Ice maker repair?

[** Frank **]

My kid's ice maker on the GE refrigerator just went south after 8 months of use. No longer under warranty as they didn't start using it until the kitchen was remodeled.

Anyway, it still make ice cubes inside the freezer, but no ice dispensing in chip or cube forms - no sound either from the motor or solenoid. The ice water dispenser works but takes a long 10 seconds before the solenoid kicks in. Before, we get instantaneous ice water when it was working right. When I try to dispense ice cubes or chips I could see the dispenser light cycle between normal and dim but no ice - must be drawing current somewhere for the ice machine.

I know nothing about ice makers but have no problem tearing into it if I have some directions or a parts diagram. Any suggestions as to what I should look for or troubleshoot? Thanks!

[Edwin Pawlowski]

There are two components. the ice maker and the ice dispenser. Sounds like the ice maker is good, but the ice dispenser is not working.

If the light dims, that means a load is being put on the motor. I'd say either the motor is bad or the drive is stuck either mechanically (such as bearings) or by the ice freezing it. First step is to empty the ice and se if you can find a physical blockage in the chute leading to the auger. If so, remove it or use a hair dryer to melt it.

You may find more information at

[** Frank **]

Thanks Edwin. I wanted to learn more about ice makers and ran into this video on YouTube on snap-in fitting. So cool, never seen this kind of fitting for rigid copper tubings at the local hardware store.