GE PWE23K Ice Maker Leaking - Making Solid Block of Ice

[Nickrivers]

Hello all! Found little to no information online about my model number, so figured I'd post a question here for myself and future troubleshooters.

My ice bin had been leaking slightly causing ice cubes to melt together. After noticing the problem I cleaned out the ice bin and reinserted it in the top drawer and inspected the ice maker for anything unusual. I noticed ice wasn't being made as efficient as usual but continued to use it as normal. A few days later about 1/3 of the ice bin as well as about an 1/8" of the freezer drawer was solid ice. I have since removed the drawer and bin and cleaned them. There is no ice on the bottom drawer, or bottom panel of the unit. There is no water leaking out on to the floor. The only water is the solid block formed in the ice bin and its respective drawer that it sits in.

I have seen quite a few things about defrosting the drain tube, lowering temperatures so the ice stays dry, and other remedies. I am not sure which ones apply to my model as most info I've came across refers to side-by-side units or units with dispensers. Before I pull out the toolbox and dig in I wanted to ask for any opinions on the cause of the problem.

I have heard sudden changes in water pressure can be a problem. I live on a ranch with a well and we've had a string of water tank issues in the days prior to the ice maker debacle. These issues have been fixed but I'm not sure if this is a direct cause of the problem as we've ran out of water in the past 2 years of owning the fridge without any problems to the ice maker.

If this sounds like a defrosting issue, wouldn't I be able to disconnect the fridge and allow the SoCal heat defrost it for a few hours?

Please advise... - Nick

 

 

[Vance R]

16 hours ago, Nickrivers said:

only water is the solid block formed in the ice bin and its respective drawer that it sits in.

Since there is no ice on the floor of the freezer section the defrost drain is ok.  Either your water valve is leaking or ice maker is over filling. Easy test would be to clean out ice bin and turn off ice maker.

[Nickrivers]

48 minutes ago, Vance R said:

Since there is no ice on the floor of the freezer section the defrost drain is ok.  Either your water valve is leaking or ice maker is over filling. Easy test would be to clean out ice bin and turn off ice maker.

So I did that twice now and it still seems to be happening, Its leaking water quite fast but I visually can not see the leak due to its awkward location. Is there any manuals or videos online that show the assembly?

 

Thanks for your response!

[Vance R]

15 minutes ago, Nickrivers said:

Is there any manuals or videos online that show the assembly?

Never looked online for video's. That ice maker is in a horrible location to access.

[Nickrivers]

3 hours ago, Vance R said:

Never looked online for video's. That ice maker is in a horrible location to access.

Found the issue. 

I was very reluctant to disassemble anything. So after sticking my fingers back there looking for a blockage I was able to find a huge block of ice in the funnel that guides the water from the feed tube into the tray. Its completely covered in plastic and therefor hard to find unless you feel for it from behind. 

Its sort of a upside down pyramid object, and after tempering it with a blow dryer I was able to pull the block out. I should mention that this part seems to be removable but by horrible design it does not clear the water line above it. You would have to disconnect the whole ice maker assembly to just disengage the plastic tab, rinse the funnel under hot water, and put it back in. What a pain.

I'm positive the cause had to do something with me living in a rural area. I had been disconnected from power so my utility company  could replace power lines for a few days in a row, also shutting down my water pump. I believe this constant shut off and powering back up of both water and energy caused a tiny block to freeze over at the small end of the funnel and rapidly snowballed into a whiskey glass ice block 🥶

Thanks for the responses! Time to make some margaritas. - Nick