FIXED Kitchenaid Refrigerator KFIV29PCMS00 E05 error. ( timed ice making)

[Billymons]

Model Number

KFIV29PCMS00

Brand

KitchenAid

Age

6-10 years

Kitchenaid KFIV29PCMS00 E05 error. ( timed ice making) French door style refrigerator. History is that 5 years ago the freezer evap and compressor were changed under warranty sealed system leak job, Sears. Its been good ever since. 2 years ago the ice maker quit making ice and I replaced the ice maker. Good since. Not sure if I had a error code then. Now I'm getting E05 (timed ice) I can unplug it and clear the fault and it will make one batch of ice and then eventually fault again E05.

I went through all the possible checks, motor works good and harvests and passes, IM heater passes, IM thermistor passes and I also checked the ohms at the pink and tan wires at the control board read 18,200 ohms which was (8 degrees). I believe it only needs to see 14 degrees to start the harvest?? Also checked water fill and it passes.(verified it filling) Ice box level, passes. Ice box thermistor, passes. I just replaced the IM again and still got the E05. Freezer temp seems fine around 5-10 degrees along with the IM box.

I hate to condemn the control board but I'm leaning that way. Oh and I replaced the IM fan because it sounded week. It would start out nice and then go to like nothing. What am I missing to check??? Is my freezer not cold enough? Set for 0 degrees and I don't think it ever gets there. Maybe getting low on r134a. Im a HVAC tech 30 years and Refrig is my weakness but I'm not a dumb cookie just need some guidance. Thanks in return. Is it common for these boards to go?

 

[Billymons]

I really think I’m having another sealed system leak again! I put better thermometers in the freezer and ice maker box and came up with 16 degrees in freezer and maybe 20 degrees in the ice maker after two hours. Maybe I’ll try recovering the refrigerant, evacuating the system and charging to factory and see how long it lasts. I’m not putting much more money into this mess of a refrig that came with our house!

 

[Jake]

I really think I’m having another sealed system leak again!

That's what it sounds like to me too.

Did you check the frost pattern on your evaporator coil?

Look at these photos below, and the very bottom photo is a NORMAL FROST PATTERN.

Jake

 

[Billymons]

Its such a pain in the a$$ to take the freezer drawers out to take the back panel off. But I may have to this weekend.

 

[Jake]

ts such a pain in the a$$ to take the freezer drawers out to take the back panel off.

Yes, I know all about that too, when I was in my 20's and 30's it never was a issue, but being in my mid to late 50's the body gives more pain after doing it 35 plus years.

Jake

 

[Billymons]

Ok it’s fixed for now, hooray! I did not take anything apart to check the evap frosting pattern. I could see the bottom of the evap and it looked normal. It really was acting like it was low on refrigerant. I couldn’t get the freezer under 14 degrees at best. So just to be sure it wasn’t frozen I put it through a long defrost.

I then used my electronic leak detector to check any accessible areas. I did notice a little at the Schrader port. I recovered the refrigerant, changed out the schrader, pressure tested with nitrogen, vacuumed down the system and charged to 5.5 ounces. It took a little while but it came down to zero degrees and yes the ice maker started making ice again!

As I’ve heard a hundred times on here, “the ice maker will not make ice if the freezer isn’t close to zero degrees” From the time I was done, the freezer was at 22 degrees and it took a good 8 hours to get to zero, is that normal or is my compressor struggling? That’s with my kids opening and closing t a couple times.

 

[Jake]

Ok it’s fixed for now, hooray!

That's great to hear.

it took a good 8 hours to get to zero, is that normal or is my compressor struggling? That’s with my kids opening and closing t a couple times.

That seems a little long to get to 0 degrees F. But it normally takes about 24 hours for the temperatures in both the refrigerator and freezer sections to stabilize.

So just keep your eye on it for awhile and see how it does.

Jake