KitchenAid KRFF507EWH01 ice maker fill up tube freezes

[go-rebels]

Yes, you will need a multimeter to check if your getting proper voltage to the ice maker fill tube heater. I'm attaching your tech. data sheet below.

Do Service Test - 19 Ice Maker Fill Tube Heater and Facia Heater Status
--->Control the Ice Maker Fill Tube Heater and Facia Heater selecting SW3 (toggle between On and Off)
(01 = ON, 02 = OFF)

On the main control board, located on the back exterior wall of your refrigerator, take a voltage reading on P2-6 to P1-2 when you toggle it On. 01 = ON.

You should be getting 115 volts when its 01 = ON if you DON'T get 115 volts, then your main control board is the problem.

Here's the main control board for your model:
WPW10589838 Electronic Control Board


Plus you get $60 credit on your credit card when you return the old one.

Jake

Hey Jake, can you please point out pins P2-6 & P1-2 on the pic? Thx -

 

[go-rebels]

I forgot to mention some can take up to 72 hours to kick out the ice fully.

Jake

72hr seems awfully long. Does the programming wait that long to determine that conditions are right to start making ice?

 

[Jake]

Look at your tech. data sheet I posted in post #11 above, it tells you the wire colors of P2-6 & P1-2.

P2-6 is RED wire
P1-2 is WHITE/BLACK wire

72hr seems awfully long. Does the programming wait that long to determine that conditions are right to start making ice?

That's the truth, It MAY take that long, but not always.

 

[go-rebels]

Thx Jake. I'm lucky enough to have a Fluke IR temperature sensor so rather than measuring at the PCB at the rear of the frig I disconnected the facia, leaving the heater wire plugged-in, and manually turned the heater "on" using function #19. After about 1 minute the temperature increased by 20F comparing the wire temperature to the temperature of the plastic facia away from the heating element. After 2-3 minutes the heating element was somewhat warm to the touch. So I know the circuit is getting power.

I'm getting a recurring freezing of the water feed tube about 6 months after I replaced the feed tube heating element. I'm thinking that the water valve is leaking slightly and causing the ice build-up within the tube. I'll be replacing the valve next. My ice maker temp seems to be running ~7F pretty consistently after I replaced the evaporator fan 3 months ago.

Until I get the new valve I did a few things to (maybe) force ice making: 1) Increase my frig temperature from 37F to 42F, 2) Run test #19 for 5 minutes to heat the tube and thaw the ice, 3) Harvest the ice running test #57 (as a precaution; nothing came out, and 4) Run test #45 to fill the ice tray. This was the first time I could get water through the tube; Test #19 obviously helped.

I'm thinking that this entire design is so marginal to start with. How can you design a system so fragile that very slight leak in the solenoid valve entirely shuts down ice making? You'd think that the tube heater would be robust enough to run long enough, and hot enough, to melt any ice that may have formed within the tube. I'm thinking that the engineers are so hell bent on efficiency that they sacrificed reliability in the design process.

BTW, my frig is a Kitchenaid KRFF507EWH01 purchased in 2017.

 

[go-rebels]

Quick update. My frig is now sitting at 41F, as measured with a dial freezer thermometer (that correlates well with two other thermometers) and, overnight, the ice maker produced three batches of ice. I'm not keen about the frig sitting at 41F but if that's what it takes to prevent an ice-line freeze-up and make ice, I'm OK with it.

 

[Jake]

That's very odd, because I helped you last March here:

FIXED - KRFF507EWH01 KitchenAid Refrigerator Not Making Ice

There's a few electrical connections that have to be disconnected to get access to the damper motor. Can I still power the refrigerator and run Test #3 with the insides gutted?

www.applianceblog.com

The ice maker fill tube has been working fine up until now? Did the ambient temperature change in your kitchen since last summer?

It seems like this problem only occurs in late winter?