GE® 18.1 Cu. Ft. Top-Freezer Refrigerator GTH18GBDCRWW need icemaker help- how do i get cover off to do jump test

[icemaker help]

Hello

Icemaker on this started working very intermittently about one month ago.

made sure vents were not blocked with too much stuff in freezer. cleaned coils under fridge to support good cooling.

turned thermostat down a bit to make sure summer heat isn't just making it work too hard to keep cool.

put thermometer in and it is at just under 10 degrees (although everything in the refridgerator compartment is now frozen., another problem now.)

 

will make ice one cycle, drop it and refill.  then the next ice sits there like it is stuck. after lifting handle to restart a few times, will start to go through cycle. then sounds like it gets stuck when the white blades circle down to pop ice out.

 

HOW DO I GET THE COVER OFF TO TRY JUMP TEST?  

 

I do not see any screws or latches and tried prying it off with a butter knife, but it will not come off.

Am trying to run the tests shown here, but cannot get the cover off.  thanks for any help.

 

[icemaker help]

Since everything in refrigerator froze, I also tried the test of putting a cup of water on top shelf for 24 hours and then testing temperature with a candy thermometer- only couldn't put thermometer in the water after 24 hours as it was a solid block of ice.

I thought ice maker may not be working properly because freezer wasn't getting cold enough, so had turned down thermostat to see if that would solve it since it was working perfectly just intermittent. But now refrigerator too cold.

Still hoping someone may post on how to get the end cap off of the icemaker to jump wire test it. thanks

[icemaker help]

I am attaching a picture here of the icemaker.   

 

 

 

(also btw I found a replacement one on Amazon here https://www.amazon.com/dp/B099LKM88R?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details   but it said it won't work if freezer is not below 10 degrees so it made no sense to put a new one in if it isn't going to work either- especially since the current one works, just not consistently. 

We had this happen last summer, too. It works great all winter/year and then in the summer just starts doing the intermittent thing of only dropping a random tray of ice and the next one stays in tray frozen and ready, but won't drop. I read somewhere that there is a thermostat in the icemaker that will not activate the heating tray to drop the ice unless it is a certain termperature in the freezer itself.)

[icemaker help]

Does anyone respond on this forum?

I got the cover off and am attaching a photo of what i see. There are no holes like the video to do tests?

Also attaching a photo of ice in the refridgerator that has been in there for three days and doesn't melt. Don't know why the refrigerator is now turning everything to ice.

 

[Terry Carmen]

There aren't any holes because the icemaker in the video isn't the icemaker you have.

[icemaker help]

SO how to run a test on the one I do have?

 

I am wondering if the damper is a problem and too much cold air is going into fridge.  Because when I checked the thermometer in the freezer it seems to be going up to 20 degrees or more at times. Shouldn't it maintain a more consistent temperature?  And where is the damper on this model? This is my first ever attempt to work on a refrigerator, so I appreciate the sharing of knowledge if it is easy enough and part of the samurai code.

 

This is working with the idea that the icemaker isn't working because freezer is not staying cold enough for temp sensor in heat tray to release the ice. Along with the new symptom of everything in refrigerator freezing.

 

Thanks again for any simple ideas not too hard to share along here.....Peace

[Terry Carmen]

Sorry, I'm not a GE guy.

I just know that the icemaker in the video is not the one in your refrigerator.

 

Edited August 17, 2022 by Terry Carmen

[icemaker help]

Thank you for responding. I removed the icemaker and there was a sticker provifing this:

DR.NO. 197D6988G002   WR30X10077  MODEL CAN23

I also cannot figure out if the damper is stuck open. I feel cold air coming from the opening, but cannot tell if there is a slide door or what that is supposed to open and close if anyone can advise on how to determine this.

The bowl of ice in the refridgerator is still frozen. All food is freezing- complete gallon of milk. I turned thermostat back down and still frozen.

[RTFM]

To make the ice maker run manually you just have to rotate the plastic  gear clockwise, keep in mind you will probably bypass the thermostat and the heater won't loosen the ice in the molds. This is a frigidaire style ice maker GE used. The new  GE ones (replacment) look nothing like it. 

You probably  have a bad thermostat in the ice maker, it is pretty old. 

As to the damper control, if you do not have a extra knob labeled freezer temp, you don't have one, GE uprights had two controls either in the front or back of the fresh food section , the one labeled fresh food is the actual thermostat and the freezer knob  controlled the damper mechanically.

Edited August 18, 2022 by RTFM

[icemaker help]

Thank you, Legacy Tech RTFM, for your response. 

ICEMAKER- I thawed out the old one entirely. There was some ice frozen around the plastic gears behind the cover when I took it out and I wondered if it may have stopped the plastic gears from turning.  

I installed the one from here  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B099LKM88R?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details and it worked just fine. So seems the temperature in the freezer was fine for this.

I put the old one back in to see if the ice on gears had been problem (or maybe it just needed a break as us old ones do). It filled up with water, but never froze the ice now. All things come to an end. "A samaurai should always be prepared for death - whether his own or someone/(thing) else's." 

SO the new one is back in and working fine.

I returned here to put ending on story and also to share this link I found for any other folks who may be looking at an intermittent or nonworking icemaker to troubleshoot:                                 https://www.icemakerrepair.com/blog/comprehensive-troubleshooting-for-shut-off-arm-controlled-ice-makers/. 

Also, fyi,  when I did get the cover off of the old icemaker the inside of the cover had a diagram of the electrical connections if anyone else is ever working on one of these and is inclined to use that to keep an elder going a while longer. It was actually etched into/raised print directly on the inside cover. (It was more than I wanted to get into at the point I saw it.)

 

DAMPER- Since you said no damper on this model, I decided to put a gallon jug of water in front of the little box area where I was looking for a damper and could feel the cold air coming in from freezer. Thought was for it to kind of block the full on entry, similar to reading putting gallon jugs of water in fridge if it is freezing food from being too empty. But adding in the placement of it directly in front of that spot where the cold air enters.

It froze solid within a day or two and has remained frozen solid.

AND the other food/liquids in fridge stopped freezing. So for now just leaving it there. Pics down below. Don't know if any thoughts on removing it at some point, or on having a frozen gallon jug of water for fridge to work w/o freezing food. Not useful to the professionals prob, since customers won't consider put a gallon jug of water in as an actual repair. But maybe some DIYers who also value letting things live out full life span w/ little supports.

Thank you for this forum and for the responses. Was helpful.