FIXED KitchenAid Refrigerator KRFC604FSS01 ice maker not working

[michael-lee]

Model Number

KRFC604FSS01

Brand

KitchenAid

Age

1-5 years

Hello, need some help please.

The ice maker in my refrigerator is no longer making ice. Water is running. The line going into the ice does not look it's clogged/frozen because it's soft.
Prior to it stopped working, i found a piece of broken plastic (attached image) inside the ice bucket that was clogging up the ice grinder/breaker. Once the piece of plastic remove, the grinder seems to be working normally. It's definitely broken off from within the fridge, but I could not locate where the piece of plastic came from.

i found the tech sheet from another thread and ran the Door Ice Maker Valve general diagnostic

FIXED - KRFC704FPS00 Ice maker has stopped making ice cubes.

The ice maker my refrigerator, Model KRFC704FPS00, has stopped making ice. No water is making it to the ice tray. As the ice maker was going south on me the little bit of ice it was making was slowly melting in the ice bin. The ice maker on my refrigerator is in the door. Is there a thermostat...

www.applianceblog.com

The test is supposed to open the water valve for 7 sec. In my case, when test is triggered, I heard a sound like something moved (presumably valve open).
However, on the panel, the display says FF, and the tech sheet did not say anything about this code.
I did not hear other/further sounds afterwards.

Any help will be very much appreciated.

 

[rickgburton]

Is there any frost build up on the evaporator in the fresh food section? What's the temperature of the ice maker? Ohm out the fill tube heater. You're looking for 53Ω -61Ω

 

[michael-lee]

No frost build up any where in fridge or fresh food section

Don't know how to tell the temperature of the ice maker, but it does feel colder than the fridge, which is set at 39 degrees.

Not sure how to test fill tube heater either, do i need to take stuff apart to probe it?
Thanks

 

[michael-lee]

For ice maker temperature, i ran test 14 from tech sheet, and the reading showed 25

 

[rickgburton]

The fill tube heater can be checked at the dispenser board in the J8 connector, J8-3 to J8-4. Run service test #120 and post the results here and any error codes that come up

 

[michael-lee]

Ran the test 120. It first shows 02 and i heard something sounds like motor running, then it shows 04 and suspect motor going the reverse direction. Then at the end when the sounds stopped, the panel showed bF (bin full). However, the bin is completely empty.

I wonder if the piece of plastic that broke off might have something to do with that, but i did not see any where that i can open up that part of the ice maker to see further.
Thanks

 

[rickgburton]

showed bF (bin full). However, the bin is completely empty.

That's why the ice maker isn't working. Did you take the bin out? I can't tell where that piece was but it should be obvious by the size of it. What can't you get apart?

 

[michael-lee]

the bin has been completely empty,


after i slid out the bin, i was thinking to take the ice maker part out as circled. I still don't know why the fridge is thinking the bin is full. I was guessing taking the ice maker out will give me more clues.


but there's no screws or anything thing that's clicking it in place that i saw or was able to remove the casing.
Couple more pictures below on looking at the ice maker bottom up from the ice dispensing hole (i.e. pointing camera towards ceiling)




Or, if you have any other ideas how to check why fridge is saying bin is full?

Thanks

 

[rickgburton]

Where exactly did you find the broken piece?

 

[michael-lee]

i found it inside the ice bin with the ice at the time, and it was getting the stuck with metal rod at the time and the rod couldn't spin to crush the ice.
After i remove the piece of plastic, the rod can spin again. but i don't have a clue where it came from

based on those pictures, the broken plastic piece didn't look like it was dropped from the top. But, I am still thinking it's related because it's messing up the bin full sensor some how

 

[rickgburton]

I think you're right. This is what is says for a similar model: The Ice Bin Switch is a spring loaded, normally open switch. The switch is closed by the Ice Bucket when inserted. The switch must be closed for the Ice Maker to Harvest ice.

 

[michael-lee]

would you have any diagrams or anything where i can locate where that switch is? or better yet, a way to get to that switch?

 

[rickgburton]

I've seen so many refrigerator ice makers and they're different from model to model that I can't always remember the set up for each one. LOL After checking a bunch of different manuals, I think I've found the problem. Here's the part you need:

Whirlpool W10898228 Icemaker (AP6036094) - AppliancePartsPros.com

ICEMAKER W10898228 / AP6036094 made by Whirlpool

click.linksynergy.com

The Ice Maker module includes the Gear Box, Ice Bin Switch, Ice Box Temperature Sensor, and Ice Tray Temperature Sensor.

 

[michael-lee]

that's great. before i order, does that come with any instructions or diagrams that you can share? I'm still having a hard time finding a way to slide the ice maker out, i want to make sure i can get the thing out first. Thanks

 

[rickgburton]

If I remember correctly, and I don't always, there's a catch/clip on the right side. You can barely see it in your last picture on the right side. Use a small screwdriver and push it towards the ice maker and it should slide out.

 

[michael-lee]

Thanks Rick. I was looking at the pictures from another parts site and found an image with the broken plastic piece
That piece must have been some kind of probe to check the level of ice inside the bin. It looks like it can rotate to swing down by a motor

 

[rickgburton]

I think you nailed it! Good job!

 

[michael-lee]

I got the part, but when i plugged it in and tried for the first time, it gave me an E3 error when i ran the test.
I saw the ice tray was bent at the end of the test.

Then i took it apart, and saw that the initial position of the motor seems to be off. See picture.
The old part (left in the picture), the natural position after the test is at level parallel to the ground. The new part (right in picture), the natural position after the test is slanted.

are there ways to reset that initial position?

 

[rickgburton]

are there ways to reset that initial position?

None that I know about. Where did you get the ice maker? It's defective.

 

[michael-lee]

I was able to open it up and place the piece at the proper position. All good now. Thank you for all the support!