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New unit, but will not make ice. Or fill with water.
Here’s the first thing to look at: Water Inlet Valve How it Works: If the refrigerator ice maker is not working the water inlet valve might be defective. The water inlet valve is an electro-mechanical valve. The coil can show good for continuity and still not let the water thru. UPDATE Ice Maker Assembly How it Works: If the ice maker is not working it could be that the ice maker assembly itself is defective. The freezer temp should be between 0-5 degrees for the ice maker to cycle properly. There are several components in the control module of the ice maker that can fail and most are not sold separately. Also, ice makers have a relatively short lifespan and so it might not be worth fixing. If other, simpler parts like the water inlet valve or shut off arm have been ruled out, and the only thing left is the ice maker itself, replace it as a unit. Icemaker Module. How it Works: If the ice maker is not working the icemaker module at the front might be defective. The module has a motor that cycles the ice ejector arms around to push the ice cubes out when the ice maker thermostat closes. It also has contacts in it for the mold heater and water inlet valve. The motor or contacts of the module can fail. Usually there are test points in the module that a service person can use to determine if there is a problem with it or one of the related ice maker components. Low Water Pressure from House Supply Other Causes and Conditions How it Works: If the ice maker is not working the water pressure in the house might be too low. The water inlet valve which supplies water to the ice maker is designed to work with a minimum of 20 psi of water pressure. Door Switch How it Works: If the refrigerator ice maker is not working, the door switch might be defective. When the freezer door is opened the freezer door switch does two things, it turns on the light in the freezer and turns off the ice maker and dispenser. If the door switch fails the dispenser will not turn on. The switch can be checked for continuity with an Ohm meter. If it doesn’t have continuity it should be replaced. Ice Level Control Board How it Works: If the ice maker is not working the ice level control board might be defective. This refrigerator is equipped with an infrared light beam to detect the level of ice in the ice bucket. As the level of ice reaches the top, the beam is interrupted and the ice maker shuts off. As ice is used up and the level of ice drops below the beam, the ice maker starts up again. If the ice level control board fails, the ice maker will stop making ice. Water Filter How it Works: If the refrigerator ice maker is not working the water filter might be clogged. Try changing the water filter. Icemaker Mold Thermostat How it Works: 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. Icemaker Switch How it Works: If the refrigerator ice maker is not working, check the icemaker switch. This switch frequently gets turned off by accident. If the switch is turned on but the ice maker still doesn’t work, check the switch for continuity with an Ohm meter. Replace as needed. You can find more ideas on the Frigidaire ice maker not working page (the fixes listed apply to most brands, not just Frigidaires)
It is interesting how no one will touch on the number one reason why Ice makers fail. As a technical advisor for a major corporation, I see 95% of Ice making failure is inadequate door suction(seal) issues. The temperatures become unstable with warm air seeping into fresh food door if not suctioning to front of frig. When temperature sensor senses the warmer air, the controller keeps the compressor running overtime to maintain the 37 degrees in the fresh food. This will cause the freezer temp to fall below zero, which will freezer the tip of the water tube that provides the Icemaker with water. It is a fact that anytime the freezer drops below zero, the defrost cycles can no longer maintain a thawed water tube for the IM. Please keep in mind that the controller’s main priority is the fresh food, since a 3 degree increase will cause rapid food spoilage. The door suction must be maintained. Most technicians as well as “so called experts” are totally unaware that the doors need to be self closing. The doors are big suction cups. A suction cup needs pressure to stick. The doors need their own weight to press them, through use of the earth’s gravity. The leveling rollers or legs need to be adjusted to provide a tilt back of the frig to enable the earth’s gravity to get ahold of these doors/drawers. Suction will happen while compressor is active, due to air flow; the compressor shuts down and all suction is lost. Just as your dart fell off the mirror when you shot your dart at the mirror as a kid, so does the frig doors from the front of frig. If you tilt the frig back, your doors will be heavy to the front of the frig cabinet and will suction. Temperatures will stabilize in frig and freezer. Within 24 hours, the defrost cycles will thaw the water tube and ice production will start. Obviously there can be other variables that can contribute to bad suction, such as a damaged door gasket. One should always be looking for the obvious. Yes, there are other potential causes, but I find that 9 out of 10 times, if the frig doesn’t even have the basic conditions needed for successful ice making, then how can you even begin to blame the problem on failed parts….that can get very expensive- Door suction issues can cause water flow issues to the dispenser as well, as the compressor overworks and brings in an extreme amount of cold air, which freezes the water tube and reservoir in back of frig behind back wall. Temps should be a perfect balance of 37 frig, 0 freezer with good door suction. With water flow and good temps, the IM should make ice. If you have perfect conditions first, and still do not have ice, then you can start looking at replacing Ice machine or inlet valve depending on situation.
I have a Kenmore elite that is just two years old and the ice maker in the door stopped working. I read so many blogs and what little tech Sears and coldspot provided and decided it was the ice maker. Bought a replacement and same thing. Started tracing wires and noticed that the harness that goes from the main controls up through the freezer door is severely angled and flexes every time the door is opened. I opened up the casing the harness is in and found two broken wires. I have been looking for a replacement harness and find nothing. Not listed in the parts manual. Sears parts people cannot find the part. I have repaired the wires but it didn’t last. The angle is too severe and I am not happy. I will never buy another in door ice maker.
If your doors are not self closing, all of these symptoms will occur. Please read my above explanation to solve your issue. Your doors need to suction to front of frig using the earth’s gravity. They will suction when compressor is on, because of air flow. Once it reaches its desired temp in fresh food, the freezer will be way below zero and water lines will be frozen. The frig shuts compressor down at 37 degrees and then doors fall off front of cabinet (gravity pulls them off) and warm air seeps in. It then turns back on and starts the cycle over and over again.
My kenmore refrigerator send message door ajar and not work dispenser, no ice, no water and all door are close firm
I had the same issue and I tried everything and it didn’t work. I read most of the strings here and I came up on the wire harness. I looked on the frig and I found all wires were fine but the cover was not properly latched. I did that and voilaaah it started working and no problem. That solved my problem but I dont know if it will do the same to you
The historical tilt-back of the refrigerator is a lost technology. If the door does not have the weight of the door pressing onto the face of the frig cabinet, the suction of the door seal will not be strong enough to keep warm air from seeping into the freezer and fresh area. The temps may be set between 0-5 degrees in the freezer and 36-37 degrees in fresh food, but the warm air seeping in will prevent ice-making and cause many other issues. The tilt-back assures you that the Earth’s gravity is pulling the door to the cabinet. This tilt back should have been done at installation and should be the first troubleshooting for many problems. I was a Technical Specialist for Sears for 5 years. I resolved 3-4 of these every day just by over-the-phone troubleshooting. The manufacturers have the tilt-back is in their installation manuals, yet delivery and repair technicians are oblivious to this technology, even though refrigerators have depended on the Earth’s gravity to assure a good suctioned door seal from the beginning.
They have all these answers that require a tech to come out and replace boards and switches because of the temperature and the unit freezing on the Kenmore side by side refrigerator. We had the same problem I thought it was the switch or possibly temp board after really looking I found poorly designed vents that blow directly on the ice maker thermostat and ice maker motor. If you block the vents with a good 2” wide tape to block any of the vents that blow on the unit itself it doesn’t affect the freezer at all and ice maker works like a charm. These vents are a design flaw they have to be aware of by now I have fixed 2 other Kenmore refrigerators with this process with successful results on both. Try this before you have them come out and charge you.
Where are the vents you are talking about located?
Look at the bottom of the freezer door. There you will find a wiring harness. Most likely some of the wires in the harness are broken. Poor design. Just trim back insulation, solder and tape. Good to go. Look here: https://www.applianceblog.com/mainforums…
We have a Kenmore elite with ice dispenser in the door. Our ice dispenser froze up and we had to thaw it out with hair dryer. We removed the ice tub that hold the ice and cleaned it. Now the gear that connects the receptacle will not completely mesh on the inside door connection. We have had to do this icing intervention before and it always just set on the gear and dropped down to make the connection. Has anyone ever had this problem
If your new refrigerator is not freezing ice, there are a few things you can try to troubleshoot the issue: Check the temperature settings: Make sure that the temperature settings on your refrigerator are set low enough to freeze ice. The recommended setting for most refrigerators is between 0 and 5 degrees Fahrenheit.Check the thermostat: Make sure that the thermostat is set to the right temperature and is functioning properly. If the thermostat is faulty, it may need to be replaced.Check the air vents: Make sure that the air vents on your refrigerator are not blocked. If the air vents are blocked, the freezer may not be able to circulate cold air properly.Check the evaporator fan: Make sure that the evaporator fan is running properly. If the fan is not running, the freezer may not be able to circulate cold air properly.Check the door seal: Make sure that the door seal on your refrigerator is tight and not damaged. If the door seal is damaged or loose, cold air may be escaping and preventing the freezer from freezing ice.
