My refrigerator was bought in Jan. 1997 and still cools and freezes
fine. The ice maker is on the blink....I can hear the water run
briefly and later I find a few cubes in the box but no more until the
next day. I have been using ice cube trays I had bought to supplement
the supply if we had bad weather. How hard is it to find a
replacement ice maker for a 10 year old refrigerator? There is a
store that sells used appliances and still good used parts. I think I
am going to start there. If they don't have one, and if I can buy a
new one to work in the old refrigerator, would it be wise to do
that ? Or would it be smarter to make my own ice cubes and wait till
I see new refrigerators on sale?

ebay
"Dottie" wrote in message
...
My refrigerator was bought in Jan. 1997 and still cools and freezes
fine. The ice maker is on the blink....I can hear the water run
briefly and later I find a few cubes in the box but no more until the
next day. I have been using ice cube trays I had bought to supplement
the supply if we had bad weather. How hard is it to find a
replacement ice maker for a 10 year old refrigerator? There is a
store that sells used appliances and still good used parts. I think I
am going to start there. If they don't have one, and if I can buy a
new one to work in the old refrigerator, would it be wise to do
that ? Or would it be smarter to make my own ice cubes and wait till
I see new refrigerators on sale?

On Dec 25, 3:18*pm, Dottie wrote:
My refrigerator was bought in Jan. 1997 and still cools and freezes
fine. *The ice maker is on the blink....I can hear the water run
briefly and later I find a few cubes in the box but no more until the
next day. *I have been using ice cube trays I had bought to supplement
the supply if we had bad weather. *How hard is it to find a
replacement ice maker for a 10 year old refrigerator? *There is a
store that sells used appliances and still good used parts. *I think I
am going to start there. *If they don't have one, and if I can buy a
new one to work in the old refrigerator, would it be wise to do
that ? *Or would it be smarter to make my own ice cubes and wait till
I see new refrigerators on sale?

Parts for Your ice maker should be easy to find but if not lowes and
home depot offer inexpensive universal replacements.

On Dec 25, 7:47�pm, wrote:
On Tue, 25 Dec 2007 15:18:10 -0800 (PST), Dottie
wrote:

My refrigerator was bought in Jan. 1997 and still cools and freezes
fine. �The ice maker is on the blink....I can hear the water run
briefly and later I find a few cubes in the box but no more until the
next day. �I have been using ice cube trays I had bought to supplement
the supply if we had bad weather. �How hard is it to find a
replacement ice maker for a 10 year old refrigerator? �There is a
store that sells used appliances and still good used parts. �I think I
am going to start there. �If they don't have one, and if I can buy a
new one to work in the old refrigerator, would it be wise to do
that ? �Or would it be smarter to make my own ice cubes and wait till
I see new refrigerators on sale?

I have no financial inyerest but Midwest appliance parts has been good
for me. Wtach their specials and you can probably find the whole ice
maker for $40 or so. I paid $25 for the motor/timer plate on my
Whilrpool and that fixed it.

This guy has about the best repair site I have found but he sends you
to a pretty pricy guy when you want the parts. Like everything on the
net, shopping prices is your friend

.http://fixitnow.com/appliantology/typeoicemaker.htm

There is a lot of information on this site but you have to poke around
a bit to find it

the most likely cause is a bad solenoid valve or clogged water filter
if you have a filter.

the best fx is buy a kit to replace everything about a 100 bucks or
less, its way cheaper than buying parts seperately. keep unused new
parts for next failure.

solenoid valves fail a lot

"Dottie" wrote in message
How hard is it to find a
replacement ice maker for a 10 year old refrigerator? There is a
store that sells used appliances and still good used parts. I think I
am going to start there. If they don't have one, and if I can buy a
new one to work in the old refrigerator, would it be wise to do
that ?

Forget used. Icemakers are the most frequently repaired item on
refrigerators so it is not worth trying a used one that may also be bad now
or very soon.

Replacements are readily available from many sources. I've used
www.repairclinic.com for some parts as well as my local dealer.

first check for pinched or crushed water supply line

On Dec 25, 9:34 pm, "Edwin Pawlowski" wrote:
"Dottie" wrote in message
How hard is it to find a
replacement ice maker for a 10 year old refrigerator? There is a
store that sells used appliances and still good used parts. I think I
am going to start there. If they don't have one, and if I can buy a
new one to work in the old refrigerator, would it be wise to do
that ?

Forget used. Icemakers are the most frequently repaired item on
refrigerators so it is not worth trying a used one that may also be bad now
or very soon.

Replacements are readily available from many sources. I've usedwww.repairclinic.comfor some parts as well as my local dealer.


Thank you to everyone....the refrigerator is a Frigidaire. Anyway,
when my husband gets back from morning errands we will check and see
if the water line is blocked. The instructions are in the book that
came with it. I would like to try and figure out how to run it
through the entire cycle before I do anything. Hate to buy a new ice
maker and find out that wasn't the problem ... but the water line
doesn't look "crimped" - at least, no more than usual.

"Dottie" wrote in message
...
On Dec 25, 9:34 pm, "Edwin Pawlowski" wrote:
"Dottie" wrote in message
How hard is it to find a
replacement ice maker for a 10 year old refrigerator? There is a
store that sells used appliances and still good used parts. I think I
am going to start there. If they don't have one, and if I can buy a
new one to work in the old refrigerator, would it be wise to do
that ?

Forget used. Icemakers are the most frequently repaired item on
refrigerators so it is not worth trying a used one that may also be bad now
or very soon.

Replacements are readily available from many sources. I've
usedwww.repairclinic.comfor some parts as well as my local dealer.


Thank you to everyone....the refrigerator is a Frigidaire. Anyway,
when my husband gets back from morning errands we will check and see
if the water line is blocked. The instructions are in the book that
came with it. I would like to try and figure out how to run it
through the entire cycle before I do anything. Hate to buy a new ice
maker and find out that wasn't the problem ... but the water line
doesn't look "crimped" - at least, no more than usual.

Another thing to check is the freezer temp. If it is not cold enough, it will
not make as much ice. If the house temp is down, the freezer will get warmer to
maintain the set refridge temp, and ice production will go down. Is ice cream
"hard" in the freezer when the problem exists?

On Dec 27, 3:29 pm, "Bob F" wrote:
"Dottie" wrote in message

...



On Dec 25, 9:34 pm, "Edwin Pawlowski" wrote:
"Dottie" wrote in message
How hard is it to find a
replacement ice maker for a 10 year old refrigerator? There is a
store that sells used appliances and still good used parts. I think I
am going to start there. If they don't have one, and if I can buy a
new one to work in the old refrigerator, would it be wise to do
that ?

Forget used. Icemakers are the most frequently repaired item on
refrigerators so it is not worth trying a used one that may also be bad now
or very soon.

Replacements are readily available from many sources. I've
usedwww.repairclinic.comforsome parts as well as my local dealer.

Thank you to everyone....the refrigerator is a Frigidaire. Anyway,
when my husband gets back from morning errands we will check and see
if the water line is blocked. The instructions are in the book that
came with it. I would like to try and figure out how to run it
through the entire cycle before I do anything. Hate to buy a new ice
maker and find out that wasn't the problem ... but the water line
doesn't look "crimped" - at least, no more than usual.

Another thing to check is the freezer temp. If it is not cold enough, it will
not make as much ice. If the house temp is down, the freezer will get warmer to
maintain the set refridge temp, and ice production will go down. Is ice cream
"hard" in the freezer when the problem exists?


I did lower the temp in the refridge after reading about it on one of
the links posted here. It did help - at this point the ice maker is
making ice again and we are just watching it to see what happens.