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rwright71@hotmail.com  
#1 Posted : Thursday, October 4, 2012 8:18:23 PM(UTC)
rwright71@hotmail.com

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I just finished installing the freshly delivered filter head from AppliancePartsPros (the pin that opens the internal valve when a filter or the plug is installed had sheared), so now I have water to the dual solenoid valve. Following troubleshooting tips for other makes/models gleaned from this forum I have determined that the resistance for the icemaker side of the dual solenoid is about 190 ohms while the drinking water side is 0 ohms, presumably indicating the icemaker side is bad. I tried the trick of jumpering the power from the drinking water switch to the icemaker valve. It didn't activate the valve, not surprising if the solenoid is defective, but to double-check that premise I tried to confirm I actually had power to the icemaker solenoiod by taking a reading on the jumpers connecting the female contacts of the drinking water plug to the male tabs on the freezer solenoid. To my surprise I measured no voltage. Verified meter operation on a wall outlet, disconnected the jumpers and took a reading directly on the female contacts of the plug...no voltage. I don't have a wiring diagram so I can't figure out why the drinking water works fine when all connections are returned to their original configuration but I can't measure any voltage on the plug when it's removed from the valve.

I would appreciate confirmation that the freezer solenoid is bad so I can order one. I don't really need to understand the lack of voltage issue...it's a curiosity but it will fade. By the way, the green light on the icemaker is solid. Hopefully replacing the solenoid valve will result in buckets of ice.
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Gene  
#2 Posted : Friday, October 5, 2012 2:38:09 PM(UTC)
Gene

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Originally Posted by: rwright71@hotmail.com Go to Quoted Post
...I tried the trick of jumpering the power from the drinking water switch to the icemaker valve. It didn't activate the valve, not surprising if the solenoid is defective, but to double-check that premise I tried to confirm I actually had power to the icemaker solenoiod by taking a reading on the jumpers connecting the female contacts of the drinking water plug to the male tabs on the freezer solenoid. To my surprise I measured no voltage. Verified meter operation on a wall outlet, disconnected the jumpers and took a reading directly on the female contacts of the plug...no voltage...


I would like to confirm that you did these tests right before I would recommend any action.

You have to swap the wires between the water valve solenoids. With the freezer door closed, you have to push the water dispenser lever for a few seconds and check for water in the ice maker. You have to perform the same steps if you would like to measure the voltage at the water dispenser solenoid plug.

Did you do it that way?


Here are the breakdown diagrams and Replacement parts for General Electric GSS25LGPABB Refrigerator | AppliancePartsPros.com

Gene.
P.S. The reading of about 190 Ohms does not prove that this solenoid is bad.
rwright71@hotmail.com  
#3 Posted : Saturday, October 6, 2012 10:09:08 AM(UTC)
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Thanks for your reply, Gene.

Switching the connectors at the dual solenoid doesn''t appear to be feasible due to the difference in size of the tabs, so I rigged a couple of short jumpers to make the connection between the water dispenser plug and the tabs on the icemaker solenoid. I did not attempt to simultaneously make a similar connection between the icemaker plug and the water dispenser solenoid. I then plugged the fridge in and, with the freezer door open so I could observe, held the door-closed switch down and depressed the water dispenser. Nothing. I shut the freezer door and unplugged the refrigerator.

Just to confirm that I was getting power to the icemaker solenoid via the jumpers I wedged the water dispenser into the fully depressed position, squeezed behind the refrigerator, confirmed continuity with my VOM from the plug to the solenoid, plugged the fridge in, and took a voltage measurement. No voltage. Unplugged the refrigerator, removed the jumpers, plugged the refrigerator in, took a voltage measurement on the female contacts of the water dispenser plug...no voltage. Didn't make sense, so I confirmed the water dispenser bail was fully depressed and repeated the measurement. No voltage. Removed the wedging material from the dispenser bail, unplugged the fridge, plugged in the solenoids, plugged the fridge in...water dispenser works fine. Called it a day.

Here's another data point. Yesterday morning I discovered how to initiate a harvest cycle. IM did not respond, so I pulled it out for the first time, removed the cover to look for the test points I read about (couldn't find them on this brand) cleaned it up and reinstalled. Harvest cycle worked, but no water was released. Not surprising, since I suspected the solenoid valve was shot. About 15 minutes later I came up with the bright idea of putting a cube of ice from my other fridge into the tray so I could hear it fall into the empty bin if the IM decided to cycle again. The ice tray was full of water! Either I didn't watch long enough or the IM/freezer sectionwas still too warm to allow completion of the cycle (thermistor hadn't cooled down?). Left it alone all day and it never dumped the cubes. Tried to initiate a harvest cycle, no response. I pulled the IM last night to thaw out/remove the cubes, left it out to prepare for today's testing. I now suspect the solenoid is OK and it's the IM that's toast. Right after I send this I'm going to dig into the back again and take the more challenging path of rigging up straight AC power to the icemaker solenoid to confirm operation after reading elsewhere that a reading of either infinity (open) or something in the K-ohm range is indicative of a defective solenoid...your comment about the 190 ohm reading not necessarily indicating a defective solenoid backs that up.
Gene  
#4 Posted : Monday, October 8, 2012 2:07:03 PM(UTC)
Gene

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Can you see a green LED on the right side of the ice maker head? If yes, then what is the status of it? If it's blinking then the ice maker is bad. It's not repairable and has to be replaced.

- The ice maker Part number: WR30X10093
Part number: WR30X10093

Gene.
rwright71@hotmail.com  
#5 Posted : Tuesday, October 9, 2012 8:55:01 AM(UTC)
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Finally got around to putting 120 VAC to IM water solenoid. Test was sat. For anyone else reading this for whom this info might be valuable, I didn't have my VOM on the correct range in my first post. Resistance reading on the water dispenser solenoid is 384 ohms, IM solenoid 190 ohms. Both work properly.

I removed the IM so I could install a piece of plastic tubing on the water inlet in preparation for the solenoid test. It sat on my counter for a couple of days (since my last post) until I got around to pulling the fridge out for the test, so was well equalized with room temperature. It has now been reinstalled and turned on. Green light is steady (and was reported as steady in my first post). I have not attempted to put it into a manual harvest cycle, choosing rather to let it sit for a day (or until further instructions from you, Gene), equalize for the day and see if it cycles on it's own. If it doesn't cycle by this evening I'll manually initiate a cycle and see what happens. I haven't mentioned that the first repair task was to JB weld and reinforce with a finish nail the broken lower hinge on the damper door, so I've been tracking freezer and food section temp each morning. Settings are currently at 4 and 4, yielding a freezer temp as of this morning of -5 and a food section temp of 38.3. I have seen the freezer temp as high as +5 in the last 24 hours, though.

I don't have a wiring diagram for this thing. Is there any input from some other component (like the motherboard) that I need to account for? Can the IM malfunction even though the green light is steady, as appears to be the case? I've only seen it flashing on one occasion several days back when I was turning it off and on and fiddling with the sweep arm.
rwright71@hotmail.com  
#6 Posted : Tuesday, October 9, 2012 9:11:57 AM(UTC)
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Gene, in the time it took me to reassemble the kitchen, put away my test gear and write up the last post the IM filled with water and it's frozen (somewhere between 60 and 90 minutes). Green light still steady. Now I'll wait to see if it harvests. The only other time I removed and reinstalled the IM it got this far but never harvested.
Gene  
#7 Posted : Tuesday, October 9, 2012 11:58:22 AM(UTC)
Gene

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Originally Posted by: rwright71@hotmail.com Go to Quoted Post
...the IM filled with water and it's frozen (somewhere between 60 and 90 minutes). Green light still steady. Now I'll wait to see if it harvests...


If it would not then the ice maker is bad. No doubt about it.

Gene.
P.S. GE has redesigned the ice maker. The IM in your refrigerator is an electronic. The new ice maker is electromechanical.
rwright71@hotmail.com  
#8 Posted : Tuesday, October 9, 2012 6:47:34 PM(UTC)
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Waited 5 hours from the time of my last post, IM did not cycle. Initiated manual harvest, full cycle was completed, IM refilled, hasn't cycled since. RIP, IM. BTW, the green light is still steady. Doesn't tell you the truth all the time, does it!:)

Thanks for your assistance, Gene. I'll be ordering a replacement.
Gene  
#9 Posted : Tuesday, October 9, 2012 8:17:13 PM(UTC)
Gene

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You are welcome. Keep us posted.

Gene.
rwright71@hotmail.com  
#10 Posted : Wednesday, October 10, 2012 9:46:00 AM(UTC)
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Originally Posted by: Gene Go to Quoted Post
You are welcome. Keep us posted.

Gene.


Gene, are you sure the WR30X10093 is electromechanical? That would be more desirable based on my experiences (2) with "microcomputer" IM's, but in doing some pre-purchase research of user reviews I see several references to this unit having an electronic board. I also see a lot of knock-offs using the same part number, too, so it's difficult to ascertain what's true. Can you do a little hands-on research and confirm that your offering is indeed electromechanical?

By the way, what's up with this "Reliablecar" user? Post #10 is just a repost of an earlier post of mine. Kinda mucks up the conversational flow.:mad:

Thanks in advance for your help.
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