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 stopped using it. I just moved back to a home WITH a hookup, and now the ice maker work right. It won’t eject the cubes it makes, the control arm doesn’t move (auto or manual), and manually initiated ejection [cycle] of ice stalls when ejectors hit the cubes, but they eject about an hour later. This likely means that the arm didn’t move automatically earlier either (I can’t sit and watch it all day). Then water refill not initiated every time. I don’t think anything is working automatically. Initial water fill was after manual turn of the dial to initiate first cycle. After 12 hours, no functions. I initiated manual cycle, ejectors got stuck on ice. An hour later the cubes finally ejected, but control arm didn’t appear to move at any point. I cycled manually again, water finally refilled. Arm still apparently unmoving. I have already replaced the Automatic Water Supply Valve (AWSV) that feeds the icemaker to solve a previous issue, and I tested with a known GOOD icemaker successfully. So I know the problems are within the existing icemaker.
Icemaker Mold Thermostat If the ice maker is not working the icemaker mold thermostat might be defective. Inside the control module of the ice maker is a thermostat which monitors the temperature of the ice mold (ice tray). Once the mold reaches the proper temperature the ice maker starts a harvest cycle by ejecting the ice cubes and refilling with water. If the mold thermostat is defective the ice maker doesn’t advance. The thermostat can be checked for continuity. Replace it as needed.The freezer temp should be between 0-5 degrees for optimum performance.
end cover, and cover plate removed.
close up of broken mount point (under/behind blue wire)
inner broken-off arm removed, was completely free Well, I removed the 3 large screws in the end face of the icemaker, under the cover. As soon as I got it open, I could see the inner control arm, that operates the external arm, had it’s base broken off of the housing. Since this part undergoes pressure from both motor and connected spring, I don’t think I will have any luck repairing it (gluing plastic back into plastic), and I’m going to call this part of the repair a total bust, unless I hear recommendations to the contrary. I don’t know enough to say if fixing the arm would remedy the missing cycle initiation or not.
