Ice maker leaking

[Gdlow]

In our 2005 Dolphin, we have a norcold fridge (dbl door) with ice maker. Last few days when making ice it has been leaking and freezing a icicle down along the side of the ice tray. Any suggestion as to what it is and what I need to do to fix? other than just buy ice for a while?
thanks
Gary

[J Walker]

It sounds like your ice tray is overfilling. I have a Dometic ice maker and there is an adjustment on mine to decrease the time interval for filling which of course decreases the amount of water. If you determine that the tray filling is not the problem then it will be the hose that supplies water to the tray. That is a flexible vinyl hose that goes along the back and top of the fridge. It is a small and cheap part but a real pain to get access to. You have to slide the fridge out to get to it.

[bldrbob]

If it just started there may be some ice cubes stuck in the tray .If the tray doesn't dump completly there is not enough room for the water.
BOB

[Gdlow]

Thanks...I will take a look...It just started...Has worked well for 5 years

[AFChap]

It is possible the tray is overfilling. The Norcold manual tells you how to check to ensure the water valve is not dribbling after filling. But many of us who have had water dripping off the left side and forming ice have found the teflon slick coating on ice maker tray is peeling off on that end. The water then wicks up the rough metal over the edge at the hole where the rotating arm axle passes. The isemaker is easy to replace. It is a Whirlpool part #57773, model ECKF94, available at Lowes etc for $49.

I put a small juice cup under the drip for a week until we got to a Lowes to buy a new one ...had to empty the cup 3-4 times a day and turned the icemaker off overnight.

[wa8yxm]

There are 3 cures to your problem if I"m not mistaken.. ANd I agree with the person who said the ice tray is overfilling

First: Stuck ice cubes.. Not possible on a U-line ice maker.. And that's what both Norcold and Dometic use UNLESS and I stress UNLESS the ice pusher fingers are broken off

Now Solution one: Conditions: You are hooked to CITY water and the city water pressure is in excess of 50 PSI (Many run 80 or more) This is a dangerous situtation for you as the seals in your toilet valve may fail at any moment and flood your bathroom.. Please use a proper regulator.. I recommend either a Sur-Flo or a WATTS or Valterra adjustable set to 45-50 pounds. With The Watts/Valterra the very smallest unit may be too small. I like a 1/2 or 3/4 inch. 3/4 inch is easier to adapt to garden hose.

2: You could replace the solenoid.. There are basically 4 solenoids (and many different mounting brackets) Now if the new one comes with a different mount.. it will also come with mounting adapters so at worst you need to drill a new mounting hole or two (I had to drill one)

The 4 types are divied 2 x 2 EIther they have 1/4 inch compression fittings on the inlet or 3/4 inch garden hose fittings.. If you get a garden hose type it will come with the needed adapter so don't worry about it

The other two spilt is straight valve,, This is what Dometic uses, and 2-stage.. I suspect (But am not sure) that the 1st state is a pressure regulator. This further controls the water flow rate.. Use of this type solenoid means that the ice crescents will be the same size no matter if you are on city water or running the rig's water pump.
...
And the final cause.... If you pull the front off the ice maker (Use your right hand and reach around the plastic part) then you will see a screw, with a spring. Stamped into the metal is a + and a - sign.. This screw is your fill-adjustmetn

Crank it down a bit (toward minus)

NOTE: if you replace a stragight valve solenoid with a 2-stage, as I did, you may have to crank it toward PLUS a bit.. again,, I did.

Since I've not used my ice maker for over a year due to a bad solenoid, I had to remove it to properly de-frost.. I plugged it back in (But did not re-mount it) and forced a cycle, caught the water in a measuring cup and then removed the ice maker again (Unplugged it) and set it in the sink, transferred the water to the ice tray and said "NOT ENOUGH" and backed off on that screw some.. Did it again, and again, till I got the amount of water I wanted.

[wagonmaster2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AFChap It is possible the tray is overfilling. The Norcold manual tells you how to check to ensure the water valve is not dribbling after filling. But many of us who have had water dripping off the left side and forming ice have found the teflon slick coating on ice maker tray is peeling off on that end. The water then wicks up the rough metal over the edge at the hole where the rotating arm axle passes. The isemaker is easy to replace. It is a Whirlpool part #57773, model ECKF94, available at Lowes etc for $49. I put a small juice cup under the drip for a week until we got to a Lowes to buy a new one ...had to empty the cup 3-4 times a day and turned the icemaker off overnight.

Can you go through a brief explanation at to how to replace the icemaker? Some things are easy to do once you've done it but before you've ever tried it the procedure seems very intimadating. Knowing what and where all the attaching points are and how to get things loose can sometimes be hard to figure out.
Thanks for any explanation. Mine is 5 years old and not leaking but from the one I used to have at home, it won't be much longer.

Wagonmaster2
2004 Meridian 36G

[AFChap]

I downloaded a Norcold 1200 service manual somewhere that details it (www.bryantrv.com I believe), but it is pretty simple.
- Turn fridge off
- Unplug power cord
- Remove ice bin, then remove freezer center shelf
- Remove freezer plate (two bolts into rear of fridge, two screws into bottom of ice maker)
- Remove two upper screws into rear of fridge
- Unclip thermal fuse from bottom of mold
- Unplug wiring harness (press locking tab to release harness)

Reverse to install. If you get the same replacement I got, you have to remove a plastic tab in the rear of piece that the fill tube protrudes into ...very obvious when you have it in your hands. The fill chamber with my new one has a round hole of the end as the standard install on a home fridge is on the left side of the freezer. I thought water might splach over the side through that hole, but it has not been a problem.

[wagonmaster2]

Thanks AFChap -

Sounds easy enough, hope it will go that easy. I know some jobs go easier than expected but in my case most go much worse. I can usually double the usual time required when I do it, than add some more and I'll be about right. Although when I replaced the front bearing hubs on my Wrangler it sounded like a terrible job and I was about ready to pay the dealer $450 for the two fronts. But with all the help I got from the Forum I ordered the parts for $167 and did the job in about 1 1/2 hours for each side. Figured I earned my keep on that job.

Appreciate all the instructions. There's probably more expertise on this Forum than 75% of dealerships have working for them in the shop.

Wagonmaster2