FIXED SubZero 501F Freezer Ice Maker - Need Help

[toliphint]

Model Number

501F

Brand

-major brand-

Age

Less than 1 year

History:
...Ice maker stopped working. Fill tube frozen. Heated with hair dryer and working again
...But much ice build-up inside freezer. Cleaned drain tube and in process removed ice maker
...Replaced ice maker. Shut-off bar all the way down. After 48 hrs, no ice. Temp is 3*
...Taped ice drawer switch on. Tried T-H short to cycle ice maker -- nothing
...Tested L-N -- no voltage, but disconnected harness and have 120V
...Used 1" probes into test holes until they bottomed out so clearly making contact
...Harness is properly seated in ice maker but it's as if not connected during cycle/voltage tests

Does the door fan and/or light switch have to be depressed as if door closed for ice maker to work? There is current at harness with door open.

what an I missing???

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[jackofalltrades]

If you have 120Vac at the harness going to the ice maker but not at points L and N on the ice maker module the likely culprit is that the thermal fuse that clips to the bottom of the ice maker is open. Remove the ice maker from the freezer. Remove the harness from the ice maker. Check resistance across the ends of the wire containing the thermal fuse. Should be less than 1 ohm. If circuit is open (infinite resistance) then you should replace the ice maker since that would mean the ice maker had an internal failure that caused it to overheat and trip the thermal fuse.
Having trouble finding the right ice maker right now. Will research it more if we determine the ice maker is the actual problem

 

[toliphint]

Check resistance across the ends of the wire containing the thermal fuse. Should be less than 1 ohm. If circuit is open (infinite resistance) then you should replace the ice maker since that would mean the ice maker had an internal failure that caused it to overheat and trip the thermal fuse.
Having trouble finding the right ice maker right now. Will research it more if we determine the ice maker is the actual problem

Sorry, but not sure how to do this. Do I take the module off the ice maker and test inside? A pic would be helpful if available. Tks

 

[rickgburton]

Fill tube frozen. ...After 48 hrs, no ice.

You'll need to replace the water valve or water is going to keep on freezing inside the fill tube. When it blocks the water from entering the ice maker the heating element can heat the mold up enough to open the thermal fuse in the wire harness. On the back of the ice maker push on the connector and the connector will come out of the power module. The thermal fuse is inline on one of the wires and clipped to the ice maker mold. Almost all the parts for the 501F are no longer available but you can still match most of them up with Whirlpool parts. Here's a diagram:

 

[toliphint]

Well --- problem solved. Discovered on my model that the orange 120v wire to the ice maker with the thermal fuse is a larger wire than the other 3 wires going into the harness connector. But the plastic connector that receives the wires has the same size holes, so it's difficult for the larger wire to be pushed into the connector all the way. Because of this, the metal connector was not pushed far enough into the connector and was not making contact with the icemaker module. Thus no L-N voltage or T-H cycling.

Skinned about 1/8 inch insulation off of wire and wire-end connector now locks into the connector and all is well!

Thanks for the help.

 

[rickgburton]

Cool! good job

 

[mistateo]

History:
...Ice maker stopped working. Fill tube frozen. Heated with hair dryer and working again
...But much ice build-up inside freezer. Cleaned drain tube and in process removed ice maker
...Replaced ice maker. Shut-off bar all the way down. After 48 hrs, no ice. Temp is 3*
...Taped ice drawer switch on. Tried T-H short to cycle ice maker -- nothing
...Tested L-N -- no voltage, but disconnected harness and have 120V
...Used 1" probes into test holes until they bottomed out so clearly making contact
...Harness is properly seated in ice maker but it's as if not connected during cycle/voltage tests

Does the door fan and/or light switch have to be depressed as if door closed for ice maker to work? There is current at harness with door open.

what an I missing???

Thanks in advance for any help!

Sorry for the necro post, just trying to pass along the solution to my battle with my own 501F (I'm not a repair tech, just a handy homeowner).

My concern is your notation of "but much ice build-up inside freezer" part. In order for the drainage to work properly all of the defrost heaters need to be working properly. Everyone knows about the main loop snaking through the evaporator coil (2.1 ohms) and the braided steel wire one in the drain tube (900 ohms). But there is ALSO one mounted directly on the bottom of the drain trough with adhesive (260 ohms), and later models have a fourth one around the fill tube for the ice maker (2600 ohms). In my case, the drain hole in the trough would freeze over (despite the working drain tube heater) every few months and I would need to defrost the entire thing. Once I replaced the heater hidden under the drain trough, it hasn't frozen over since. It's kind of a PITA because the glass shelf and ice maker need to come out, and the drain trough is caulked to the cabinet, which will need to be redone, but totally worth the effort. It was listed as 3013530 "Drain Trough Heater" (now part number 7006289) on this parts diagram: https://www.guaranteedparts.com/picture_library/Subzero/Subzero-500 Series/501F.pdf

I hope this helps SOMEONE in the future, tech, frustrated homeowner, or otherwise.

 

[paulhl]

FWIW I've replaced a few but most times it's crud (plastic,food,you name it) blocking the drain. There is also an auxiliary heater assy that can be installed.