6 replies to this topic

[Nords]

Our icemaker stopped making ice, but of course we didn't catch on until the ice drawer was nearly empty. I don't know if the icemaker went out with a whimper or a bang.

The icemaker says it's a WR30X10044 model CAN 17. It's inside a GE Profile Arctica PSS26NSTA SS side-by-side fridge made in 2006. We're the first owners and it's been trouble-free... until now.

I did the icemaker power off/power on test where you push the paddle three times within the first 15 seconds and then wait three minutes. The green LED came on when I pushed the switch and I could push the paddle 3x, but nothing else happened. It didn't initiate a harvest cycle.

I could see that the icemaker mold had some cubes in it, so I unscrewed/unplugged the whole icemaker and pulled it out of the freezer. It warmed up a little and I pushed the ice cubes out with my finger. They were only about a third of their normal size, so the ice mold hadn't filled correctly.

I shined a light up the water delivery tube-- it looks clear. I stuck a plastic chopstick up there four or five inches into the tube. I think it's clear.

I filled a cup of water from the in-door water dispenser-- only a few seconds to get eight ounces of water. We have a whole-house water conditioner and the water dispenser seems to have the same flow as always, so I don't think there's anything stuck in the fridge's water lines.

I checked the solenoid coil across the electrical terminals on the icemaker water fill valve-- 180 ohms. I've seen specs for other GE icemakers that say the solenoid can have a resistance of 150-300 ohms so that seems OK.

I jumpered the power connector from the in-door water dispenser solenoid to the icemaker water fill solenoid. Then when I held in the freezer door switch and pushed the water dispenser lever, a healthy stream of water shot out of the icemaker water fill pipe into the icemaker. So now I know that the icemaker water fill valve and the water line are working-- and they're clear. I put both of the correct power connectors back on to the correct solenoids.

I put the icemaker back in the freezer, plugged it in, turned it on, and repeated the paddle test. This time it initiated a harvest cycle and swept the arms through all 360 degrees. At the end of it, though, it didn't fill itself with water.

Maybe it had warmed up in the kitchen sink, and maybe the thermistor wasn't letting the full harvest/fill cycle complete itself. So I pulled the icemaker back out of the freezer, emptied out the water, and put it back into the freezer. I let everything chill out for a couple hours. (Fridgezilla has LED temperature displays for both the fridge and the freezer.)

Then I turned the icemaker on again and started the paddle test again. Nothing at all this time-- it didn't even move its arms.

So it looks like I need a new icemaker. I entered WR30X10044 into the Samurai's appliance parts search box and got "The manufacturer has replaced part number WR30X10044 with this item, part number WR30X10093." $143 plus only $7 for shipping, which is almost too good to be true for Hawaii.

Is there a cheaper component in the icemaker that I could replace (like a control board or a motor), or should I stop being a cheapskate and go for the whole $143? Am I missing anything else? Any other troubleshooting I should do?

[Cactus Bob]

Most of the time it's just a bad thermistor in the ice maker

Problem is GE does not let you buy it

I have repaired these by replaceing it with a used one from an old ice maker that had a bad mold coating

other than that , your stuck . welcome to the wonderfull world of GE

Edited by Cactus Bob, 19 August 2012 - 02:43 PM.

[Samurai Appliance Repair Man]

Howdy, Cactus Bob, great to see you again!

Nords, here's the replacement ice maker for your refrigerator ==> http://www.repaircli...mber=WR30X10044

[Nords]

Most of the time it's just a bad thermistor in the ice maker
Problem is GE does not let you buy it
I have repaired these by replaceing it with a used one from an old ice maker that had a bad mold coating
other than that , your stuck . welcome to the wonderfull world of GE

Yeah, I was afraid it was a small part in the big machine, but it'd be a tough slog on Craigslist or Freecycle to come across one I could cannibalize.

It's frustrating. I go through a seven-pound bag of ice a week, which costs about $1.50 at the store. So the money I spend on a new icemaker is a hundred bags of ice, or nearly a two-year supply. And holy crap does that icemaker (and its bucket) take up a lot of room in the freezer.

Nords, here's the replacement ice maker for your refrigerator ==> http://www.repaircli...mber=WR30X10044

Thanks-- I see the replacement part number automatically comes up, along with an adapter cable if necessary.

[Cactus Bob]

I feel the same way about my RO water system . over and over i need to put money into it , filters , membranes , water leaks .....the water & ice store right down the street has RO water for 15 cents per gal .......but ......it's still down the street and my filtered water comes from my sink ......as long as i keep paying ,and paying ........enjoy your new ice maker , you only live once

[Nords]

Six hours since we bought the new icemaker, and I've wasted $146.18.

I guess it's a good thing to periodically be humbled by an inanimate appliance.

As you know, this model of icemaker doesn't lend itself to troubleshooting. I've pulled it in & out of the freezer a few times, but it seemed to be intact. After I eliminated the other possible causes of its failure, I figured something electronic had burned out. Thermistor, control board, motor... hard to tell without some multimeter work. As if I could get repair parts for it anyway.

The new icemaker required several plastic parts to be stripped off the old icemaker and installed on the new. While I was sitting there with two icemakers in front of me, I realized that the "bin full" paddle sensor on the old icemaker had a loose spring. It was easy to see then because the new icemaker's paddle & spring were correctly assembled and operating a lot differently than the old one. The little prong on one end of the spring had come out of its hole in the icemaker body and jammed into the plastic a quarter of the way around its diameter. The paddle still moved, but it didn't have enough spring tension and the spring was flopping around on the base of the icemaker.

So I re-installed the spring on the paddle of the old icemaker, threw it back into the freezer, turned it on, and pressed the (very springy) paddle three times. Sonofagun, it immediately booted itself up and three minutes later (right on schedule) it squirted water into its ice mold for five seconds. Right on spec. An hour later we heard ice cubes going down its chute into the bin, and it's been churning away ever since at about one batch every ~75 minutes. Not that I've been taking logs or anything.

The paddle sensor spring either worked loose on its own, or it got smacked by one of us removing/inserting the ice bin. If the old icemaker survives the next couple days then I'll return the new one. I'll only get back $116.94 after the 20% restocking fee, but it's cheap tuition. I didn't have enough hands-on icemaker experience to recognize the problem until I had a new one sitting on the counter alongside the old.

I guess the $29.24 is also worth the way I would have felt if the GE appliance guy had driven out to the house, reached into the freezer, tweaked a spring, and charged me $100...

So thanks again for the troubleshooting help, and another donation to the United Samurai Beer Fund is working its way through the Internet draft tap!

[RegUS_PatOff]

... I've wasted $146.18
... then I'll return the new one. I'll only get back $116.94 after the 20% restocking fee,

any part ordered from RepairClinic
can be returned (within 365 days) for a refund (less shipping)
including installed electrical parts

Edited by Samurai Appliance Repair Man, 21 August 2012 - 07:13 AM.
Removed duplicate part link, already posted in post 3.