Ice maker over flow when filling

by Steve
(West Hartford, CT)

Whirlpool side by side fridge with ice and water through the door. model er22dqxew01. Unit in place for over 5 years and was here when we moved in. There have been no problems. We started getting water on door and the floor. I discovered that when ice maker in filling water was flowing over the edge into the ice bucket. Most would freeze but some would run out the chute flooding shelf and onto the floor.

Unit is a modular control. The fill runs for a period of time, 7 seconds? and stops. After reading all the fill / no fill issues I turned down the value at the water source. This seems to be working and not over flowing.

Is this really a time / water pressure dependent system or is some component not working correctly?

Thanks






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Answer


Hi Steve,


This problem is most likely the water valve. Follow these steps to confirm.


1. Make a jumper wire. Use a short piece of insulated electric wire and skin it ½ inch on each end.


2. Remove the front cover off the icemaker. You should see test holes marked with letters. You will have to remove the icemaker if it is mounted on the back wall but leave it intact if it is mounted on the sidewall.


3. Place one end of the jumper in the hole marked V and the other end in the hole marked L. This should activate the water valve and water should run.


4. Once water starts to run remove the jumper wire. The water should stop flowing right after the jumper is out. If not replace the water valve. If it does stop repeat this test several times. If water stops each time replace the motor/modular.

Turning down the water source can cause other problems if not repaired and turned back up.

This page may help Whirlpool Icemaker Repair

Thank you,
Shawn/administrator

Comments for Ice maker over flow when filling

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Feedback
by: Steve

Shawn,
I will run the tests and post the results. However, I've been monitoring the ice maker today and it sounds like the water is filling fine, ice looks fully formed and you can hear the valve shut down solidly with no overflow.

The water source is a saddle valve on a 3/4" main water line. It was fully opened and I turned it down slightly, maybe two turns, which is not much on those valves. The water at the door is streaming forcefully so it's not just a trickle. Actually, it was almost too forceful before because it was splashing all over as the glasses got full.

Is this really a timed fill?

It occurred to us that this started shortly after a watermain break up about 500 feet up the street. It's possible that we have slightly higher pressure now.
Re Icemaker
by: Anonymous

Higher water pressure wouldn't make enough difference for it to leak that badly.

Sometimes when you have something like a water main break you may get more trash, sand, or grits in the water. This could cause the valve to stick causing your problem.

The problem is now it is working but if later it sticks completely, you will have a mess on your hands. If I were working on your refrigerator I would change the water valve.

You never know it may not ever overflow again. In which case my test would be a waste of time. But it is risky.

Yes, it is a timed fill and you can adjust the time but I highly recommend not attempting this as a means of a repair. They don?t just get out of adjustment this is only to adjust the size of the cubes.

Thank you,
Shawn/Admin
Similar problem
by: Alan

My Whirlpool stopped making ice after about 6 years. I found the fill tube plugged with ice. Long story short....I found that the valve allowed enough water to drip and freeze, plugging the tube. Not long before this I choose not to use the expensive filter ($40) and shortly after this problem started. I took the dual valve apart and tried to flush the line and tried again. It was OK for a few cycles but started again. Then one day we had the beginning of a major glacier coming out the door. Major failure of the valve. I gave up and turned the water supply valve off. Now I want to solve the problem. It appears that a 1/4" shaft closes the icemaker valve. It has what appears to be a soft (rubber) center that closes the opening under spring pressure. Can stretching the spring help by putting more pressure on the shaft? Can you replace the shaft. Put a small amount of silicon grease on the surface and it worked for two days. Any other ideas? Thanks
Replace the valve
by: Shawn

My advice is to replace the water valve rater than risking flooding the floor again.

Thank you,
Shawn/admin

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