The fridge that came with our house has an ice maker that keeps
breaking. I was wondering if you guys had any thoughts.
It's a GE Hotpoint side-by-side unit, just 3 years old, with a water
filter inside the fridge and an ice and water dispenser on the freezer
door. The water has never come out of the dispenser very fast (we've had
the fridge a year and a half, I have no idea how it worked before we
bought the house).
First the ice maker stopped making ice. A repairman came out, defrosted
the upper part of the auger mechanism, and it worked for a day. On the
second day the freezer started making horrible screeching noises which
turned out to be ice forming in the motor. The repairman refused to come
out, saying we should just defrost the motor ourselves because it was
cheaper than paying him to do it. We did and the unit worked for a couple
weeks when it stopped again. We defrosted the lower part of the auger
which is attached to the ice cube tray and everything seemed to work fine
until we realized water was leaking out from under the bottom of the
fridge.
Again, the repairman wouldn't come out. He said it was "just" ice
forming in various parts and this was normal because "it's in the freezer,
you know". We defrosted the plastic line that goes from the filter to the
ice making unit and re-attached it, but the fridge still leaked water. It
stops leaking when we turn off the ice machine so the leak is definitely
related to the ice maker.
So that's where we're at. We haven't had a chance to have a different
repairman out and won't for a couple weeks. I'm tired of putting
store-bought ice in the tray Any thoughts?

Stacia

on 8/6/2007 9:43 AM Stacia said the following:
The fridge that came with our house has an ice maker that keeps
breaking. I was wondering if you guys had any thoughts.
It's a GE Hotpoint side-by-side unit, just 3 years old, with a water
filter inside the fridge and an ice and water dispenser on the freezer
door. The water has never come out of the dispenser very fast (we've had
the fridge a year and a half, I have no idea how it worked before we
bought the house).
First the ice maker stopped making ice. A repairman came out, defrosted
the upper part of the auger mechanism, and it worked for a day. On the
second day the freezer started making horrible screeching noises which
turned out to be ice forming in the motor. The repairman refused to come
out, saying we should just defrost the motor ourselves because it was
cheaper than paying him to do it. We did and the unit worked for a couple
weeks when it stopped again. We defrosted the lower part of the auger
which is attached to the ice cube tray and everything seemed to work fine
until we realized water was leaking out from under the bottom of the
fridge.
Again, the repairman wouldn't come out. He said it was "just" ice
forming in various parts and this was normal because "it's in the freezer,
you know". We defrosted the plastic line that goes from the filter to the
ice making unit and re-attached it, but the fridge still leaked water. It
stops leaking when we turn off the ice machine so the leak is definitely
related to the ice maker.
So that's where we're at. We haven't had a chance to have a different
repairman out and won't for a couple weeks. I'm tired of putting
store-bought ice in the tray Any thoughts?

Stacia



What is the temperature set at in your freezer? I had the same problem
with my fridge/freezer and Sears sent out a repairman (under extended
warranty). He defrosted the water line to the ice maker and told us to
raise the freezer temperature a degree or so and try it. He said if it
still freezes up, defrost the line with a hair blower and raise the temp
another degree or so until it no longer freezes. Be also advised that
if the ice is not used for a long time after the bin fills and the ice
maker shuts off, the water in the line may freeze due to its just
sitting in the cold line.

--

Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
To email, remove the double zeroes after @

"willshak" wrote
What is the temperature set at in your freezer? I had the same problem
with my fridge/freezer and Sears sent out a repairman (under extended
warranty). He defrosted the water line to the ice maker and told us to
raise the freezer temperature a degree or so and try it. He said if it
still freezes up, defrost the line with a hair blower and raise the temp
another degree or so until it no longer freezes. Be also advised that
if the ice is not used for a long time after the bin fills and the ice
maker shuts off, the water in the line may freeze due to its just
sitting in the cold line.

--

Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
To email, remove the double zeroes after @
----
--



Another thought is be sure that the vents that blow air in your freezer are
not blocked by food items.
Give them a little room to breathe so that the air can circulate properly.

Kate
______
/l ,[____],
l-L -OlllllllO-
()_)-()_)--)_)

"Kate" writes:
"willshak" wrote

What is the temperature set at in your freezer?

We turned it up so it was warmer back when all this started. I don't
know the exact temp but it's on the 3rd "notch". The dial goes from 1-9,
with 1 being the warmest, so 3 is pretty warm. It used to be on 5.
I forgot to mention that the freezer door apparently doesn't close
properly sometimes, and it's done this since we moved in. Sometimes we
open the freezer and all the food is wet and soggy even though the door
was closed and the seal seems good. I have no idea if that's related or
not.

Another thought is be sure that the vents that blow air in your freezer are
not blocked by food items.
Give them a little room to breathe so that the air can circulate properly.

I will definitely check that, thanks!

Stacia

on 8/6/2007 11:37 AM Stacia said the following:
"Kate" writes:

"willshak" wrote



What is the temperature set at in your freezer?


We turned it up so it was warmer back when all this started. I don't
know the exact temp but it's on the 3rd "notch". The dial goes from 1-9,
with 1 being the warmest, so 3 is pretty warm. It used to be on 5.



Mine is newer. I have a side by side fridge with a freezer drawer below.
It has LEDs for the freezer and fridge showing the actual temp setting.
My freezer was set at 0º and the fridge 38º when we bought it. After the
repair, the tech set the freezer at 1º and it has been working since.

I forgot to mention that the freezer door apparently doesn't close
properly sometimes, and it's done this since we moved in. Sometimes we
open the freezer and all the food is wet and soggy even though the door
was closed and the seal seems good. I have no idea if that's related or
not.


Another thought is be sure that the vents that blow air in your freezer are
not blocked by food items.
Give them a little room to breathe so that the air can circulate properly.


I will definitely check that, thanks!

Stacia




--

Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
To email, remove the double zeroes after @

You need to besure the door gasket meets the fridge. If your door isn't
completely closed, or the gasket isn't completely sealed, you [will] have
ice troubles and defrost problems. [It's supposed to be frost free] but
can't if the air is constantly entering the refrigerator.

You [should] wipe the gasket and matching door surface. The doors need to
line up well.

Zyp

"Stacia" wrote in message
...
"Kate" writes:
"willshak" wrote

What is the temperature set at in your freezer?

We turned it up so it was warmer back when all this started. I don't
know the exact temp but it's on the 3rd "notch". The dial goes from 1-9,
with 1 being the warmest, so 3 is pretty warm. It used to be on 5.
I forgot to mention that the freezer door apparently doesn't close
properly sometimes, and it's done this since we moved in. Sometimes we
open the freezer and all the food is wet and soggy even though the door
was closed and the seal seems good. I have no idea if that's related or
not.

Another thought is be sure that the vents that blow air in your freezer
are
not blocked by food items.
Give them a little room to breathe so that the air can circulate properly.

I will definitely check that, thanks!

Stacia

Zephyr wrote:
You need to besure the door gasket meets the fridge. If your door
isn't completely closed, or the gasket isn't completely sealed, you
[will] have ice troubles and defrost problems. [It's supposed to be
frost free] but can't if the air is constantly entering the
refrigerator.

Right. And you can test for a good seal by closing the door on a piece of
paper. If the paper can be easily removed, the seal is shot.

Stacia wrote:
The fridge that came with our house has an ice maker that keeps
breaking. I was wondering if you guys had any thoughts.
It's a GE Hotpoint side-by-side unit, just 3 years old, with a water
filter inside the fridge and an ice and water dispenser on the freezer
door. The water has never come out of the dispenser very fast (we've
had the fridge a year and a half, I have no idea how it worked before
we bought the house).

If all else fails, you can get a replacement ice-maker for around $35 (check
eBay).

If your hand fits a screwdriver, the ice maker can be easily replaced.

On Aug 6, 12:01 pm, "HeyBub" wrote:
Stacia wrote:
The fridge that came with our house has an ice maker that keeps
breaking. I was wondering if you guys had any thoughts.
It's a GE Hotpoint side-by-side unit, just 3 years old, with a water
filter inside the fridge and an ice and water dispenser on the freezer
door. The water has never come out of the dispenser very fast (we've
had the fridge a year and a half, I have no idea how it worked before
we bought the house).

If all else fails, you can get a replacement ice-maker for around $35 (check
eBay).

If your hand fits a screwdriver, the ice maker can be easily replaced.

Where is all this ice that's supposed to be jambing the works coming
from? There are only 2 sources. Either it's water leaking from the
ice maker supply or else it's ice forming in the freezer. Is there
ice accumulating in other parts of the freezer? That would suggest
that either there is a door seal problem or else the automatic
defroster isn't working. I'd check the freezer temp too. Water
should not freeze in the ice maker line, regardless of how long the
ice maker doesn't make ice. The line coming is in normally tilted
down a bit so that the water drains out of the line in the freezer
section when the water shuts off.

Sounds like the heater circuit in your icemaker is bad so it's not releasing
the cubes properly. It could also have corrosion causing the antistick
surface to flake off - did you have any black plast piece in the ice before?
Buy a new ice maker. There are only a couple of styles used in most
refrigerators so you can likely use the generic models they sell at Home
Depot or Lowes. Find one that looks the same. If the wiring harness is
different just use the plug pigtail from the old one. It's a simple fix and
you can do it in less than 30 minutes.

writes:

Where is all this ice that's supposed to be jambing the works coming
from? There are only 2 sources. Either it's water leaking from the
ice maker supply or else it's ice forming in the freezer. Is there
ice accumulating in other parts of the freezer?

No, there's no ice accumulating anywhere else. There doesn't seem to be
ice in the line, either. There was a bit at the place where the line
connects to the filter, but we defrosted it, and the water still leaked
out the bottom.

Stacia