596.76253701 KENMORE ELITE Bottom-Mount Refrigerator ice maker issue

August 11, 2018

HI, first posting here.
The ice maker stopped making new ice, and I worked on the premise that it had frozen at the water input at the top of the maker. I tried defrosting it with a hair dryer (You Tube video inspiration), and it actually dumped a load of cubes or two. I left it alone to do its thing for a night. The next morning, there was a solid sheet of ice in the bin, and an icicle around the water input that also created an ice glob at the bottom of the freezer. I have moved the arm to the off position until I have the time to further pursue the problem. This is the first failure for this unit, which is 10 years old.
It's not easily serviced, because it's a bottom drawer freezer, and one must pull out freezer baskets, and remove the front door.
I was wondering if there were some tips or tricks to cycle the ice maker in real time to determine which part of the system is going wrong.
Your help is appreciated.

https://www.searspartsdirect.com/model-number/59676253701/0583/0161000.html?searchType=modelSearch&q=596.76253701&searchTerm=596.76253701 (exploded parts diagram)

August 12, 2018

10 hours ago, Bucko Vestige said:

I was wondering if there were some tips or tricks to cycle the ice maker in real time to determine which part of the system is going wrong.

Take white cover off front of ice maker. With short piece of wire jump T and H.

(May have to hold door switch closed)

August 12, 2018

Will do. Thanks.

August 12, 2018

When you jump test point T to H As ED mentioned you may or may not need to hold in the light switch for the ice maker to get power . You will figure that out during testing as the motor gear turns. In the beginning within 3 to 5 seconds you will hear a tiny click , after you hear that click , remove the jumper wire. Ice maker will continue to harvest the ice and water procedure for testing . If the jumper is not removed before the ejector blades reach the 10:00 position , the water solenoid will not energize and the ice maker will not fill . Also make a note jumping between test points L and V should energize the water valve for testing also. Just remember the light switch may need to be depressed for the testing. To effectively and efficiently diagnose the water issue with the ice maker you “” May “”need to remove everything in the freezer . Including the back wall . Defrost any frozen ice you see then Reinstall the ice maker with out the back wall in and run a few test cycles with the ice maker to test for where the excess water is coming from if it is . You need to check if water is possibly leaking from the evaporator side of the freezer also for a thorough diagnosis. P S. Many times I will cycle the ice maker in the freezer while propping it up and then I will have a plastic bowl or something under the water inlet chute for the ice maker. It collects the water while testing And makes things slightly easier for the testing procedure. When cycling the ice maker a few times. Just don’t have any thing interferring with the ice maker bar going up and down during the testing. Good luck

Edited August 12, 2018 by darren412

August 12, 2018

Darren412, you sure the valve won't energize if the jumper is left in place? All the jumper does is bypass the thermostat. The contact points inside the power module will still provide voltage to valve, but the motor will continue to advance instead of resting at the home position. So it will continually advance, giving an overfill.

August 12, 2018

Update:

I did empty the freezer, remove the baskets and front door (the only way to get at any of this stuff), and before doing anything else, I defrosted the ice plugging the filler tube. It was frozen a ways back up the tube. I removed the ice maker and got the ice out of the filler cup area. Got up all the ice from the back and bottom of the freezer. It tried to make ice and dribbled all over before I pulled the bail up to stop it all. I reassembled everything (should have left the front cover off, but put it back like a dummy. Now I can't get the angle to take it off again.) I turned the freezer back on and waited almost two hours to peek at the temperature in the freezer. --- There was a couple of cubes. I will report back when the icemaker has had enough time to cycle through again.

I appreciate tour responses. Is there a link to a service manual I could get? I've had good luck repairing several appliances when I had documentation. Of course, it's always great to get tips and encouragement from pro's. I tend to reinvent the wheel when simpler methods are available. (Like: is it ok to leave the front cover off the ice maker for the duration of testing?)

May your beer be cold and your chili hot.

Bucko

August 12, 2018

t

5 hours ago, Koi Guy said:

Darren412, you sure the valve won't energize if the jumper is left in place? All the jumper does is bypass the thermostat. The contact points inside the power module will still provide voltage to valve, but the motor will continue to advance instead of resting at the home position. So it will continually advance, giving an overfill.

the ejector blades at the 10 o'clock position should be reading an open thermostat at that point. Then it sends voltage to the inlet valve asking for water. if the jumper is in still , the module thinks the bi metal is closed when it should be open and then the past of least resistance for the electricity I believe changes for the water inlet valve and it will not be energized.

August 12, 2018

41 minutes ago, darren412 said:

t

the ejector blades at the 10 o'clock position should be reading an open thermostat at that point. Then it sends voltage to the inlet valve asking for water. if the jumper is in still , the module thinks the bi metal is closed when it should be open and then the past of least resistance for the electricity I believe changes for the water inlet valve and it will not be energized.

I always remove jumper... this makes sense.

August 12, 2018

1 hour ago, Bucko Vestige said:

Is there a link to a service manual I could get? I've had good luck repairing several appliances when I had documentation.

Technical documents only available with paid professional membership.

August 13, 2018

3 hours ago, darren412 said:

t

the ejector blades at the 10 o'clock position should be reading an open thermostat at that point. Then it sends voltage to the inlet valve asking for water. if the jumper is in still , the module thinks the bi metal is closed when it should be open and then the past of least resistance for the electricity I believe changes for the water inlet valve and it will not be energized.

I shall give it a try. Not trying to argue but I am not sure that's how it works. Voltage is brought to the valve as the gearing rotates the internal module contacts connect and voltage is supplied to valve. The only thing the thermostat is used for is to iniate harvest start once it is closed. I'll give it a test next time I'm on one, which, unfortunately is less and less these days.

But, I am like you and I always remove the jumper after the click anyhoo...

August 13, 2018

Well I'll be danged. I was wrong and Darren is correct. I happened to have an icemaker here in the shop. Hooked up a cheater cord, jumped the T & H, put the meter leads in V & N and let her go. No voltage when jumper left in, voltage when jumper is taken out.

I stand corrected. Cheers!

August 13, 2018

Well the ice maker produced maybe three tray's worth of cubes, and looks to have stopped. However, the icicle situation has not reoccurred. The cubes look like they may have over-filled a litttle, making a spine between the individual cubelets that are fairly thick. I begin to think that the valve is not closing completely, allowing that to happen, and probably causing the supply freeze up.

.

What do you think?

August 13, 2018

I jumpered T to H and held the light switch off. The wheel rotated and the fingers went around. I removed the jumper at nearly 10 o'clock, and closed the door. Not long after, I heard cubes fall. (I looked - more cubes were in the bin.) I'll wait for a while and see if the tray is filled. There is a notch in the wheel, now at about 5 o'clock. Does it move while the fill cycle happens? How far around should it move?

.

I appreciate your help. I repair computers, so I don't get to do appliances very often. I was amazed when I found the note on the Owner's Manual that said the box was 10 years old. Some of the stuff I work on runs that long continuously too. I guess time flies, right? ............ Thanks!

August 13, 2018

1 hour ago, Bucko Vestige said:

I jumpered T to H and held the light switch off. The wheel rotated and the fingers went around. I removed the jumper at nearly 10 o'clock, and closed the door. Not long after, I heard cubes fall. (I looked - more cubes were in the bin.) I'll wait for a while and see if the tray is filled. There is a notch in the wheel, now at about 5 o'clock. Does it move while the fill cycle happens? How far around should it move?

.

I appreciate your help. I repair computers, so I don't get to do appliances very often. I was amazed when I found the note on the Owner's Manual that said the box was 10 years old. Some of the stuff I work on runs that long continuously too. I guess time flies, right? ............ Thanks!

With the white module cover off you can reduce the water flow by screwing in clockwise the little white plastic screw you see on the side of the ice maker with the module cover off. It’s tiny but look at the front middle of the module on the right side. Only screw it in about 1/8 “. Each turn , till you like the size of the cubes. If the inlet water chute for the ice maker has frozen again then you may have an issue with your water solenoid valve for the ice maker. To test that , Remove the ice makers water line out of the inlet water valve for the ice maker , NOT the water supply line ! It is possible it is letting water in when it is not supposed to. If it is , give it a minute or or so and just watch it. If it is letting water through without it being energized, then that valve will have a real slow drip of water coming out and that will be your issue with the freezing up of the water inlet chute for the ice maker. If the valve is fine after testing it, and The water inlet chute is not frozen , but the ice maker stops production of the ice after a couple of trays still at some point. Point Of Information: You may also want to verify that the door switch for the freezer is also working correctly. An intermittent door switch or one that does not shut off all the time when the door is shut can cut power to the ice maker without you knowing. You may want to consider replacing the ice maker unit. Adjust the water and check all the other stuff and if it still is intermittently making ice and not consistently , I would replace that ice maker. And you will most likely be fine from that point. Obviously if all the other tests pass . Good luck

17 hours ago, Koi Guy said:

I shall give it a try. Not trying to argue but I am not sure that's how it works. Voltage is brought to the valve as the gearing rotates the internal module contacts connect and voltage is supplied to valve. The only thing the thermostat is used for is to iniate harvest start once it is closed. I'll give it a test next time I'm on one, which, unfortunately is less and less these days.

But, I am like you and I always remove the jumper after the click anyhoo...

August 13, 2018

Thanks, Darren. I'll work with that and report back as soon as I can. In normal operation to this point, the size of the cubes were fine. I was thinking that solenoid/valve may have a problem. We have a well with no filter, the best tasting water I've ever had (28 years!), and it tests clean all the time, and never runs dry (knock wood). The only thing that happens is that I get tiny pieces of grit, especially in aerators that need to be replaced once a year. I've had valves replaced with quarter turn ball valves because regular valves get gritted, and drip. So this valve has never been changed in 10 years. I read/hear that there are filters installed in these refrigerators, but I can't see any in the exploded parts diagram. I would think it would be part of the solenoid/valve assembly anyway. It's been a while since the last cubes fell, and nothing new has happened. I may jumper it to see if something gets dumped out. Thanks again. Adios for now.

August 14, 2018

Late last night I had a couple cubes, mostly embedded in a thin sheet of ice in the bin. I turned it off. This morning, I turned it back on, and held the light switch off. The wheel began to turn, but stopped at 6 O'clock. I guess it can't fight the icicle. Will being jammed with ice destroy the ice maker? I turned it off. I'll have to check the water inlet for the ice maker. I am confused though, by your reference to " NOT the water supply line". I assume I need to disconnect the line going from the valve assembly to the ice maker and see if it seeps water from the valve assembly when the valve is supposed to be closed. Correct?

I could replace the entire system for about $160, but I really want to know exactly what's failing.

August 15, 2018

yes. it sounds to me like the thermostat in the ice maker module may be malfunctioning. if you are manually initiating a harvest cycle in the ice maker and it already has ice, once the fingers hit the frozen water in the ice tray it builds up pressure and holds it there. At the same moment the fingers are putting pressure on the frozen water in the ice tray, That is when the ice maker will energize the heating element in the bottom of the ice maker cube tray. Once the frozen ice cubes get enough heat in the bottom of the ice cube tray, the cubes will kick loose out of the ice tray and then the fingers proceed to move forward again and then kick the ice cubes loose and then eventually lift them up and out of the ice cube tray then down into the ice cube tray. If the fingers are stopping at 5-6 oclock and then nothing happens after that , then the heating element is not heating up or the fingers are getting stuck on something else that has nothing to do with the frozen ice cubes. good night signing off now. Good luck ok.

August 20, 2018

On 8/14/2018 at 8:27 PM, darren412 said:

yes. it sounds to me like the thermostat in the ice maker module may be malfunctioning. if you are manually initiating a harvest cycle in the ice maker and it already has ice, once the fingers hit the frozen water in the ice tray it builds up pressure and holds it there. At the same moment the fingers are putting pressure on the frozen water in the ice tray, That is when the ice maker will energize the heating element in the bottom of the ice maker cube tray. Once the frozen ice cubes get enough heat in the bottom of the ice cube tray, the cubes will kick loose out of the ice tray and then the fingers proceed to move forward again and then kick the ice cubes loose and then eventually lift them up and out of the ice cube tray then down into the ice cube tray. If the fingers are stopping at 5-6 oclock and then nothing happens after that , then the heating element is not heating up or the fingers are getting stuck on something else that has nothing to do with the frozen ice cubes. good night signing off now. Good luck ok.

The system energizes the heating coil based on feedback from the fingers? It’s not wired to a position on the gear? I’m having similar issue. I’ve kicked off the manual cycle but it has stopped after half a rotation. There’s ice in the tray but was afraid of allowing manual cycle to continue pressing the fingers against the ice without the heating element coming on. Thanks.

August 20, 2018

11 minutes ago, Aklein97 said:

The system energizes the heating coil based on feedback from the fingers? It’s not wired to a position on the gear? I’m having similar issue. I’ve kicked off the manual cycle but it has stopped after half a rotation. There’s ice in the tray but was afraid of allowing manual cycle to continue pressing the fingers against the ice without the heating element coming on. Thanks.

August 20, 2018

The Ice makers module motor is designed to do that. It will stop at the pressure of the fingers on the frozen ice cubes for a moment. That will put the fingers at the 5:00 ish position . The cam in the ice maker module at that Position will energize the heating element. Both actions will continue until the ice cubes start to move and then the fingers continue clockwise and eject the ice. The process repeats itself when harvesting ice.

August 20, 2018

3 hours ago, darren412 said:

The Ice makers module motor is designed to do that. It will stop at the pressure of the fingers on the frozen ice cubes for a moment. That will put the fingers at the 5:00 ish position . The cam in the ice maker module at that Position will energize the heating element. Both actions will continue until the ice cubes start to move and then the fingers continue clockwise and eject the ice. The process repeats itself when harvesting ice.

Thanks, Darren. Since the module isn't turning the motor right now, and if the temp in the freezer is below the box, would that indicate the thermostat isn't functioning or is there another potential issue; or another part of the cycle that shuts off the motor? The module was working fine until I replaced the fill cup as the part that holds the bar broke off. I'm not sure what I would have done to have damaged the thermostat. Thanks for the assist!

August 20, 2018

Greetings! I received the valve assembly late last week and did the surgery yesterday. As I type this, there are cubes in the bin, no puddles on the kitchen floor, and no growing glacier on the freezer floor.
.
What I found when removing the old valve assembly was that the supply water connection's brass insert had deteriorated (our water may be slightly acidic?), so that the top flange of the insert was gone. (I tried to upload a picture, but it it didn't cooperate.) I got a new sleeve/insert set and installed that too.
.
After replacement, I had a drip, but not from the supply connection. The line from valve to ice maker is just inserted into a fitting on the valve assembly - no nut or anything (like a SharkBite?). I pushed it in as tightly as I could, and observed periodically last night to see if it leaked anymore - looks OK.
.
I'd still enjoy a detailed description of the ice maker's operation, and what it does when, based on this motor driven wheel. I have made some guesses, and would like to know if I'm correct. Darren, that was my guess: that the heater stayed on as long as the fingers were stuck against the ice in the tray; when they slipped out, the wheel can turn and disconnect the heater. I'm guessing that the little white adjustment screw actually changes the length of time the supply solenoid is activated. I'm thinking my problem was some bit of debris holding the valve slightly open; only the ice dam it created prevented a flood in the freezer.
.
Thanks again to all who responded. I have bookmarked the site for future reference. I bow to my senseis.
.
Bucko Vestige

August 20, 2018

PS: Are we referring to the Church of Appliantology, founded by L. Ron Hoover? If so, "MUSIC IS THE BEST!"

Take Care.

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