[Stormin Mormon[_10_]]

Years ago, GE started providing circuit board
with some refrigerators. And they had a lot of
bad ones. Some just had a burnt or cold solder
joint. I've given a couple to a computer repair
man I know, who has reworked the solder joints
for me. And a couple came back to life.

Does anyone out there know of a board repair
service, or do we just pitch em out and sell
the customer new ones?

--
..
Christopher A. Young
learn more about Jesus
.. www.lds.org
..
..

[Don Y[_3_]]

On 9/19/2015 1:55 PM, Stormin Mormon wrote:
Years ago, GE started providing circuit board
with some refrigerators. And they had a lot of
bad ones. Some just had a burnt or cold solder
joint. I've given a couple to a computer repair
man I know, who has reworked the solder joints
for me. And a couple came back to life.

Cold solder joints can easily be reworked. Just
reflow each joint on the board. Most boards are
single sided.

Does anyone out there know of a board repair
service, or do we just pitch em out and sell
the customer new ones?

Rule of thumb is discard if $100. I'll do
labor intensive repairs for friends/colleagues/myself.
But, if it's going to be billable hours, I just tell them
to replace.

[Oren[_2_]]

On Sat, 19 Sep 2015 16:55:44 -0400, Stormin Mormon
wrote:

Does anyone out there know of a board repair
service, or do we just pitch em out and sell
the customer new ones?

Some shops suffered from the Tsunami in foreign lands (Japan).
Supplies are / can be hard to find. Did the board take a hit from an
electrical surge? If you replace the board yourself, do you get a
warranty? I'm still chasing down an ice maker issue. The wife is
driving me bonkers Who repairs the boards, now days?

[Stormin Mormon[_10_]]

On 9/19/2015 5:31 PM, Don Y wrote:

Cold solder joints can easily be reworked. Just
reflow each joint on the board. Most boards are
single sided.

Does anyone out there know of a board repair
service, or do we just pitch em out and sell
the customer new ones?

Rule of thumb is discard if $100. I'll do
labor intensive repairs for friends/colleagues/myself.
But, if it's going to be billable hours, I just tell them
to replace.

I've done board soldering when I was a teen.
The one I took out today looks realy cold.
Plan is to get to a friend of mine who's a
computer repair guy.

Board retails for $175. I hate to just pitch
em out.

-
..
Christopher A. Young
learn more about Jesus
.. www.lds.org
..
..

[Stormin Mormon[_10_]]

On 9/19/2015 5:45 PM, Oren wrote:
On Sat, 19 Sep 2015 16:55:44 -0400, Stormin Mormon
wrote:

Does anyone out there know of a board repair
service, or do we just pitch em out and sell
the customer new ones?

Some shops suffered from the Tsunami in foreign lands (Japan).
CY: Right, Japan made anything is hard.

Supplies are / can be hard to find. Did the board take a hit from an
electrical surge?

CY: She says they frequently get power outages, as
many as 20 per day where they are.

If you replace the board yourself, do you get a
warranty?

CY: Parts house gives out one year on mfg defects.
Today was a 2002 model refrig which might be on
original board.


I'm still chasing down an ice maker issue. The wife is
driving me bonkers

CY: Start a thread, here. We might be able to help.


Who repairs the boards, now days?


CY: One computer repair man friend of mine.
I know a broadcast radio engineer who used
to, but he's got eye problems.

-
..
Christopher A. Young
learn more about Jesus
.. www.lds.org
..
..

[Ed Pawlowski]

On 9/19/2015 4:55 PM, Stormin Mormon wrote:
Years ago, GE started providing circuit board
with some refrigerators. And they had a lot of
bad ones. Some just had a burnt or cold solder
joint. I've given a couple to a computer repair
man I know, who has reworked the solder joints
for me. And a couple came back to life.

Does anyone out there know of a board repair
service, or do we just pitch em out and sell
the customer new ones?


The guy I used recently retired, but there are many of them out there.
Repairs are usually half or less than new.
Try Yellow Pages or Google

[Tony Hwang]

Stormin Mormon wrote:
On 9/19/2015 5:31 PM, Don Y wrote:

Cold solder joints can easily be reworked. Just
reflow each joint on the board. Most boards are
single sided.

Does anyone out there know of a board repair
service, or do we just pitch em out and sell
the customer new ones?

Rule of thumb is discard if $100. I'll do
labor intensive repairs for friends/colleagues/myself.
But, if it's going to be billable hours, I just tell them
to replace.

I've done board soldering when I was a teen.
The one I took out today looks realy cold.
Plan is to get to a friend of mine who's a
computer repair guy.

Board retails for $175. I hate to just pitch
em out.

-
.
Christopher A. Young
learn more about Jesus
. www.lds.org
.
.
First thing to check is discrete component like capacitors,
pico fuses on the board, any power supply related stuffs.
And visual inspection; burnt sign, smell, cold solder, etc.
If ASIC or microprocessor is involved, time to give up.

[Uncle Monster[_2_]]

On Saturday, September 19, 2015 at 4:46:06 PM UTC-5, Oren wrote:
On Sat, 19 Sep 2015 16:55:44 -0400, Stormin Mormon
wrote:

Does anyone out there know of a board repair
service, or do we just pitch em out and sell
the customer new ones?

Some shops suffered from the Tsunami in foreign lands (Japan).
Supplies are / can be hard to find. Did the board take a hit from an
electrical surge? If you replace the board yourself, do you get a
warranty? I'm still chasing down an ice maker issue. The wife is
driving me bonkers Who repairs the boards, now days?

I repaired a lot of boards when I was still workng. If it was something simple like a cold solder joint, blown MOV and pico fuse or an easily replaced through the hole component like a resistor or electrolytic capacitor it was economical to repair. If it was a surface mounted chip, I don't have the proper tools to do a good job replacing that type of component. Some control boards have a core value but I haven't come across one in a while where I gave the defective circuit board to the supply house when I picked up a replacement. There are a lot of aftermarket control boards for home appliances especially control boards for HVAC units that are so much cheaper than OEM circuit boards. It's no longer economical to spend the time to repair certain OEM circuit boards. ^_^

[8~{} Uncle Circuit Monster

[Dean Hoffman[_12_]]

On Sat, 19 Sep 2015 15:55:44 -0500, Stormin Mormon
wrote:

Years ago, GE started providing circuit board
with some refrigerators. And they had a lot of
bad ones. Some just had a burnt or cold solder
joint. I've given a couple to a computer repair
man I know, who has reworked the solder joints
for me. And a couple came back to life.

Does anyone out there know of a board repair
service, or do we just pitch em out and sell
the customer new ones?

There used to be someone on Ebay who would fix
the range timers/clocks. They'd send a rebuilt one
and the customer would send in the core. It was like
starters and alternators from the local parts store.
No idea if some one like that is online or Ebay
for circuit boards.

--
Using Opera's mail client: http://www.opera.com/mail/

[Don Y[_3_]]

On 9/19/2015 4:38 PM, Stormin Mormon wrote:
On 9/19/2015 5:31 PM, Don Y wrote:

Cold solder joints can easily be reworked. Just
reflow each joint on the board. Most boards are
single sided.

Does anyone out there know of a board repair
service, or do we just pitch em out and sell
the customer new ones?

Rule of thumb is discard if $100. I'll do
labor intensive repairs for friends/colleagues/myself.
But, if it's going to be billable hours, I just tell them
to replace.

I've done board soldering when I was a teen.
The one I took out today looks realy cold.
Plan is to get to a friend of mine who's a
computer repair guy.

Board retails for $175. I hate to just pitch
em out.

Understood. I have thru-hole and SMT equipment so can
tackle most "problems" that I am faced with. But, it's
usually not practical if you are a business placing real
values on your labor costs, etc. Esp if you have to provide
a warranty: how do you know that something else in the
device won't toast your repairs, leaving you to "pay
for" them *twice*?

I'll "re-cap" a motherboard that is known to be a likely
candidate for that *before* the caps start to fail (once
they do, there are no guarantees that the components on the
board haven't already been exposed to stressful voltages
from the increased ripple on those supplies). Likewise,
most power supplies, TV's, etc.

Aside from "favors", it also lets me keep current with
manufacturing trends and failure modes -- learn from
OTHER PEOPLE'S mistakes!

(I also learn which vendors to avoid! : )

[Uncle Monster[_2_]]

On Saturday, September 19, 2015 at 6:40:41 PM UTC-5, Stormin Mormon wrote:
On 9/19/2015 5:45 PM, Oren wrote:
On Sat, 19 Sep 2015 16:55:44 -0400, Stormin Mormon
wrote:

Does anyone out there know of a board repair
service, or do we just pitch em out and sell
the customer new ones?

Some shops suffered from the Tsunami in foreign lands (Japan).
CY: Right, Japan made anything is hard.

Supplies are / can be hard to find. Did the board take a hit from an
electrical surge?

CY: She says they frequently get power outages, as
many as 20 per day where they are.

If you replace the board yourself, do you get a
warranty?

CY: Parts house gives out one year on mfg defects.
Today was a 2002 model refrig which might be on
original board.


I'm still chasing down an ice maker issue. The wife is
driving me bonkers

CY: Start a thread, here. We might be able to help.


Who repairs the boards, now days?


CY: One computer repair man friend of mine.
I know a broadcast radio engineer who used
to, but he's got eye problems.
-
.

Me and the guys would add surge arresters to the HVAC and other appliances for customers living in rural areas who were having damage due to power surges. One thing we recommended was the meter base surge arrester available through the power company. Perhaps surge arresters would could help your friend avoid future problems? ^_^

[8~{} Uncle Surge Monster

[[email protected]]

On Saturday, September 19, 2015 at 1:55:42 PM UTC-7, Stormin Mormon wrote:
Years ago, GE started providing circuit board
with some refrigerators. And they had a lot of
bad ones. Some just had a burnt or cold solder
joint. I've given a couple to a computer repair
man I know, who has reworked the solder joints
for me. And a couple came back to life.

Does anyone out there know of a board repair
service, or do we just pitch em out and sell
the customer new ones?

--
.
Christopher A. Young
learn more about Jesus
. www.lds.org
.
.

Try posting on the sci.electronics.repair newsgroup. Somebody there ought to be able to point you to some board repair folks.

I normally do pinball machine circuit board repairs on machines that are 20 to 35 years old. Also, I have repaired circuit boards in other equipment in the past such as these:

Manitowac commercial ice machine (in a theater). It had a bad soldered-in relay on the circuit board. Replaced it with a relay socket and plug-in relay. Machine repaired and operated correctly.

Hamilton Beach commercial drink mixer. It had a bad speed control pot. Manufacturer wanted $50 plus shipping for it. They also said it would be a week before they shipped it out. So I went to Radio Shack and bought an almost exact replacement for $3 and installed it. Machine is still working today on that pot.

Modern residential refrigerator (brand name escapes me). Had several blown electrolytic capacitors on the control board. Replacing them brought this refrigerator back to life.

Hot tub (brand name also escapes me. Had 4 blown electrolytic capacitors on control board. Replacing them also brought this machine back to life.

It's worth it to at least give it a try repairing those boards yourself. Hopefully you have a decent capacitor ESR meter to find bad electrolytic capacitors. Mine paid for itself the first week.

[Don Y[_3_]]

On 9/19/2015 10:10 PM, wrote:

It's worth it to at least give it a try repairing those boards yourself.
Hopefully you have a decent capacitor ESR meter to find bad electrolytic
capacitors. Mine paid for itself the first week.

You can usually recognize bad caps from their brand names, bulging/broken
vents, and the nature of the circuit in which they are employed. E.g.,
with high temperatures and high ripple currents that lead to internal
heating.

Caps are cheap (more or less). I've seen folks selectively replace only
the "defective" caps on a board. Where's the logic in that? Do you think
the others are less likely to fail or will somehow be more convenient to
replace at a later date?

[Uncle Monster[_2_]]

On Sunday, September 20, 2015 at 12:25:07 AM UTC-5, Don Y wrote:
On 9/19/2015 10:10 PM, wrote:

It's worth it to at least give it a try repairing those boards yourself..
Hopefully you have a decent capacitor ESR meter to find bad electrolytic
capacitors. Mine paid for itself the first week.

You can usually recognize bad caps from their brand names, bulging/broken
vents, and the nature of the circuit in which they are employed. E.g.,
with high temperatures and high ripple currents that lead to internal
heating.

Caps are cheap (more or less). I've seen folks selectively replace only
the "defective" caps on a board. Where's the logic in that? Do you think
the others are less likely to fail or will somehow be more convenient to
replace at a later date?

The bean counters working for most manufacturers insist on the cheapest parts that will work. Saving a dollar on each circuit board really adds up when they're producing millions of units. I repaired some POS (Point Of Sale) ViewSonic monitors that had GRONKED in a hot kitchen. It was bad electrolytic caps in the power supplies that had the lowest voltage and temperature ratings the manufacturer could get away with. Of course I replaced the failed caps with the highest voltage and temperature rated electrolytics of the same value that the supply house had in stock. It's been five years and those monitors are still cooking in that hot restaurant kitchen. An identical monitor in the restaurant office has never failed. ^_^

[8~{} Uncle Cap Monster

[Don Y[_3_]]

On 9/20/2015 6:29 AM, Uncle Monster wrote:

Caps are cheap (more or less). I've seen folks selectively replace only
the "defective" caps on a board. Where's the logic in that? Do you
think the others are less likely to fail or will somehow be more
convenient to replace at a later date?

The bean counters working for most manufacturers insist on the cheapest
parts that will work. Saving a dollar on each circuit board really adds up
when they're producing millions of units. I repaired some POS (Point Of
Sale) ViewSonic monitors that had GRONKED in a hot kitchen. It was bad
electrolytic caps in the power supplies that had the lowest voltage and
temperature ratings the manufacturer could get away with. Of course I
replaced the failed caps with the highest voltage and temperature rated
electrolytics of the same value that the supply house had in stock. It's
been five years and those monitors are still cooking in that hot restaurant
kitchen. An identical monitor in the restaurant office has never failed.

I have a dozen *spare* monitors (in addition to the 12 or 13 that are
currently in use) that I've rescued over the years. I have 3 more 21"
and two 24" monitors waiting for attention. They'll get added to the
spares as soon as I get around to pulling them apart (bad FETs in
three of them; caps in the other two).

In addition to voltage and capacitance (which tend to affect the physical
size of the component), you can typically purchase 85C or 105C temperature
grades. Beyond that, you can also purchase 2000Hr, 4000Hr, 5000Hr, etc.
rated components. There is a cost premium involved but more than offset
by the effort required to disassemble the device in order to make those
repairs. I have no desire to repair something *twice*!

Soome manufacturers also tend to be better than others -- assuming you
avoid the schlock manufacturers altogether!

[Oren[_2_]]

On Sat, 19 Sep 2015 19:40:43 -0400, Stormin Mormon
wrote:

On 9/19/2015 5:45 PM, Oren wrote:

I'm still chasing down an ice maker issue. The wife is
driving me bonkers

CY: Start a thread, here. We might be able to help.


Thanks. I got it going yesterday. I seems the water chute inside had
iced-up a bit -- not solid but enough to restrict water flow to the
ice maker.

[Uncle Monster[_2_]]

On Sunday, September 20, 2015 at 9:22:42 AM UTC-5, Don Y wrote:
On 9/20/2015 6:29 AM, Uncle Monster wrote:

Caps are cheap (more or less). I've seen folks selectively replace only
the "defective" caps on a board. Where's the logic in that? Do you
think the others are less likely to fail or will somehow be more
convenient to replace at a later date?

The bean counters working for most manufacturers insist on the cheapest
parts that will work. Saving a dollar on each circuit board really adds up
when they're producing millions of units. I repaired some POS (Point Of
Sale) ViewSonic monitors that had GRONKED in a hot kitchen. It was bad
electrolytic caps in the power supplies that had the lowest voltage and
temperature ratings the manufacturer could get away with. Of course I
replaced the failed caps with the highest voltage and temperature rated
electrolytics of the same value that the supply house had in stock. It's
been five years and those monitors are still cooking in that hot restaurant
kitchen. An identical monitor in the restaurant office has never failed..

I have a dozen *spare* monitors (in addition to the 12 or 13 that are
currently in use) that I've rescued over the years. I have 3 more 21"
and two 24" monitors waiting for attention. They'll get added to the
spares as soon as I get around to pulling them apart (bad FETs in
three of them; caps in the other two).

In addition to voltage and capacitance (which tend to affect the physical
size of the component), you can typically purchase 85C or 105C temperature
grades. Beyond that, you can also purchase 2000Hr, 4000Hr, 5000Hr, etc.
rated components. There is a cost premium involved but more than offset
by the effort required to disassemble the device in order to make those
repairs. I have no desire to repair something *twice*!

Soome manufacturers also tend to be better than others -- assuming you
avoid the schlock manufacturers altogether!

I used to have a bunch of military surplus electronic components that were packaged in such a way that they would survive the end of the world. A big multilayer package the size of my hand for a 1/4 watt resistor. The quality of the parts was amazing and the environmental specs for the parts was out of sight. I suppose that's what's meant by mil spec. Back in the CB radio era, I'd used some of those parts to repair both commercial two way and CB radios. The transistors I put in one CB turned it into an illegal radio because of the high power output. The little radio was making the needle of the Bird watt meter swing like I'd never seen one shoot up before. I can't imagine what those mil spec parts originally cost. o_O

[8~{} Uncle CB Monster

[Stormin Mormon[_10_]]

On 9/20/2015 1:10 PM, Oren wrote:
On Sat, 19 Sep 2015 19:40:43 -0400, Stormin Mormon
wrote:

On 9/19/2015 5:45 PM, Oren wrote:

I'm still chasing down an ice maker issue. The wife is
driving me bonkers

CY: Start a thread, here. We might be able to help.


Thanks. I got it going yesterday.


If you want to start another thread, I'll share
some ideas.

-
..
Christopher A. Young
learn more about Jesus
.. www.lds.org
..
..

[Oren[_2_]]

On Sun, 20 Sep 2015 17:52:05 -0400, Stormin Mormon
wrote:

On 9/20/2015 1:10 PM, Oren wrote:
On Sat, 19 Sep 2015 19:40:43 -0400, Stormin Mormon
wrote:

On 9/19/2015 5:45 PM, Oren wrote:

I'm still chasing down an ice maker issue. The wife is
driving me bonkers

CY: Start a thread, here. We might be able to help.


Thanks. I got it going yesterday.


If you want to start another thread, I'll share
some ideas.


It is fixed. my bride is happy. What do I post or share?

[Don Y[_3_]]

On 9/20/2015 3:10 PM, Oren wrote:

I'm still chasing down an ice maker issue. The wife is
driving me bonkers

It is fixed. my bride is happy. What do I post or share?

You could post your symptoms, how you Dx'd the problem
and then your solution. Educate others as to what they
might want to try in similar situation!

[Stormin Mormon[_10_]]

On 9/20/2015 6:10 PM, Oren wrote:
If you want to start another thread, I'll share
some ideas.


It is fixed. my bride is happy. What do I post or share?


Just the usual. What kind of refrigerator,
what was the problem, and what did you do
by way of fixing it, you stinky toilet paper
head, and then a personal flame or two, if
you know how to do that, idiot. The flame is
essential to prove you're an experienced
Usenet writer, unlike me who is always polite.
It's the Mormon way, Mormons are always gentle
and courteous, you jack booted Nazi. Now, where
was I?

-
..
Christopher A. Young
learn more about Jesus
.. www.lds.org
..
..

[Stormin Mormon[_10_]]

On 9/20/2015 6:13 PM, Don Y wrote:
On 9/20/2015 3:10 PM, Oren wrote:

I'm still chasing down an ice maker issue. The wife is
driving me bonkers

It is fixed. my bride is happy. What do I post or share?

You could post your symptoms, how you Dx'd the problem
and then your solution. Educate others as to what they
might want to try in similar situation!



Stories of how ice maker improves home life,
perhaps?

-
..
Christopher A. Young
learn more about Jesus
.. www.lds.org
..
..

[Dean Hoffman[_12_]]

On Sun, 20 Sep 2015 17:10:52 -0500, Oren wrote:

On Sun, 20 Sep 2015 17:52:05 -0400, Stormin Mormon
wrote:

On 9/20/2015 1:10 PM, Oren wrote:
On Sat, 19 Sep 2015 19:40:43 -0400, Stormin Mormon
wrote:

On 9/19/2015 5:45 PM, Oren wrote:

I'm still chasing down an ice maker issue. The wife is
driving me bonkers

CY: Start a thread, here. We might be able to help.


Thanks. I got it going yesterday.


If you want to start another thread, I'll share
some ideas.


It is fixed. my bride is happy. What do I post or share?

Explain how to keep a woman happy on $3 a day.


--
Using Opera's mail client: http://www.opera.com/mail/

[Stormin Mormon[_10_]]

On 9/21/2015 12:53 AM, wrote:
I agree. The first thing I do is boot Seatools or whatever the
manufacturer provides to write "all ones" on the whole drive. Then
partition and format it fresh.
I don't want some ugly virus to get loose in my network and it also
eliminates any liability if the previous guy was doing something
illegal.


Wouldn't it be easier to wire on a Supco three in
one kit, and see if the system has any refrigerant?

-
..
Christopher A. Young
learn more about Jesus
.. www.lds.org
..
..

[Oren[_2_]]

On Sun, 20 Sep 2015 19:59:22 -0500, "Dean Hoffman"
wrote:

It is fixed. my bride is happy. What do I post or share?

Explain how to keep a woman happy on $3 a day.

....but her a bag of ice

Doesn't cost $3 and last more the a few days.

[Oren[_2_]]

On Sun, 20 Sep 2015 15:13:49 -0700, Don Y
wrote:

On 9/20/2015 3:10 PM, Oren wrote:

I'm still chasing down an ice maker issue. The wife is
driving me bonkers

It is fixed. my bride is happy. What do I post or share?

You could post your symptoms, how you Dx'd the problem
and then your solution. Educate others as to what they
might want to try in similar situation!


http://www.appliancepartspros.com/ice-maker-parts-for-frigidaire-fsc23f7db3.html

Ice maker was not filling with water, so no cubes.

- unplugged the fridge for a few minutes, trying to reset

- did a reset for the ice maker by holding the on button down for 15
seconds after plugged in again

- ice maker made cycles as to empty ice

- checked for air in lines by taking water from the door dispenser

- ensured filter was seated and good

- continuity of water fill valve(S) solenoids (3) - good

- unplugged ice maker inside, removed it

- hair dryer to water fill chute, found ice - thawed

- pulled the chute from rear of fridge and washed, placed back in

- filled ice maker by adding water (poured in)

- set to temp back to 0°F form -1°F

- waited -- ice dumped

- checked ~ 48 hours later -- making ice

- told wife how great I am

- had an adult beverage

- saved $2 instead of buying ice

[Don Y[_3_]]

On 9/21/2015 10:27 AM, Oren wrote:
Ice maker was not filling with water, so no cubes.
- unplugged the fridge for a few minutes, trying to reset
- did a reset for the ice maker by holding the on button down for 15
seconds after plugged in again
- ice maker made cycles as to empty ice
- checked for air in lines by taking water from the door dispenser
- ensured filter was seated and good
- continuity of water fill valve(S) solenoids (3) - good
- unplugged ice maker inside, removed it
- hair dryer to water fill chute, found ice - thawed

So, this is *in* the freezer compartment (as part of the ice maker)
and, thus, normally exposed to the cold temperatures. But, shouldn't
it normally be empty (of water)? I.e., it's "downhill" from the water
supply line which is no longer under pressure when the solenoid is
off; one would assume it would "drip empty".

I.e., what's to prevent this from happening, again? Do you think
ice wasn't being *made* often enough for room temperature water to
dissolve any droplets of ice that had formed in the chute? Or,
that the chute isn't as "slick" as it should be and surface tension
is keeping "that last drop" of water in/on the chute where it will
freeze and, over time, grow from the *next* "last drop" that gets added
in a followup cycle?

- pulled the chute from rear of fridge and washed, placed back in
- filled ice maker by adding water (poured in)
- set to temp back to 0°F form -1°F
- waited -- ice dumped
- checked ~ 48 hours later -- making ice
- told wife how great I am

and she's *still* laughing about that!

- had an adult beverage
- saved $2 instead of buying ice

[Oren[_2_]]

On Mon, 21 Sep 2015 11:46:54 -0700, Don Y
wrote:

On 9/21/2015 10:27 AM, Oren wrote:
Ice maker was not filling with water, so no cubes.
- unplugged the fridge for a few minutes, trying to reset
- did a reset for the ice maker by holding the on button down for 15
seconds after plugged in again
- ice maker made cycles as to empty ice
- checked for air in lines by taking water from the door dispenser
- ensured filter was seated and good
- continuity of water fill valve(S) solenoids (3) - good
- unplugged ice maker inside, removed it
- hair dryer to water fill chute, found ice - thawed

So, this is *in* the freezer compartment (as part of the ice maker)
and, thus, normally exposed to the cold temperatures. But, shouldn't
it normally be empty (of water)? I.e., it's "downhill" from the water
supply line which is no longer under pressure when the solenoid is
off; one would assume it would "drip empty".

I.e., what's to prevent this from happening, again? Do you think
ice wasn't being *made* often enough for room temperature water to
dissolve any droplets of ice that had formed in the chute? Or,
that the chute isn't as "slick" as it should be and surface tension
is keeping "that last drop" of water in/on the chute where it will
freeze and, over time, grow from the *next* "last drop" that gets added
in a followup cycle?

- pulled the chute from rear of fridge and washed, placed back in
- filled ice maker by adding water (poured in)
- set to temp back to 0°F form -1°F
- waited -- ice dumped
- checked ~ 48 hours later -- making ice
- told wife how great I am

and she's *still* laughing about that!

- had an adult beverage
- saved $2 instead of buying ice


Fix your own ice maker. My methods worked. She has ice!

[Don Y[_3_]]

On 9/21/2015 12:06 PM, Oren wrote:
Fix your own ice maker. My methods worked. She has ice!

My, aren't *we* helpful! (NOT)

[My ice maker is not and never has been broken. Though I,
and possibly others, might be interested in understanding what
*can* go wrong AND WHY -- lest they have to repeat a repair!]

[Oren[_2_]]

On Mon, 21 Sep 2015 12:37:38 -0700, Don Y
wrote:

[My ice maker is not and never has been broken. Though I,
and possibly others, might be interested in understanding what
*can* go wrong AND WHY -- lest they have to repeat a repair!]

I very impressed. How did that happen?! You must be the single person
that had ice maker not have something go wrong.

Tell the class how that works. Please expand on how you prevented ice
from not being made. As you stated earlier, people can learn from my
experience. IOW's You can't make ice without water flowing, when the
chute has frozen.
--
"No matter how cynical you become, it's never enough to keep up."
-- Lily Tomlin

[Don Y[_3_]]

On 9/22/2015 10:59 AM, Oren wrote:
On Mon, 21 Sep 2015 12:37:38 -0700, Don Y
wrote:

[My ice maker is not and never has been broken. Though I,
and possibly others, might be interested in understanding what
*can* go wrong AND WHY -- lest they have to repeat a repair!]

I very impressed. How did that happen?! You must be the single person
that had ice maker not have something go wrong.

We've *never* had a problem withthe ice maker. The refrigerator
(and icemaker) are at least 20+ years old. The only thing that
has changed in the quality of ice produced in that time was they got
"bigger" when I installed an inline water filter in the supply line
(*in* the wall behind the refrigerator). I suspect the reason for
this was because it increased the rate of flow to the refrigerator
(because I had to replace the fitting that mated to the water line
feeding the ice maker).

Tell the class how that works. Please expand on how you prevented ice
from not being made. As you stated earlier, people can learn from my
experience. IOW's You can't make ice without water flowing, when the
chute has frozen.

I asked you for your first-hand OPINION as to why the water froze in the
chute. *YOU* are the only one who has seen the orientation of the chute
(for all we know, it could have been *bent*, improperly installed, etc.),
observed the fill rate, noticed if any "drops" remain in the chute
after the fill cycle terminates, etc.

Of course, it's equally possible that you simply didn't bother to think
about the *cause* of the problem -- just stopped thinking about it once
it went away. Repairs (and repairmen) like that are known to revisit
themselves on the "unfortunate".

--

SWMBO had a guy out to replace the pump in the swamp cooler before I
got settled, here. A *month* later, it failed. As there was a 1 month
warranty on his work, she simply called him back. *That* pump lasted
a month as well.

Rather than trusting a "repairman" who has now proven himself to be an
unemployed "used car salesman" (or, incapable of selecting a RELIABLE
pump), *I* went up to diagnose the problem.

And, discovered the (second!) 110VAC pump that he had installed on the
220V cooler! Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that this
pump will fail in short order, as well!

--

A gentleman I worked with was perpetually repairing these little DVD
players for resale. Then, having to repair/replace them *again*
before the warranty (we provided) expired! Ad infinitum.

I eventually took an interest: what the hell are you doing *wrong*, Bob?
Turns out, he was dutifully replacing the 10WVDC capacitor in the power
supply with another identical 10WVDC capacitor -- which would promptly fail
soon after the customer started using it.

Never thinking to look at the *circuit*! Else, he would have discovered
that the cap was on a 12V line. Ooops! Need a 16V cap, as a minimum.
"But they're *all* like that!?" "So? The manufacturer cut a corner.
We can cut that same corner if we want to gamble on *our* customers
not bothering to bring the units back in for replacements!"

Use 16WVDC caps and no more problems with returns! But, only because
someone (me) decided to figure out *why* the problem existed.

[Muggles]

On 9/22/2015 1:58 PM, Don Y wrote:
On 9/22/2015 10:59 AM, Oren wrote:
On Mon, 21 Sep 2015 12:37:38 -0700, Don Y
wrote:

[My ice maker is not and never has been broken. Though I,
and possibly others, might be interested in understanding what
*can* go wrong AND WHY -- lest they have to repeat a repair!]

I very impressed. How did that happen?! You must be the single person
that had ice maker not have something go wrong.

We've *never* had a problem withthe ice maker. The refrigerator
(and icemaker) are at least 20+ years old. The only thing that
has changed in the quality of ice produced in that time was they got
"bigger" when I installed an inline water filter in the supply line
(*in* the wall behind the refrigerator). I suspect the reason for
this was because it increased the rate of flow to the refrigerator
(because I had to replace the fitting that mated to the water line
feeding the ice maker).

Tell the class how that works. Please expand on how you prevented ice
from not being made. As you stated earlier, people can learn from my
experience. IOW's You can't make ice without water flowing, when the
chute has frozen.

I asked you for your first-hand OPINION as to why the water froze in the
chute. *YOU* are the only one who has seen the orientation of the chute
(for all we know, it could have been *bent*, improperly installed, etc.),
observed the fill rate, noticed if any "drops" remain in the chute
after the fill cycle terminates, etc.

Of course, it's equally possible that you simply didn't bother to think
about the *cause* of the problem -- just stopped thinking about it once
it went away. Repairs (and repairmen) like that are known to revisit
themselves on the "unfortunate".

--

SWMBO had a guy out to replace the pump in the swamp cooler before I
got settled, here. A *month* later, it failed. As there was a 1 month
warranty on his work, she simply called him back. *That* pump lasted
a month as well.

Rather than trusting a "repairman" who has now proven himself to be an
unemployed "used car salesman" (or, incapable of selecting a RELIABLE
pump), *I* went up to diagnose the problem.

And, discovered the (second!) 110VAC pump that he had installed on the
220V cooler! Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that this
pump will fail in short order, as well!

--

A gentleman I worked with was perpetually repairing these little DVD
players for resale. Then, having to repair/replace them *again*
before the warranty (we provided) expired! Ad infinitum.

I eventually took an interest: what the hell are you doing *wrong*, Bob?
Turns out, he was dutifully replacing the 10WVDC capacitor in the power
supply with another identical 10WVDC capacitor -- which would promptly fail
soon after the customer started using it.

Never thinking to look at the *circuit*! Else, he would have discovered
that the cap was on a 12V line. Ooops! Need a 16V cap, as a minimum.
"But they're *all* like that!?" "So? The manufacturer cut a corner.
We can cut that same corner if we want to gamble on *our* customers
not bothering to bring the units back in for replacements!"

Use 16WVDC caps and no more problems with returns! But, only because
someone (me) decided to figure out *why* the problem existed.





My ice maker something freezes up when it goes to eject the ice and one
tiny piece of an ice cube gets stuck in the corner. I just tap it and
it falls off and then it starts making ice again.

--
Maggie

[Don Y[_3_]]

On 9/22/2015 3:11 PM, Muggles wrote:

My ice maker something freezes up when it goes to eject the ice and one
tiny piece of an ice cube gets stuck in the corner. I just tap it and
it falls off and then it starts making ice again.

I don't use ice in anything. But, SWMBO uses *lots* of ice!
She routinely lifts the wire "bail" that senses when the box is
full of ice (to stop the ice maker from making more than she
needs -- which would cause the ice on the bottom of the box
to languish).

I've never looked to see how this affects the ice making cycle.
But, I've never been summoned with "Don, the ice maker is broken!"

[Ralph Mowery]

"Don Y" wrote in message
...
I don't use ice in anything. But, SWMBO uses *lots* of ice!
She routinely lifts the wire "bail" that senses when the box is
full of ice (to stop the ice maker from making more than she
needs -- which would cause the ice on the bottom of the box
to languish).

I've never looked to see how this affects the ice making cycle.
But, I've never been summoned with "Don, the ice maker is broken!"

I often lift the wire so it will not make more ice and let the hopper run
way down as we do not use much ice and sometimes the ice will melt and make
a lump that needs to be removed by hand.

No trouble in around 10 years on the machine now.

[Bob_Villa]

On Tuesday, September 22, 2015 at 5:39:25 PM UTC-5, Ralph Mowery wrote:

No trouble in around 10 years on the machine now.

We've had a Kenmore/Whirlpool for 12 yrs...no problems with the ice maker.

[Don Y[_3_]]

On 9/22/2015 3:39 PM, Ralph Mowery wrote:
"Don Y" wrote in message
...
I don't use ice in anything. But, SWMBO uses *lots* of ice!
She routinely lifts the wire "bail" that senses when the box is
full of ice (to stop the ice maker from making more than she
needs -- which would cause the ice on the bottom of the box
to languish).

I've never looked to see how this affects the ice making cycle.
But, I've never been summoned with "Don, the ice maker is broken!"

I often lift the wire so it will not make more ice and let the hopper run
way down as we do not use much ice and sometimes the ice will melt and make
a lump that needs to be removed by hand.

SWMBO complains that if the ice maker keeps the bucket full, the
cubes on the bottom end up sublimating, over time. So, you end
up with these *little* ice cubes (that were bigger when they
were originally formed).

I'd not considered them fusing together. I guess you could
probably just "smash" them to break them apart? (again, this
assumes you are visiting the ice maker often!)

[BTW, ours is NOT a through-the-door ice maker. So, the cubes
never get "dispensed" (e.g., into a glass). This may make a
difference?]

No trouble in around 10 years on the machine now.

Yes, over 20 on ours (at this location, no idea how many years
prior to this)

[Ralph Mowery]

"Don Y" wrote in message
...
On 9/22/2015 3:39 PM, Ralph Mowery wrote:
I'd not considered them fusing together. I guess you could
probably just "smash" them to break them apart? (again, this
assumes you are visiting the ice maker often!)

[BTW, ours is NOT a through-the-door ice maker. So, the cubes
never get "dispensed" (e.g., into a glass). This may make a
difference?]

Mine is a through the door despenser. As we probably use about 4 glasses of
ice a day, it does not get used very much. The come out the bottom, so stay
about the same size. The ones near the top back side tend to melt and stick
together, maybe during the defrost cycle, but not sure why. Then the lump
is too big to make it out the door.

[[email protected]]

On Tue, 22 Sep 2015 17:11:25 -0500, Muggles wrote:

My ice maker something freezes up when it goes to eject the ice and one
tiny piece of an ice cube gets stuck in the corner. I just tap it and
it falls off and then it starts making ice again.

That is a common problem with Whirlpool style ice makers (several
brands use them)
The cube in the far right tray sticks in the comb. This is worse if
there is a gap between the comb and the frame. I glued a little piece
of plastic across that gap and it got a lot better. The other thing
that exacerbates it is cubes (half moons?) that are too small. You can
adjust the fill with that little screw next to the head. It is
backward. CCW increases the size. (as I recall)

I have 2 of these machines here and I maintain about 5 more between
the neighbors and close by family. I stock the common parts.
The "head" fixes most mystery issues once you figure out it has power,
the photo eye is working (bucket on the door models) and the water is
flowing right.
That is the brown doo dad on the end, held on with 3 screws. You get
the motor, the timer and the lockout cam mechanism. It is the FRU.
(smallest part you can order in that assembly).
I also stock a complete ice maker. I will swap it out and fix the bad
one in my "beer fridge" if it is a neighbor.

[[email protected]]

On Tue, 22 Sep 2015 15:24:42 -0700, Don Y
wrote:

On 9/22/2015 3:11 PM, Muggles wrote:

My ice maker something freezes up when it goes to eject the ice and one
tiny piece of an ice cube gets stuck in the corner. I just tap it and
it falls off and then it starts making ice again.

I don't use ice in anything. But, SWMBO uses *lots* of ice!
She routinely lifts the wire "bail" that senses when the box is
full of ice (to stop the ice maker from making more than she
needs -- which would cause the ice on the bottom of the box
to languish).

I've never looked to see how this affects the ice making cycle.
But, I've never been summoned with "Don, the ice maker is broken!"

There is a cam in there that lifts the bail and if it does not come
down, a contact in the timer opens.
I can get a picture if anyone wants to see it.

[[email protected]]

On Tue, 22 Sep 2015 18:39:10 -0400, "Ralph Mowery"
wrote:


"Don Y" wrote in message
...
I don't use ice in anything. But, SWMBO uses *lots* of ice!
She routinely lifts the wire "bail" that senses when the box is
full of ice (to stop the ice maker from making more than she
needs -- which would cause the ice on the bottom of the box
to languish).

I've never looked to see how this affects the ice making cycle.
But, I've never been summoned with "Don, the ice maker is broken!"

I often lift the wire so it will not make more ice and let the hopper run
way down as we do not use much ice and sometimes the ice will melt and make
a lump that needs to be removed by hand.

No trouble in around 10 years on the machine now.


That is what the grinder is good for. It takes ice from the bottom of
the bucket.