ice maker tray won't fill. causes?

[passatdoc]

Hey folks, I have a c.2004 Frigidaire 23 ft counter depth fridge. GHSC239DW0 is the model number. Has never had a service call or any issues whatsoever, until now. I have recommended the same model to others looking for a fridge and all who bought it been pleased.

Normally, I turn off the icemaker in early winter because I use little to no ice during the colder months, and on the rare occasion when I do need ice, I use up the ice left in the storage bin.

The bin is down to zero ice, so I turned on the icemaker. But it's not filling with water. The tray rotates on its long axis (as if to eject the ice) every 1-2 hours, but no water flows into the tray. The water dispenser in the door works fine.

My guess is that there is a servo motor or something that opens flow to the ice tray that has died, or else there is an obstruction in the line serving the ice maker (though I assumed it was the same line as the door water dispenser, and the water dispenser works fine).

I don't need ice right away, but will need it (mainly for iced tea) as the weather grows warmer. Before I call a service company, are there any diagnostic rubrics I should follow first? Thank you in advance for your answers.

 

[whirlcool]

Check the water fill solenoid. This is usually where the water line connects to the refrigerator. Make sure the power plug is firmly attatched. If yours needs replacement it's an easy to do job and the part shouldn't be too expensive.

 

[tlee618]

Jim, I recently had the same problem.  I have a Sears side by side, water and ice in the door.  It will be 5 years old in July.  I turned the ice maker on and it did nothing.  I have a Sears service policy.  Called on a Sunday and much to my surprise they could come out on Monday.  The guy got here as scheduled, an older man who had worked for Sears service for 34 years so he really knew what he was doing.  After doing a computer check he discovered that the sensor in the freezer door frame along side the ice bucket was shot.  This sensor detects when there isn't enough ice in the bucket and turns on the ice maker.  He replaced the sensor and all has been fine.   With a service policy they still give you a bill so you can see what this repair would have cost you.  

 

$199.00 service call and labor

$79.00 part

Total $279.00 plus tax

 

I find it hard to believe that they can get $199 for the labor and call.  Makes me think that I will not be buying another appliance from Sears.  

 

Terry

 

[3beltwesty]

Service calls are often 85 to 120 with no labor. ie the cost to just show up when one considers actual overhead.

Then one adds the cost of labor.

Some places charge more than you listed costs.

 

[passatdoc]

re: water fill solenoid

You may be right, whirlcool. There is no "buzzing" sound when it's time to refill the tray, basically nothing happens. I understand about checking the back of the fridge to see if it's securely plugged in, but assuming that the plug connection is secure, is there a test to prove that it's the water solenoid?

I like having ice but not enough to spend $250 to have it repaired!! We have a local hardware store with an excellent appliance parts center for do it yourself-ers. If you know what you need, they can usually get it for you.

I'm not unhappy with the fridge's performance, it's done well for seven years. If the water fill solenoid is broken, that's not a bad track record.

 

[paulg]

Kitchenaid experience

This just happened to me too.
Kitchenaid side-by-side. Ice-maker didn't skip a beat for five years.
All of a sudden there is no ice at all.
Checked the icemaker, no water in it. But water is at the door dispenser.
I looked at the icemaker and lo and behold the little water nozzle that fills the tray has an icicle hanging from it! Didn't have to take anything apart. It was staring me in the face.
I touched it and the icicle broke off. The icemaker returned to normal.
Why after five years it grew an icicle is beyond me.
My attitude now is just... monitor the fridge and see what happens. If the problem doesn't come back I'll just forget it.
I wonder though... It was very cold out. Could the super-cold tap water cause it to freeze more readily en-route to the ice-maker? Who knows.
As long as I have ice.
BTW. While I was low on ice I found out that my vintage International Harvester ice cube trays actually work well. It was that or use ice cubes in the shape of Christmas trees which I still have. Maybe I'll use them tonight...

 

[cornutt]

All of the water-dispenser-equipped fridges I've looked at have a double water valve mechanism; there's one solenoid and valve for the ice maker, and another for the dispenser. So the dispenser working doesn't tell you anything about the ice maker valve.

 

[paulg]

True

But the fact that the dispenser had water told me that water was getting to the fridge. The blockage was in the fridge and not prior to it.

 

[whirlcool]

When our water fill solenoid went out we still had water at the door, but not at the ice maker. The solenoid had two sides to it. One valve for the door water and a second valve for the ice maker.
What tipped me off was that it didn't make any noise when the water was supposed to fill the ice maker.

 

[passatdoc]

Alan, that's exactly what happens. Use the door dispenser for water, and you hear the solenoid. When the tray is supposed to fill with water (after rotation back to normal position)....silence.

Is the replacement solenoid difficult to find?

 

[cornutt]

I'll bet the water valve is a Whirlpool part... shouldn't be too hard to find.

 

[whirlcool]

I ordered my solenoid from www.repairlinic.com. I think it was around $28-30.00 or so. It was an easy install. Just take out a couple of screws on the back of the fridge and swap hoses put screws back in and you are done. Maybe 15 minutes for the entire job.

 

[passatdoc]

Wow, Allen, sounds easy. Did the part come with instructions?

 

[DADoES]

 

Jim,

 

I looked up your model at SearsPartsDirect.com.  They have parts breakdown/diagrams, but don't clearly show where the valve assembly is located.  The valve is shown on the Ice Maker parts diagram.  Look behind the unit where the water line attaches, the valve is there.  The assembly has three solenoids.  You can see pics of it at the sources below.

 

It's listed as Part Number 240531101, substituted to 241734301.  There may be some bit of modification/adjustment needed due to the substitution, but instructions are included.  Sears prices it at $58.99.  PartsTap.com $55.09.  RepairClinic.com $65.15.

 

[passatdoc]

OK, I will check it out. $68-65 sure looks better than $200-300. My only qualm would be making a mod that damaged the refrigerator. I wonder if Frigidaire sells a replacement part that's the exact duplicate? (might be worth paying more for the exact part, assuming it's still made). The fact that the valve has three solenoids makes it seem more likely that failure of one of them is the reason why the ice tray doesn't fill, yet the door dispenser works fine.

 

[DADoES]

 

Frigidaire/Electrolux is the source of the substitution.  The updated item will be substituted unless a vendor/source (such as a local repair shop) happens to have the original item in stock.  Parts substitutions are done quite often when a newer item can be retrofitted to an older appliance ... or a particular item isn't so much in demand ... the manufacturer then doesn't have to stock/produce as many different parts.  Example, an almond washer lid may by NLA, with white substituted ... different appearance but same functionality.  I did a repair in December on my GE SxS (6 years old), the motherboard was substituted for a different item that required some minor rewiring.  The parts diagram at Sears also listed the wrong freezer evaporator fan, so I did a slight modification myself to make it work rather than return and reorder the fan.