[sailsleuth]

Good Morning:
Ice maker stopped making ice. Replaced whole I/M unit. Filled it with water manually and it does great but won't fill the tray on next cycle.
Thawed whole fridge, blew through line to I/M and it's not clogged.
Water through door works. Great pressure. New filter.
With door open, LED on switch never blinks regardless of beam obstruction.
0. What should I do next?
1. Can valve be tested by switching leads (like on Whirlpool units)?
2. Can I/M side of valve be bad if switched-lead test works?
3. What does no-blink at LED mean if I/M still runs?
4. Is there a list of what the optics blink patterns mean?
Thanks!

[ApplianceJunk]

Hi,

I would test the water valve with a ohm meter.

Here are some blog post that maybe helpful.

http://www.appliancejunk.com/blog/ar...ory/ice-maker/

[sailsleuth]

Hi:
It's a 5-year old Kitchen Aid KSRG25FKBL02.
I'll test the valve tonight.

I read another post that indicating that if you get I/M water during this test, 1/2 of the dual-port valve is bad and I need a new valve assembly. Is that not correct?

Please let me know if it makes sense that bad optics would stop the water valve from operating but continue to allow the rest of the freeze-warm-eject cycle. I can fill the tray manually and it makes perfect cubes.

Thanks,
Don

[libertyappl]

Don,
Bad optics will cause the problem you are having, test the valve first.
BTW Kitchen Aide is Whirlpool.
Nat

[sailsleuth]

Hey Nat:

Thanks for the link to that fantastic repair manual -- I'm stunned that such a document exists.

I searched those posts but didn't find any reference to the ohm reading I should expect for the valves. Can you tell me how high a value would indicate a defect or is just a huge number that would indicate failure?

Don

[libertyappl]

I don't remember the ohms for the valve, I find it easier to switch the leads on the valve, push the water dispenser on the door and see if the IM gets water. If it does the problem is not the valve. Check the freezer temp and make sure it is below zero.
Nat
BTW... Appliancejunk gave the link.

[sailsleuth]

ApplianceJunk left me the link to the repair manual and that document is incredible!
Don't try to fix anything on your fridge without getting that booklet first. It tells you everything you are trying to scrounge from the web (except the valve cross-wiring trick - see below) including the optics diagnostics blink codes.
Using the manual, I found out that, even though my sensor LED doesn't blink when I open the door, my optics are fine and don't need replacement. Contrary to some of the posts I've seen, the pre-2006 ice makers only blink every 3rd time the door is opened. Using the download manual, I save $80 in unneeded parts.
I crossed the valve wire plugs to test the IM and that valve is bad.
Note: the left connector (purple) is for the door and the right (white) is for the IM. The IM and door water plugs are idiot-proof different sizes (white has larger blades) so you have to use jumper wires to link the purple female connector to the white male leads. The white plug will fit on the purple leads but all that does is make water squirt out your door when the IM tries to fill the tray -- this actually happened to me.
Now I'll order the valve and I expect this to solve the whole problem.