Defrost cycles too much + water freezing in icemaker supply tube
I have a Kenmore 51552 that has frozen the icemaker supply tube a couple of times. The first 2 times, I opened the door and used a hairdryer to melt the ice in supply tube and everything went back to normal. Now (months later) the defrost is cycling too much, and the freezer reverts between thawing food out and making a protective frost layer on everything. You can hear the unit cycling 24/7 between cooling and defrost. From my basic understanding, it has to be either the defrost thermometer or the timer, but looking through parts for this model only reference a control unit and thermometer. I also read an earlier post that indicated my original problem of the frozen supply tube may be a leaking valve. Are all these related, or are they separate problems? Any ideas on what to replace first? I'd rather not go through the hassle of scheduling a service call, sitting at home, and then getting boned if it's just a few simple parts I can change out myself. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks and Happy New Year! pm
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237 Answers
Re:
They do make a kit that has a "heat wire" to warm the ice maker fill tube, pretty easy to install. What happens is freezing air gets up behind the fill tube for an inch or two. First try pulling down on the tube 1/4" or so and putting silicone up inside around the tube then press it back up in place. That should keep the cold air from making its way up there.
If your defrost cycle is going nuts and you have a control board type... the control board decides when to defrost so it can be bad. The thermistor reads the temp. on the coil which tells the board the temps. The thermistor is checked by an ohm meter and placing the little thermistor probe end into say iced water, the ohms will change s l o w l y as the thermistor is reading the temp until it finally stables out at the actual temp of the water. The control board is (for most homeowners) just a swap out replacement option.
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If the water is freezing in the supply tube then its not water valve or icemaker fault.Its the fault of defrost board.Its not letting the unit to defrost on time and this is causing the problem.If water is faulty then water will over flow or no water will flow,if ice maker is faulty then it will not make ice.Try manual defrost reset
procedure: ----
First unplug the unit from
main power outlet. Then empty whole unit completely. Then keep both the doors open.
Wait for 24 hours. All the ice collected on the coils and in the
freezer section will get melted. Clean the water from the sections.
Then Connect the power cord of the unit to main power outlet after 24
hours/.Then set the temperature to normal in both fridge and freezer section.
It will take near to 4 hours to get run in its proper cooling cycle. Then check,
if the problem returns again. If the same problem occurs then it's defrost problem.
The defrost board and the defrost thermostat/heater is not functioning properly
and it has to be checked and replaced.you
can get the required parts from online sites like:---
www.repairclinic.com or
from searspartsdirect online site.---------This will help.Thanks.Helpmech.
Likely that the water supply tube to the icemaker is frozen. It will be a white rubber tube on the right side of the icemaker. Warm it with a hair dryer, remove it from its aluminum tubing, and make sure there is no ice all the way back to where the supply tube comes from the water valve. After thawing, your icemaker should start working again.
Now..... why did it freeze? Most likely, there is a restricted airflow to the back of the unit, which is need to keep that aluminum supply tube just warm enough to assure all the water flow OUT of it into the icemaker, and doesn't freeze up on contact. Make sure your coils and the airspace under the fridge are completely clean (vacuuum them well) and it should cure the problem.
Likely that the water supply tube to the icemaker is frozen. It will be a white rubber tube on the right side of the icemaker. Warm it with a hair dryer, remove it from its aluminum tubing, and make sure there is no ice all the way back to where the supply tube comes from the water valve. After thawing, your icemaker should start working again.
Now..... why did it freeze? Most likely, there is a restricted airflow to the back of the unit, which is need to keep that aluminum supply tube just warm enough to assure all the water flow OUT of it into the icemaker, and doesn't freeze up on contact. Make sure your coils and the airspace under the fridge are completely clean (vacuuum them well) and it should cure the problem.
Likely that the water supply tube to the icemaker is frozen. It will be a white rubber tube on the right side of the icemaker. Warm it with a hair dryer, remove it from its aluminum tubing, and make sure there is no ice all the way back to where the supply tube comes from the water valve. After thawing, your icemaker should start working again.
Now..... why did it freeze? Most likely, there is a restricted airflow to the back of the unit, which is need to keep that aluminum supply tube just warm enough to assure all the water flow OUT of it into the icemaker, and doesn't freeze up on contact. Make sure your coils and the airspace under the fridge are completely clean (vacuuum them well) and it should cure the problem.
First, make sure the arm on the ice maker not in the up (off) position.
Second, pull out the refrigerator from the wall and make sure there is no crimp in the line from the wall.
Third, check that ice is not frozen around the plastic teeth. Pull out the whole ice bucket and thoroughly check that something is not blocking or frozen in the wrong place.
This will get you started.
Hello Netmindr32,
You will need to replace your inlet valve. The problem is the water is slowly leaking into your icemaker fill line and freezing up. You will have a double inlet valve and the line going to your dispencer may be working fine but the one going to the icemaker is not sealing off. Be sure to defrost all the ice out after replacing the inlet valve. And please allow several cycles of your icemaker before it makes its first batch. It can take 2-3 cycles to fill lines and filters depending on your model. Lots of luck to you and please let me know if this helped you. [email protected]
Likely that the water supply tube to the icemaker is frozen. It will be a white rubber tube on the right side of the icemaker. Warm it with a hair dryer, remove it from its aluminum tubing, and make sure there is no ice all the way back to where the supply tube comes from the water valve. After thawing, your icemaker should start working again.
Now..... why did it freeze? Most likely, there is a restricted airflow to the back of the unit, which is need to keep that aluminum supply tube just warm enough to assure all the water flow OUT of it into the icemaker, and doesn't freeze up on contact. Make sure your coils and the airspace under the fridge are completely clean (vacuuum them well) and it should cure the problem.
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