Major appliance repair- What is fair?

[Robert Reznikoff]

The icemaker in my refrigerator quit making ice. I called an appliance repair company, (which turned out to be a one man operation) who said the problem was with a valve that wasn't working. He said he charges $45 for the call plus parts. He replaced the valve and also said a filter behind the refrigerator was leaking and he replaced that. (I never had seen evidence of leakage near the refrigerator). Before he left I noticed that no water was coming into the cube making area and he claimed I had to wait for it to cycle again. He charged $140.00 plus $30.00 to replace the filter. Later that I night I found that the icemaker was still not filling or making ice. I called him and he said he probably needed to replace the whole icemaker.

Is there a validity to what he said? Should I stop payment on the check? Should I let him come out again? Should I eat my losses and get a new company? What is fair to him and fair to me? I am no better off that before I called him and I am out $170.

What should I do at this point?

[Red Neckerson]

Don't be nasty, but call him and tell him you paid $170 to fix your ice maker and it's NOT fixed so what is he going to do to remedy the situation. Go from there.

I know it's too late to be telling you this, but you can buy a complete ice maker for less than $100 and it's not that difficult to change. Just got to make sure you get the right model.....

[Bob]

In most cases, when you give someone a check for completed work, you're (in essence) saying that the work was completed to your satisfaction. He and you both should have checked to make sure everything was working before he left. He was either in a hurry, or knew he didn't fix the problem, or was totally incompetent. You need to decide which one it was. When he told you over the phone that you probably need a whole new ice maker, this tells me that he's just a parts changer, and not a good troubleshooter. There may be nothing wrong with any of those parts. It might simply be that the water line is frozen. Amana had a similar problem with the door water dispensers and had a service bulletin and insulation repair kit for it. If you have him out another time, and a whole new ice maker fixes the problem, then deduct the cost of the first service call from the 2nd bill. If you stop payment on the check now, the guy is never coming back, so you need to decide if you want him back.

"Robert Reznikoff" wrote in message news:hW8wf.9$ [e-mail]...

[Ed]

There is a tube that enter the freezer through the back wall of the refrig. This tube carries water to your icemaker and it's common for it to be filled with ice. The icemaker is mounted to the wall with just 3 screws, remove the screws so you can gain access to the tube and see if it's filled with ice.

[Bob]

Another thing to check is the ice maker arm. It may be in the up position. Also make sure the ice maker is plugged in securely inside the freezer. Both are pretty simple to check.

[Robert Reznikoff]

Thanks for your advice, though I don't think it solves my problem. I think the repair guy is incompetent and gave me a story about waiting for it to recycle.

I removed the icemaker from the freezer section myself and noticed that there is no valve at the icemaker and water is meant to flow from the tube down into the cube sections. I don't understand what cuts off the water when the cube sections are filled. It could be that the same mechanism is somehow cutting off the water flow in the same way as when the cube compartments are full of water.

Another possibility might be: that water goes to the spigot on the door as well as the icemaker. Water is coming out of the spigot but not getting to the icemaker. The arm that raises and cuts off when the storage compartment is full is in the down position which should allow it to make cubes.

Any suggestions on what might be the problem. I have decided not to let him replace the icemaker unit as I don't trust that he knows what he is doing. He is supposed to be here first thing tomorrow morning. If he can fix it without asking for any more money all will be well. If he can't, I will get someone else, and try to stop payment on his check. If I am told that he went through the proper steps I will allow the check to clear. It might be he has already cashed the check at my bank, in which case, there is little I can do.

[Bob]

If you made out the check to a private individual, then he may have cashed it. If he doesn't show up "first thing tomorrow morning", then he may be at the bank cashing it. If he doesn't have an account at your bank, then it's likely that your bank would refuse to cash it. If you made it out to a company, then most banks will make him deposit it in a company account, in which case, there's a waiting period for the funds. Most ice cube makers have a separate solenoid valve that opens and closes as water is needed. It's somewhere along that tubing. Most ice cube maker mechanisms only contain a little electric motor, some gears, and one or two switches. If water isn't going in, I don't see how someone can condemn it.

[Ed]

It's timed by the icemaker unit. There's a switch in there.

The vavle on an ice and water refrig has two solenoids, one each for the icemaker and water dispenser.

The problem with offering more suggestions is that there's more than one common type of icemaker. Two most common are modular and what I call the old style. Modular unit has a plastic front (under the front cover) the other has a brass colored metal plate.

Does the icemaker cycle even though it doesn't make ice?

[Robert Reznikoff]

No, it doesn't appear to cycle. What does that suggest? The refrigerator is a two door Frigidaire about 20 years old.

[Ed]

"Robert Reznikoff" wrote

It's suggests a few things.

It could be the thermostat thats in the icemaker. It could be that no power is getting to the icemaker. It most probably means that it's not the water valve.

When it was working what shape were the ice cubes? Frigidaire used a flex tray icemaker before changing to the metal mold icemaker. The flex tray icemaker had a plastic tray that revolved and dumped the ice. The metal mold icemaker makes crescent shaped cubes that are pushed out by the fingers of a white plastic rod.

The cheapest solution may be to just buy a few ice trays and screw the icemaker. The refig is past expected life at 20 years old and you shouldn't be spending a lot on it anyway.

[scott21230]

In my opinion, ice makers are nothing but trouble. Just us the trays.