28 replies to this topic

[jgriffi1]

Hi Gentlemen,

I installed the heater kit (WR49X10173) on my fridge a couple years ago, and the water has worked fine until recently. It's back to intermittenly freezing up. Any other ideas? Can those heaters stop working? It's just a little resistor with no moving parts!!

[Samurai Appliance Repair Man]

Possibly. Or loose/corroded splice connections. Check the resistance of the heater patch.

[Tuco]

The drain may need cleaning. If it cloggs with gukus, the water will back up and freeze.

[jgriffi1]

What drain? This is the water dispenser in the door.

[sbdivemaster]

Just came here for the exact same problem.  Installed heater worked great for a couple of years (old thread here);

water dispenser stopped yesterday.

 

I will check the wiring and resistance (PIA!) and report back in a few days...

 

EDIT:  Forgot to ask what the resistance should be.  What should the resistance be?  Arigato.

Edited by sbdivemaster, 10 December 2012 - 08:18 PM.

[RegUS_PatOff]

EDIT:  Forgot to ask what the resistance should be.  What should the resistance be?  Arigato.

 

edit> powered by 12v DC

should be about 100 OHMs = about 1.4 watts

Edited by RegUS_PatOff, 12 December 2012 - 07:57 PM.

[sbdivemaster]

I'd imagine it would only be a few watts ..

that would be somewhere between 3000 OHMs and 10,000 OHMs

Thanks!  Will check in the next day or two and report back...

[sbdivemaster]

OK, just checked.  No corrosion, but white wire insulation right near the heater element is brown (too hot?); tested the resistance - 108.4 ohms.  I know very little about electronics, but if the resistance should be 3K - 10K ohms, Am I correct in thinking the heater went bad?

[RegUS_PatOff]

... tested the resistance - 108.4 ohms.

If it was bad, it would be "open" infinite resistance ..

...oooohhh ... my mistake .. the Heater could be  in series with something ..

108 OHMs may be OK if you have your OHM meter set correctly

I'll have to find the Heater instructions ..

[sbdivemaster]

The heater was disconnected from the other wiring, and I tested it alone.

[RegUS_PatOff]

edit> powered by 12v DC

should be about 100 OHMs = about 1.4 watts

[sbdivemaster]

Well, 108 would be just about right...  So, what should I do now about the frozen dispenser tube?

[RegUS_PatOff]

... No corrosion, but white wire insulation right near the heater element is brown (too hot?)

... connection heat can be caused by loose / bad connections

[sbdivemaster]

... connection heat can be caused by loose / bad connections

It's not near the connectiones; the browning of the insulation is visible for an inch or so before going under the foil.

 

I guess I could redo all the connections making sure they are all solid...  after that, I haven't a clue.

[sbdivemaster]

So, last night I was inspecting the heating element, and I noticed that the foil covering the actual loop at the end seemed melted or something.  That, along with the discoloration of the wiring is making me think the element burnt out.  Here are some pics (the melted parts are circled in red; last picture is new part for comparison):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What do you think?  Is this heater bad?  Should I replace it?  (Just trying to avoid spending $$ on part that might not be the problem.

 

Arigato, Fermented Grand Master and RegUS_PatOff Sensei.

[RegUS_PatOff]

... What do you think?  Is this heater bad?

.. if the resistance is reading 100 OHMs

(without loose / intermittent connections)

then the Heater should be working

(you may be able to feel it's warmth)

[sbdivemaster]

No impressions on the discolored wires and the apparent "melting" of the foil covering?

 

When I first disassembled, I felt the heater, and it did not feel warm (but the heat is so slight, it may not feel warm).  Ruling out a foreign body blocking the dispenser tube (0.01% chance of that), I'm figuring the thing is frozen again - which leads to the conclusion the heater is bad, even if the resistance reading is correct....

 

Has there ever been confirmation that these heaters can go bad?

[Samurai Appliance Repair Man]

I don't put a lot of stock in slightly discolored wire; burnt, yes, mild discoloration, no.  Doesn't necessarily mean anything and is not diagnostically useful.  

 

Something can check good on ohms and still be bad.  Check the current draw with the heater installed.  Should get something in the neighborhood of 120 ma, assuming 12vdc supply and the heater rated at 1.4 watts.  

[sbdivemaster]

I don't put a lot of stock in slightly discolored wire; burnt, yes, mild discoloration, no.  Doesn't necessarily mean anything and is not diagnostically useful.

Ah, that's good to know. I will ignore the discoloration.

 

Something can check good on ohms and still be bad.  Check the current draw with the heater installed.  Should get something in the neighborhood of 120 ma, assuming 12vdc supply and the heater rated at 1.4 watts.

I will check those out today; just trying to assure the heater is the cause before I get a new one. However, at this point, the time I've spent dealing with this probably would have been saved by just replacing the thing.

Figures a patch job made to correct a poor design would have a limited life as well...

 

I'll report back results, but I figure I'm going to wind up buying a new one and seeing what that does anyway....

 

[DurhamAppliance]

This GE has an encoder board and if i am not mistaken, temps are contolled by dials using "cold-colder" etc and there are no digital temp settings. If so, I've had customers max out controls on these machines causing air imbalance and leading to frozen dispenser lines. Just a thought.