Chosen Solution

I have a Kenmore Ice Maker M1 SA8868 in my freezer. It previously worked fine for years. I moved to a home without a water hookup, so I made ice “manually” with plastic trays. I just moved back to a home WITH a hookup, and now the ice maker won’t form “cubes”. I can make cubes manually on the low freezer setting, but I can’t get cubes to form on low, med, or high freezer settings IN the ice maker. The receptacles fill up, and it stays liquid. The maker starts dripping from the bottom and just fills up the catch box with icy slush water. 3-4 gallons a day it seems. I can pop the cover and force it to cycle by winding the dial a bit, causing the motor to take over, eject, and refill with water. But still no freezing in the maker. I have tried with the “sensor arm” both up and down (up is “off”). Notes: I can’t tell if the motor is turning on it’s own, or turning too often (I can’t sit and watch for hours). I found a guide here, but it seems to have issues: http://www.ehow.com/how_12021705_trouble…

  1. arm up is OFF, not on.
  2. there is no “rubber pipe on top of the unit”, as there is a plastic spot that seems to direct the water to each cube “spot”. help?

I ordered and installed a new Automatic Water Supply Valve (AWSV) part no: 242252603. This is apparently a newer part that is now being used as a standard replacement for the old part. The kit included a new feeder line from valve, up to freezer entry point, and spout. When I installed the existing “in” line onto the valve, I also discovered the little copper(?) insert in the tubing was clogged and nasty with green and black crud. Although NOT the cause of the original problem, I recommend having a replacement insert ready as well (not included with the AWSV kit). The new valve seems to have done the trick WITH the new icemaker. The leak immediately stopped inside the freezer, and the new icemaker began to make ice as expected. The first batch took longer than expected, but they speed up as freezer regains cool.

Sounds to me like there’s a problem with the timer or perhaps thermometer, or whatever device it uses to tell when the ice is done. Could also be an issue with the water valve. I’ve read it uses a heat release (ie it heats up the bottom of the ice to make it fall out… perhaps it is overheating it, or the heater is staying on too long). Sorry, I’m good with electronics, but Ice makers aren’t my thing. Best advice I can offer you is a fairly cheap replacement ($55). This model on eBay is new and is designed to fit as a replacement to your current icemaker. Here’s the link: http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Genuine-OEM-… Here’s one at Walmart for $43: http://www.walmart.com/ip/40105162?wmlsp… You may want to double check the compatibility.