Ice Maker Repair

Name: John  

City: Ann Arbor, MI

Inquiry Type: Appliance repair question

Comments: Hi Dr Gagnon!  Your show is GREAT and Very helpful!

Question I have for you is that our refrigerator has an ice maker - and for some reason the defroster heater stays on too long (or comes on too often)  and our ice melts down and all freezes together. Any ideas?

Thanks

Hi, John,

Thanks for your note. Before we blame the defrost system, I would like you to check a few things. Place a piece of paper towel over the ice in the bucket. Let's see if any water is leaking through the water valve after it dumps a load of ice into the bucket. If so, the water valve in the rear bottom of the refrigerator needs to be replaced. This is very common.

Next you need to check the door seals by putting a flashlight into both sections, doing this at night. Shut off the lights in the kitchen and look around both seals to see if any light is showing. If so, heat the gasket with a hair dryer and stretch it out. Door seals have a tendency to return to the original shape when heated. If you still have the problem after these checks, I suggest you contact a service technician to check out the defrost system as the newer model refrigerators use computers tied into the defrost system.

Regards,

Joe Gagnon