Freestanding Ice Maker: Ice melts together
When the ice in the storage bin melts together, a failed condenser fan could be preventing the evaporator plate from cooling properly and keeping the storage bin cold, or a bad bin thermistor may not be detecting ice level properly. A bad control board could also fail to detect ice level properly in the storage bin.
The only cooling component for the ice maker bin is the evaporator plate. When the evaporator plate isn't cooling well, ice cubes in the bin can partially melt during a harvest cycle and then refreeze and stick together when the evaporator plate cools down to freeze the next slab of ice. The ice cubes melt more easily when the evaporator plate isn't cooling well. A failed condenser fan can prevent the evaporator plate from cooling well, so check to see if the condenser fan runs when the ice maker is freezing a slab of ice on the evaporator plate. If the condenser fan doesn't run when activated, replace it.
A failed bin thermistor that detects a full bin of ice cubes when the bin is only partially full can also cause ice cubes to melt together. When the bin isn't full, ice more easily melts when you open the bin and the melted ice sticks together when it refreezes after you shut the bin. If the ice bin never fills up even when you aren't using ice, the bin thermistor may be bad. Refer to the tech sheet for temperature/resistance values and check the resistance of the bin thermistor using a multimeter. Replace the thermistor if its resistance is off by more than 4,000 ohms. If the ice bin thermistor is okay, then you may need to replace the electronic control board because it isn't accurately detecting the ice bin signal.
These repairs may help solve your freestanding ice maker problem
Replace the ice maker electronic control board
The electronic control board manages the various ice maker functions such as filling, running the compressor, and harvesting the ice. If the electronic control board is not operating properly, replace it.
If your freestanding ice maker stops making ice or doesn't work at all, the electronic control board could be the problem. This repair guide has step-by-step instructions for how to replace an ice maker electronic control board.
Replace the ice maker condenser fan motor
The condenser fan pulls air through the condenser coil to condense the refrigerant to a liquid during the refrigeration cycle. If the condenser fan doesn't run when energized, replace the condenser fan motor.
Replace the ice maker bin thermistor
The bin thermistor is inside the ice storage bin at the Full level. When the bin thermistor senses cold from the ice at the Full level, the ice maker shuts down ice production to keep the bin from overflowing. If the ice production continues when the bin is full, replace the bin thermistor.
Symptoms common to all freestanding ice makers
Repair guides common to all freestanding ice makers
When the cutting grid is broken, ice cubes don’t drop into the ice bin. Use the steps in this repair guide to replace a broken cutter grid.
When the electronic control board won’t activate the ice maker components, follow these steps to install a new one.
If your ice maker isn’t making ice, the pump could be the problem. Here’s how to replace it.
Articles and videos common to all freestanding ice makers
Learn how to repair broken, frayed or damaged wires in your appliances.
Learn how to use a multimeter to check for wiring problems in an appliance that's not working
If your ice doesn't live up to your expectations, these tips can help.