Do icemakers go out often on old Frigidaire refrigerators ?

[steve2470]

Right now I'm reduced to making ice cubes 1950's style, with trays. The horror

My working hypothesis is one of the three:

1- dead icemaker
2- water not hooked up correctly, waiting for son so we can move the fridge and see
3- both of the above

My fridge is at least 10 years old, if not older. I've already looked at the schematic, which helped me not at all. Next step is to see if the water line is hooked up correctly, right ?

[sammytko]

1. Did you turn it off by any chance?

My frigidaire has an on/off switch, but my kenmore has a flip type lever.

Is the ice dispensed from the door?

Is there a water dispenser? Is that working? If so, water is hooked up.

Maybe the water filter is clogged?

[steve2470]

2. AFAICT, I have not turned it off

It has the lever bar that has to be perpendicular to the floor of the freezer to dispense ice. There are no other switches that I can see. The hose looks OK going out the back of the freezer wall.

No, it's a plain icemaker-in-freezer-compartment unit. No water dispenser at all.

I'm hoping it's a simple matter like the water line has to be connected. Thanks for your time.

[pinboy3niner]

3. First step is to check for a puddle under the fridge

Just to make sure it's not leaking. That happened to my brother, when the water tubing connection separated.

[steve2470]

4. good idea, have not noticed any water yet but we'll see when we can move the fridge

I don't want to do it by myself because I'll probably hurt my back. This can wait till my son comes over.

[winter is coming]

5. Does your model have a "replace filter" light?

http://www.frigidaire.com/Owner-Center/FAQ/Kitchen/Refrigerators/Why-isnt-the-ice-maker-making-ice/

Don't know about Frigidaire in particular but icemakers are a common repair complaint for fridges. You might see if there's any useful info at http://www.repairclinic.com; I've used it before for other appliance issues.

[steve2470]

6. mine is the FRT18RRJ

http://www.manualslib.com/download/245490/Frigidaire-Frt18rrj.html

So far I can't find anything on the official Frigidaire website. I'll try the repairclinic website too, thanks.

It doesn't have a replace filter light or any kind of light LOL It must be a bit dated. It has no visible filters that I can see or any switches beyond the bar that swings up and down. A mystery indeed.

eta: This page looks promising

http://www.repairclinic.com/Frigidaire-Refrigerator-Ice-Maker-Parts?z=100

eta2: looks like this model came out in 2000, how ancient

eta3: http://www.repairclinic.com/RepairHelp/How-To-Fix-A-Refrigerator/53-2-547080-/Frigidaire-Refrigerator-ice-maker-not-working-FRT18RRJD0

[winter is coming]

7. Ah, but life would be so dull if we had new appliances. :-) n/t

[steve2470]

8. indeed ! :) nt

[Denninmi]

12. Yeah, maybe rethink that one.

Ask me about my 9 month old Kenmore refrigerator/freezer that has been in non-working condition for about 6 weeks total during that period, with 6 service calls to my house, a couple of hundred dollars worth of spoiled food, and hours and hours and hours spent on the phone with Sears. The company with, I swear, the WORST customer service in America.

Sears, where America get's royally screwed over.

No wonder they're tanking.

[steve2470]

14. wow that sucks, good luck to you ! nt

[Denninmi]

15. Well, it's on borrowed time.

Same things keeps going out over and over. They claim they'll give me a new fridge the next time -- well, one rep claims that, the next says no way, the next says only if I wear avocado green socks on a Friday when the moon is full and it's announced that the Royal Baby is actually a set of Brazilian quintuplets, that kind of thing. IOW, they don't know their asses from a hole in the ground. Quelle surprise.

[csziggy]

32. Frigidaire site link and another troubleshooting site

This isn't much help at all!
http://www.frigidaire.com/Owner-Center/FAQ/Kitchen/Refrigerators/Why-isnt-the-ice-maker-making-ice/

This is better - step by step troubleshooting:
http://www.repairclinic.com/RepairHelp/How-To-Fix-A-Refrigerator/53-2--RlJUMThSUko=/Frigidaire-Refrigerator-ice-maker-not-working

[steve2470]

33. thanks ! nt

[DGeorge]

9. I doubt the ice maker is dead. Check the blower in the back of the freezer.

If the freezer is overloaded and blocking the vents, the ice maker will usually shut down (mine does). Flip the bar up for a couple of days, make sure the vents are clear, and then give it a try.

[steve2470]

11. right now the freezer compartment is pretty empty

It gets plenty cold in the freezer, and the blower seems to be working ok. The vents are clear. I'll flip the bar up again.

[DGeorge]

16. If it is empty, there are only two options: 1) ice maker is dead; 2) it's too cold in the freezer

Believe it or not, an icemaker will not function if the temperature is below 26 or so degrees. It freezes the copper piping.

[steve2470]

17. I'll make the freezer a tad warmer, see if that helps, thanks nt

[lastlib]

10. Mine hasn't left the house in over a decade.........

.

[steve2470]

13. yea, mine is a reclusive sort I think :p nt

[Jenoch]

18. I am a bit confused.

Did you recently move your refrigerator? If not, how can the water hose not be hooked up correctly? If it was working before, is not working now, and there isn't water all over the floor, I think the problem is not likely to be the water connection.

[steve2470]

19. This old fridge came with my condo I just bought

As a result, I have no idea if the water is hooked up correctly. Sorry for the confusion.

[bluesbassman]

20. Yes they do die...

and then are sent directly to hell where the devil hands the broken units out to his special guests.


I noticed this is an existing unit in your new condo. My guess is that the water was never hooked up. A quick look under the sink should show a thin white tube plumbed into the cold water line. If you don't see that, odds are it was never hooked up, but that could also mean it didn't work in the first place. Still, if you don't see the ice maker supply line that would be the first step to plumb one in. Pretty simple, they seel the parts required at any hardware store. Good luck!

[steve2470]

21. I'm really out of my depth with this thing lol

I looked under the sink, and I saw two grey lines. Not being a plumber or even handy, I have no idea what goes where.

When I get to move the fridge, I'll see if a water line is hooked up correctly. My hunch is that it is and the icemaker has simply died due to being 13 years old. If the icemaker is dead, then I have to figure out if I can fix it myself for a reasonable cost, or ponder buying a new affordable fridge. I'm guessing hiring someone to fix it would not be worth it. So, I learn how to fix the icemaker if i'm serious about saving money.

Another growth opportunity

[bluesbassman]

23. Yes indeed, growth is good.

Your model was built to come with or without an icemaker, so the upside is they are fairly easy to replace.

I still think it was never plumbed for water, but if you find it was and decide to replace it, see if you have an appliance parts distributor in your area. These businesses cater to repairmen, but they often sell directly to the public and are pretty knowledgeable so they can offer some advice.

Best of luck!

[steve2470]

27. thank you for all the help ! nt

[sammytko]

25. hmm - two gray lines - could be lines from water to faucet (hot/cold)

Do the lines come out of the wall under your sink and go up to the under the faucet?

Or do they leave the sink cabinet area?

If they leave the sink cabinet area, one could be for dishwasher (hot water) and one could be for the ice maker (cold water).

[steve2470]

26. one line seems to go to the dishwasher, and one line looks it heads off to the icemaker

making progress here

[mrmpa]

22. Did you get a warranty when you bought the condo? If so,

this might be covered.

[steve2470]

24. nope so I'm SOL nt

[Chelseee]

28. 10 years is quite old

Hi Steve,

I had a broken Frigidaire fridge 6 weeks ago and must admit, it's not repaired so far. Even worse, it started with the ice cube maker as well. Since the Frgidaire was so old, I had to look up the manual, found it here http://www.manualstorage.com/frigidaire/ . But the icemaker is still dead and right now the whole refridgerator wont work. Don't want to scare you, let me know, if you got yours running again.

Good luck,
Chelsee

[gopiscrap]

30. Welcome to DU

[steve2470]

31. not yet, still waiting for help in moving the fridge so I don't hurt my back, good luck with yours !

[gopiscrap]

34. Welcome to DU

[B Calm]

29. I prefer ice cubes anyways!

[HipChick]

35. The icemaker went out after my fridge was 3 months old..

I got one of those fancy french doors ones with the icemaker thing in the door...I used it a few times and it packed up

[steve2470]

36. oh that sucks nt

[pinboy3niner]

37. Thanks for keeping us in suspense...

...NOT!

[steve2470]

38. lol my son said tonight he would help me move it....the plot thickens :p nt

[steve2470]

39. breaking news update: there is a cold water line but it's not hooked up

My son said the line from the cold water is a female connection, and the connection to the icemaker is also a female connection WTF...

so...we need a male connector to even hook up the line to the icemaker. One mystery solved and now to get a male connector.

I know everyone was just waiting with bated breath for this news