ice maker?

Hi Lisa. I just went through this on a whirlpool, but they are all about the same in this department. You don't say if this is a side by side, or thru the door dispenser, but let met tell you what I know. Presuming you know the water is on, and not a plugged filter (water dispenser works): The first possibility is a jammed/ broken ice-maker. If a preliminary check finds no obvious jammed cubes in the eject finger area and you haven't forced the fingers manually, then go to the next step: check for a frozen line where the water enters the freezer tray. Also a defective solenoid in the valve can prevent filling tray. You can check these two areas if you have a water dispenser by finding the valve assembly (behind the cardboard cover in the rear in mine). If you have a water dispenser in door, there will be two solenoids (coils), each with a pair of wires attached. Unplug refrigerator, and remove one pair, then replug and test water dispenser (in door). If it still dispenses, then the wires you removed belong to the ice maker. Mark the removed wires "ICE" and the coil as well so you remember. If the door dispenser ceases to work, you have unplugged the door solenoid, mark the opposite coil and plug 'ICE'. Then remove power again, and move the wires from the door coil to the coil you marked "ICE". Note: the terminals may be larger than the wire connector and you may need to hold the contacts some how. Be careful as the next test will put voltage on these contacts. Re-plug the refrigerator and momentarily press the water dispenser while observing the ice maker to see if water flows. If water flows, your valve is working, and the tube is not frozen.
Back to the Ice maker, If you unit has a infared sensor in the freezer door to sense ice in the bucket, there is a test you can do to check it's operation. ( My instructions were both on the unit in freezer, and on a diagram in compartment folder). Lacking that, carefully check the ejector fingers to see if they are loose. This can be a broken gear inside module. You can remove the ice maker by removing the mounting screws and unplugging the electrical connection. You can then access the module that drives the fingers and cycle. My problem was a broken gear assembly between the clock motor and the fingers. (A common problem apparently as there is a beefier set available). I was able to remove the end of the module (three screws) and use a plate I scrounged from a refrigerator at the transfer station. (there were four units of various manufacture, all with the same module)
This is my understanding of how it works. The sensor detects low ice in ice bucket/ turns on the clock motor/ the heater below the ice tray (molded into the tray) heats the ice enough to allow the eject fingers to eject the ice. the water solenoid then fills the tray/ the clock motor stops/when the water has frozen (sensed by a thermostat on the tray) and the sensor still sees 'low ice' the clock motor runs again through the complete cycle until the sensor is blocked by the ice. Hope this helps,,, Roger

Surryroger
May 2007