Any ideas on why a ice maker will not work....It isn't getting water to the icemaker...I do know that..I have turned the valve in the back off and on several times..I am thinking it might be the solenoid valve that is controlled by AC power.. I am thinking about changing that myself instead of paying the shop $100 hr to do it... Any other ideas about why no water and how much trouble is it to change the solenoid? I have a 2003 Pace Arrow with Dometic Refridge Thanks, Scott
Dometic Icemaker
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Karl
Moderator Emeritus
Scott,
It should be easy to get at the solenoid from the outside access to the fridge, and changing it is pretty simple. Before you do that, make sure it really is the solenoid. Question: Does it go through a ice-making cycle but just not producing ice? You should see the bail arm moving up and down, and the ejector blades rotating. You can check this by removing the small square cover on the front of the ice maker in the freezer. There will be a large white gear inside. Rotate that a bit by hand (it will be hard, but it will turn). That will start the cycle, and you should see that gear make one complete revolution in about a minute or two. If it doesn't start turning after you've given it a partial turn, your problem is most likely one of the micro switches. If it completes a cycle and you still don't get water do this: Shut off the water and remove the inlet side of the solenoid. Check the screen for debris clogging and clean if necessary. While still removed, turn the water on briefly and you should see water flow. If that's working, disconnect the outlet side of the solenoid and turn the gear to start a cycle. At some point before the cycle completes, the solenoid should open the valve and you should get water from the outlet. If not, disconnect the two spade connections to the solenoid, hook up one lead of a voltmeter to each one, start a new cycle by turning the gear. You should see 120VAC across the two terminals for several seconds when it nears the end of the cycle. If not, it's probably one of the other micro switches. If you do see 120, the solenoid is not working. Measure the resistance of the solenoid coil. I don't remember exactly what it should be, but somewhere around a few hundred ohms. If it shows 'open', it's bad. If not, something may be sticking in it. You can remove the solenoid, disassemble it, and maybe a cleaning is all it needs. A word of caution: It contains a few small parts and a spring. Be careful to not let things fly out at you, and make careful note of how it came apart. At least two of the parts will go back inside in either direction, but only one will be correct! Give it a try. Worst case is you'll have to buy another one.
It should be easy to get at the solenoid from the outside access to the fridge, and changing it is pretty simple. Before you do that, make sure it really is the solenoid. Question: Does it go through a ice-making cycle but just not producing ice? You should see the bail arm moving up and down, and the ejector blades rotating. You can check this by removing the small square cover on the front of the ice maker in the freezer. There will be a large white gear inside. Rotate that a bit by hand (it will be hard, but it will turn). That will start the cycle, and you should see that gear make one complete revolution in about a minute or two. If it doesn't start turning after you've given it a partial turn, your problem is most likely one of the micro switches. If it completes a cycle and you still don't get water do this: Shut off the water and remove the inlet side of the solenoid. Check the screen for debris clogging and clean if necessary. While still removed, turn the water on briefly and you should see water flow. If that's working, disconnect the outlet side of the solenoid and turn the gear to start a cycle. At some point before the cycle completes, the solenoid should open the valve and you should get water from the outlet. If not, disconnect the two spade connections to the solenoid, hook up one lead of a voltmeter to each one, start a new cycle by turning the gear. You should see 120VAC across the two terminals for several seconds when it nears the end of the cycle. If not, it's probably one of the other micro switches. If you do see 120, the solenoid is not working. Measure the resistance of the solenoid coil. I don't remember exactly what it should be, but somewhere around a few hundred ohms. If it shows 'open', it's bad. If not, something may be sticking in it. You can remove the solenoid, disassemble it, and maybe a cleaning is all it needs. A word of caution: It contains a few small parts and a spring. Be careful to not let things fly out at you, and make careful note of how it came apart. At least two of the parts will go back inside in either direction, but only one will be correct! Give it a try. Worst case is you'll have to buy another one.
Gary RV_Wizard
Site Team
It's a standard 120 VAC ice maker, as is used in many other fridges. There are some slight variations in some "RV models", but basically you can get parts anywhere and DIY. Karl gave you pretty detailed trouble shooting advice, so I won't elaborate further.
Marsha/CA
Moderator Emeritus
Scott, Before you take everything apart. Is the unit on now and cold? If so, you may have an ice chip frozen which is not allowing the arm to rotate and go through the cyle. The ice maker will not call for water if it is frozen up. This happens to us when I let frost build up in the freezer part. Sometimes an ice cube gets lodged and blocks the arm rotation. When I remove the ice chip, the unit completes it's cycle. If it's really stuck, I defrost the unit.
Just a thought.
Marsha~ {member of the KISS...keep it simple stupid}
Just a thought.
Marsha~ {member of the KISS...keep it simple stupid}
Karl
Moderator Emeritus
Good point, Marsha!
A tidbit of info: When the temperature sensor of the icemaker gets cold enough to know there's ice, not water, in the cube compartments, it starts the cycle and the motor starts to turn, and turns on the heater to thaw the cubes enough to be ejected. Just like removing Jello from a mold. But the heater isn't fast enough and the extractor blades run into the still frozen-in cubes and the motor stalls. Once melted enough, the blades continue their journey, pushing the cubes out ahead of it. A very simple, yet elegant design!
A tidbit of info: When the temperature sensor of the icemaker gets cold enough to know there's ice, not water, in the cube compartments, it starts the cycle and the motor starts to turn, and turns on the heater to thaw the cubes enough to be ejected. Just like removing Jello from a mold. But the heater isn't fast enough and the extractor blades run into the still frozen-in cubes and the motor stalls. Once melted enough, the blades continue their journey, pushing the cubes out ahead of it. A very simple, yet elegant design!
Marsha/CA
Moderator Emeritus
Ahh....a smart ice maker. It ranks right up there with a thermos..it's amazing how it knows when to keep hot things hot and when to keep cold things cold....
Marsha~
Marsha~
