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douglasnicholson999  
#1 Posted : Sunday, March 4, 2012 10:59:36 AM(UTC)
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douglasnicholson999

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I have water flow to the drinking water dispenser on the oustide of the refrigerator but I do not see any evidence of water flow to the icemaker and therefore it does not make ice. Any suggestions anyone. Much appreciated.
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Jerry / APP Team  
#2 Posted : Thursday, March 8, 2012 8:02:43 AM(UTC)
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mattt

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Hello. Check the fill tube at the back of the ice maker to see if it's frozen up. If it is, the water valve [AP3192626] is at fault. You can thaw the fill tube out with a hair dryer after the water inlet valve is replaced. If there is no ice in the fill tube, the ice maker [AP4345120] itself is probably at fault, but you could have a water line in the door frozen. In this case you need to check the temperature in the freezer compartment to insure your not running below zero. Hope this was helpful!
douglasnicholson999  
#3 Posted : Thursday, March 8, 2012 9:03:47 AM(UTC)
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douglasnicholson999

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Originally Posted by: Jerry / APP Team Go to Quoted Post
Hello. Check the fill tube at the back of the ice maker to see if it's frozen up. If it is, the water valve [AP3192626] is at fault. You can thaw the fill tube out with a hair dryer after the water inlet valve is replaced. If there is no ice in the fill tube, the ice maker [AP4345120] itself is probably at fault, but you could have a water line in the door frozen. In this case you need to check the temperature in the freezer compartment to insure your not running below zero. Hope this was helpful!


JERRY...txs for the reply. Looks like my analysis was faulty. Turns out that the ice maker unit was off. Now that it is ON, the ice maker is working, but it takes a full day to make one tray of ice and the ice in the holding unit, melts slightly and then refreezes into one big chunk. I remember now that that is why I turned the ice maker off in the first place. As soon as the tray is frozen and is dumped into the holding unit, it refills with water, so the valve and line must be OK. My guess is, is that the freezer unit is not keeping cold enough, even though it is set at maximum cold. The ref. freezer thermometer that I put in the freezing compartment, generally reads around 10 degree (F). Is that cold enough to freeze the icemaker tray quickly and as cold as it should be with the freezer unit set at max. cold? SO ... back to square one. Any suggestions. NOTE: I have cleaned the fan and condensor unit of dust etc.

Thanks in advance for your reply,

Doug
Jerry / APP Team  
#4 Posted : Thursday, March 8, 2012 9:39:58 AM(UTC)
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mattt

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Hello Doug. After ensuring the door seal is seating properly, I would use a flashlight to check the ice door. If you can see light around the ice door, this is causing your ice to melt and a long cycle time. As for the settings, neither setting should be maxed. I don't recommend going past one number below maximum. If this is required to achieve the proper temperature, you probably have a sensor going out of tolerance........or an air leak, such as an ice door.
douglasnicholson999  
#5 Posted : Thursday, March 8, 2012 8:25:12 PM(UTC)
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douglasnicholson999

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Originally Posted by: Jerry / APP Team Go to Quoted Post
Hello Doug. After ensuring the door seal is seating properly, I would use a flashlight to check the ice door. If you can see light around the ice door, this is causing your ice to melt and a long cycle time. As for the settings, neither setting should be maxed. I don't recommend going past one number below maximum. If this is required to achieve the proper temperature, you probably have a sensor going out of tolerance........or an air leak, such as an ice door.



Thanks Jerry. The rubber door seal to the freezer section appears to be OK, but then I don't have a trained eye to know for sure what I am looking for, but it seems to be even and sealed and I don't feel any cold air coming out of the freezer unit. I have know idea what the 'ice door' is. I don't see any door in my unit (GE - GSS25XSN A-BS). I see the ice maker itself, which is not behind any door and the tray with the worm gear in it, which is not sealed off either or behind any door but simply slides out. What am I missing? Also, is 10 degrees cold enough as a general rule for the ice maker to work properly?

Doug
Jerry / APP Team  
#6 Posted : Friday, March 9, 2012 5:03:40 AM(UTC)
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mattt

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Hello Doug. The ice door is the door in the freezer door that ice is dispensed through. If it isn't sealing the cold can escape and warm humid room air will go in to take it's place. This is the door you should check by shining a flashlight from one side while looking from the other side. If you see any light, air can get through, which can definitely cause an issue. I hope this is useful!
douglasnicholson999  
#7 Posted : Friday, March 9, 2012 10:28:38 AM(UTC)
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douglasnicholson999

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Originally Posted by: Jerry / APP Team Go to Quoted Post
Hello Doug. The ice door is the door in the freezer door that ice is dispensed through. If it isn't sealing the cold can escape and warm humid room air will go in to take it's place. This is the door you should check by shining a flashlight from one side while looking from the other side. If you see any light, air can get through, which can definitely cause an issue. I hope this is useful!


Jerry... Got-cha. I found the door you made reference to in the refrigerator door itself (a 3+ inch round flap with a spring mechanism to hold it shut when ice is not being dispensed). No light shines through so I assume it is working OK, but it certainly is not a very tight spring that holds it against the seal. Assuming that it is OK, and the door seal itself is OK, then I guess we are back to why the freezer gets warm enough to melt the ice in the ice holding tray enough to cause the ice cubes to freeze to one another etc. Again I ask, is 10 degrees (which is the lowest temperature the freezer unit will drop to) adequate? If not could the problem be with the compressor/cooling system itself thus not allowing the freezer to reach low enough temperatures.

Really appreciate your staying with this. Your comments are very helpful.

Txs,

Doug
Jerry / APP Team  
#8 Posted : Friday, March 9, 2012 11:37:11 AM(UTC)
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mattt

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Hello Doug.The 10 degrees is way cold enough to freeze and cycle the ice maker (The ice maker cycles when the ice maker thermostat reaches 22°F). A couple of things to check right quick. First, does the freezer light go off when the door shuts? Operating the door switch isn't a real good check as the door liner may not be contacting sufficiently to activate the switch. Second, when the ice maker cycles, there is a heater in the bottom of the ice maker called the mold heater. We need to make sure it isn't staying on through the entire cycle or worst yet, all the time (You can take the control module off of the front of the ice maker and visually inspect the points on the backside of it. If the contacts appear burned, they are probably sticking and holding the voltage to the mold heater too long). These are the 2 things I most commonly found where the cubes were melting together. A third thing is the defrost thermostat. If the defrost thermostat makes connection even when it's warm, the defrost heater will be energized the entire time the unit is in defrost. You see, the defrost thermostats job is to turn off the defrost heater during the defrost cycle when the evaporator compartment reaches about 50° F to prevent thawing the freezers load every defrost cycle. To check this, the freezer wall has to be removed and you need to disconnect the wires going to it. To make sure it isn't stuck in the closed position, heat it with a hair dryer. When it gets above 50°F, the electrical connection will open. I hope this is helpful and not just confusing. If I can answer any more questions, please contact me again
douglasnicholson999  
#9 Posted : Friday, March 9, 2012 12:25:23 PM(UTC)
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douglasnicholson999

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Originally Posted by: Jerry / APP Team Go to Quoted Post
Hello Doug.The 10 degrees is way cold enough to freeze and cycle the ice maker (The ice maker cycles when the ice maker thermostat reaches 22°F). A couple of things to check right quick. First, does the freezer light go off when the door shuts? Operating the door switch isn't a real good check as the door liner may not be contacting sufficiently to activate the switch. Second, when the ice maker cycles, there is a heater in the bottom of the ice maker called the mold heater. We need to make sure it isn't staying on through the entire cycle or worst yet, all the time (You can take the control module off of the front of the ice maker and visually inspect the points on the backside of it. If the contacts appear burned, they are probably sticking and holding the voltage to the mold heater too long). These are the 2 things I most commonly found where the cubes were melting together. A third thing is the defrost thermostat. If the defrost thermostat makes connection even when it's warm, the defrost heater will be energized the entire time the unit is in defrost. You see, the defrost thermostats job is to turn off the defrost heater during the defrost cycle when the evaporator compartment reaches about 50° F to prevent thawing the freezers load every defrost cycle. To check this, the freezer wall has to be removed and you need to disconnect the wires going to it. To make sure it isn't stuck in the closed position, heat it with a hair dryer. When it gets above 50°F, the electrical connection will open. I hope this is helpful and not just confusing. If I can answer any more questions, please contact me again



Jerry,
Good info. This will take some time for me to work through. I'll get back to you with what I find. Again ...thanks a bunch. Most informative.

Doug
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