GE Icemaker Repair GuideIn this GE icemaker repair guide I will walk you through the steps in repairing your GE icemaker. GE has two style icemakers and they are old mechanical style and the newer electronic style. Repairing these two icemakers is very different from one to the other and this GE icemaker repair guide will explain each one in detail. Appliance parts online, right part, best price and fast shipping. It’s easy! Just find the model number of the appliance you are working on. Next, type it in to the model number box and it will take you to an illustrated parts diagram for your appliance. Then just simply choose the part you need from the diagram. When repairing icemakers it is important to know how much ice the icemaker should produce. Icemakers typically dump once every 1-2 hours An icemaker that dumps once an hour has strong icemaker production and an icemaker that dump once every 2 hours is weak but still acceptable. So in 24 hours, the icemaker should make approximately 80-175 cubes. Typically it will take 24-48 hours for an icemaker bin to fill and longer if the refrigerator is just starting up. If your icemaker is producing ice but slowly, the first thing to check before going through troubleshooting steps provided on this page is the temperature in the freezer. The temperature should be around 0-10 degrees. Note that if you are taking air temperature, the door of the freezer should be closed for at least 30 minutes before reading temperature. If you don’t have a thermometer, a good indication that the temperature in the freezer is acceptable is ice cream. If the ice cream is hard the temperature is acceptable and if the ice cream is soft check out this page Refrigerator Not Cooling Gears The first thing you should check are the gears on the front of the icemaker. To access these gears; remove the front cover off the icemaker. Note that on some side-by-side refrigerators the icemaker is installed sideways and you will have to unhook it to remove this cover. Once the cover is off, inspect the gears and if any of the teeth are missing they are bad and needs replacing. Note that it will be hard to find just the little gear; GE sells it and the motor together. The motor cost too much to buy just for a gear. I suggest going to a used appliance shop and see if they will sell you one off an old icemaker. Also check to see if the small gear has slid forward enough to miss the big gear. If so, put a small drop of lock tight on the shaft and push the gear back on.
Fill Tube The next thing you should do is look at the fill tube to see if it is clogged with ice. If it is clogged with ice, pull it out the back of the refrigerator and clean all the ice out with hot water. The water valve causes this problem so replace the water valve or it will happen again. Feeler Arm The feeler arm is the wire arm that shuts the icemaker down then it hits the ice. There is a spring inside the icemaker head that will force the arm back down after the motor lifts it up. If this spring is broken the arm will not come back down to push the switch as if it were hitting ice, shutting the icemaker off. To check this spring lift up on the feeler arm and then let it go, it should fall back down as if a spring were pulling it. If not the spring is broken.
Jump-Start Next thing you should do is jump-start the icemaker. To do this pull on the rake arm as shown below until the feel arm starts to move up. Then let go of it and the icemaker should continue on its own. What should happen is that the icemaker should go through a cycle, the feeler arm should lift up and water should run in. If it completes the cycle and stops and no water enters the icemaker, the water valve is bad and needs replacing. If the icemaker will not complete the cycle replace the icemaker. If the icemaker completes the cycle and water runs in either the temperature inside the freezer is too warm (should be between 0-12 degrees) or the thermostat inside the icemaker is bad. Note that I recommend changing the entire icemaker if the thermostat is bad. Refrigerator ice makers on sale - Whirlpool, Kenmore, GE and others.
Sometimes water will enter the icemaker too fast causing the first cube-mold to overfill before the water gets a chance to run to the other cube-molds. To fix this problem remove the cube separator and run a bead of RTV (silicone) at the top of the first cube mold as shown below. Then reinstall the cube separator and the problem should be fixed. Note that if this is the problem it will only be a small leak; a few drop of water per cycle. If you are getting lots of water overflowing the water valve is bad and needs replacing.
If its not the spring turn the icemaker off (some have a switch and some you will have to unplug) for at least 30 seconds. Then turn it back on and press in on the feeler arm three times within 15 seconds of turning the icemaker back on. If done correctly the icemaker will go through a cycle and run water. If it goes through a cycle and doesn’t run water, the water valve is bad assuming the water supply from your house is ok. Also check to see if the tube going to the icemaker is clogged with ice. If so, pull the tube out the back of the refrigerator, remove the ice and replace the water valve. Note that on side-by-sides you will have a water filter that can cause this but if you have good water pressure through the door the filter should be ok. If when you do this, the icemaker will not go through the cycle replace the icemaker. Also note that sometimes the icemaker will go into a lockdown mode for unknown reasons. Cutting it off for at least 30 seconds will reset it and it may go back to work. So if the icemaker completes the cycle and runs water it may just start working again provided the temperature in the freezer is ok (between 0-12 degrees). I hope this GE icemaker repair guide helps you repair your icemaker!! Refrigerator ice makers on sale - Whirlpool, Kenmore, GE and others. Return From GE Icemaker Repair Guide |
