Ice thaws in bucket an drips water - only when fridge isn't used for a few days

[MHK]

Model Number: PFSS5RKZASS
Brand: GE
Age: 1-5 years

Hello all,

We acquired a GE Profile french door unit, model number PFSS5RKZASS, when we bought our house. It features a cubed or crushed ice dispenser, along with a cold water dispenser in the left side door. We've owned it since late September of this year. The house was vacant when we bought it, and as far as we know, the refrigerator was in Energy Saver mode for several months before we moved in. Initially, the water dispenser and ice maker didn't work. Changing the filter got them going, and they seemed to work fine. (I offer this as history, in case it may help with troubleshooting.)

Now the problem: When we're home, and using the water and ice dispensers (daily), everything is fine. The catchbasin stays dry, and we have no issues for weeks at a time. The issue we have is the ice in the door bucket melts when we're away for a few days. It seems that if we're gone from home for more than three days, the ice starts to thaw, fills the catchbasin, and puts water on the floor. This has happened a couple of times. (Not good for hardwood flooring.)

The first time this happened, there was no ice left to dispense. The bucket was empty. I only examined things, dispensed water, turned the icemaker on and off, etc., but did not change any parts. The icemaker resumed normal operation, and we thought it was a fluke. Later, on the advice of a friend, I installed a new water valve, bought from partsdr.com, part #WR57X10032. I installed the valve in early October. No issues since, but we've had the dispenser in use.

The latest episode of thaw was just last weekend. We were gone for a long weekend, but one less day. After discovering the water, I dispensed ice from the icemaker, and got water along with the ice. The icemaker again resumed normal function, and by Sunday evening, I was dispensing ice normaly from the ice dispenser, and the catchbasin was dry. It remains dry this morning.

The water dispenser does not appear to be leaking at all. Ice cubes are well formed, and appear fully frozen.

I'm looking for assistance in troubleshooting this issue. Any forum folks have thoughts about next steps to resolve this odd problem?

Your input will be helpful - thanks in advance.

[Doc Ryan]

It sounds like from your description the ice is probably melting, is this correct?

[MHK]

It sounds like from your description the ice is probably melting, is this correct?

That is correct.

[Doc Ryan]

Narrowing down this problem is going to be difficult until you can get it to replicate the problem on a regular basis. Since the ice is melting you are having a cooling problem. The cold air for the ice maker compartment comes from the freezer. There are two fans in the freezer, one of the them send the cold air up to the ice maker. Your problem could come from the fan motor not working or frost building up and blocking the air flow. Those would be the two most common things that would cause this to happen.

[MHK]

Doc, I've been remiss in checking for answers to my post. Sorry for the delay, but thanks for your answer. Interestingly, the problem has not recurred, and the "regular basis" is just not occurring. I agree that there's a cooling problem, but would also think it would occur on a much more regular basis - not just when we don't use ice. I also think a defrost cycle issue would occur whether or not we use ice. From my observations, not using ice for several days seems to be the trigger that results in the lack of cooling.

I guess we could stop using ice from the dispenser to see if we can make the problem happen while we're home. If it occurs, then we can check the things you've mentioned.

Again, I appreciate the help.

[Doc Ryan]

When you aren't using the refrigerator, it will go through the automatic defrost cycle less often. So maybe it relates to that?

[MHK]

Good point, but I'm not making the mental connection between fewer defrosts and a thaw. My simple arithmetic is defrost=less cooling for a time. Can you help me understand why fewer defrosts might result in an ice thaw?

[Doc Ryan]

Refrigerators slowly accumulate frost on the evaporator coil of the refrigerator as the run. The more the doors are opened up, the more moisture from the air that is let into the refrigerator and the quicker the frost builds up. The refrigerator automatically adjusts how often to go through the defrost cycle depending on how often the doors open and close. Something you could check is to make sure the door gaskets are sealing properly and that the doors are shutting all of the way.