harvesting arm which removes formed ice cubes the ice maker thermostat is normally open and closes temporarily when ice has frozen energizing the mold heater and causing the motor to rotate again the mold heater warms the mold causing the ice cubes to melt slightly for easy removal in the bail arm opens and closes a small contact inside the control module interrupting power if it senses that the ice bin is full lastly the water valve supplies the high quality h2o necessary for ice production this style of ice maker has a few test points on the module which enables us to test some components without removing the ice maker for more information on how to use a voltmeter visit ApplianceAssistant. com first we'll check the mold heater set your meter to measure resistance and insert the meter leads into the L and H terminals the mold heater should give you a reading around seventy Ohms of resistance next we can check the timer motor by inserting our leads into the L and M test points you should get a reading around forty four hundred Ohms of resistance the water valve can be checked from the valves test points which are N and V this is a good one to know because you can test the water valve without removing the refrigerator you should get a reading at between 150 and 350 ohms of resistance and lastly the thermostat can be tested from test points T to L remember that ice must be present in the ice makers mold for the thermostat to close just called is not good enough so now let's talk about the size of your cubes.
. . ice makers don't have any kind of water level sensor like a washing machine does instead they fill for a set period of time as the rotation the timer temporarily energizes the water valve ice makers are set at the factory for average household water pressure however if you start to have problems like individualize ice cube groups being connected along the top after they've been harvested or icicles hanging down from your ice maker or your ice container floor being covered with ice all these are symptoms that are caused by too much water if you have small cubes don't be embarrassed you're just not getting enough water you can correct both of these problems by adjusting how long the valves energized with the screw that is located on the ice maker module adjustment is clockwise to reduce fill time and counterclockwise to increase it but be careful a little goes a long way one full rotation is the most you should ever need you can see how far from the factory saying you are with this little window the hole is centered at the factory well that about sums it up I hope this video is helpful and saves you a lot of money more videos like this one and other appliance repair help are available at ApplianceAssistant.
com Thanks for watching!
