Ice maker has been working fine for about eight years and then stopped working all of a sudden on a Kenmore.
I'm assuming it is the water valve Part # 12490801.
Pete
Answer Hello Pete,
The water valve or the ice maker can be the cause of the issue. The ice maker contains mechanical contacts, (points), that can burn and not pass voltage. You can apply 120Vac to the water valve and see if it opens and passes water and closes properly or you can send us your model number and we can send you some testing information for your model to your e-mail address. The information I am referring to contains pictures and cannot be posted in this format.
Just recently, the icemaker stopped making ice. Now the refrigerator has sour milk and its seems not to cool foods, unless it was because the door was left open. But, it's still not making a single cube and makes a generating sound like it trying to cool but its not as cool as it should be. How do I tell if the water inlet valve solenoid or the icemaker have failed? Please help!
Steven B. for Model Number AMANA tri18tw
Answer Hello Steven,
First off, let's take a logical approach to the units' operation. The ice maker is inside the freezer compartment. If the freezer compartment is warm, the water will never freeze and the cycling thermostat will never get down below the 20°F required to cycle the ice maker. This actually sounds to me that the ice maker might work if it's in a cold enough environment to cycle it. The freezer compartment should run from 0°F to 10°F without ever dropping below 0°F.
Check and make sure the freezer fan and the fan in the back are running. Remove the rear cover and make sure the compressor is running by placing your hand on it and feel for the vibration. If it isn't running, remove the start device on the side of the compressor and shake it. If it rattles, it's bad. If these are working properly, you will have to remove the back wall of the freezer to check the frost pattern on the evaporator coils. The frost pattern should be just about even almost to the bottom. If there is an ice ball where the lines come into the freezer compartment, you have a freon loss. If there is no frost or ice at all, you may have lost all of the freon or there could be a restriction. In the case of a restriction in the sealed system, the compressor will be very hot.
Let us know what you find.