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Thread: GE S/S Makes ice but melts into big blob + frozen drips/frost on freezer contents

  1. #1

    GE S/S Makes ice but melts into big blob + frozen drips/frost on freezer contents

    Model Number: GSH25JSA
    Brand: GE
    Age: 1-5 years

    My ice maker makes ice just fine but within a week of thawing/cleaning everything and starting again, ice will melt together, making it impossible to get a few cubes manually without carrying the bin to the sink and using an ice pick. The auger that was turning just fine, will freeze, hum and not turn due to ice clump preventing it from turning, eventually the auger motor itself will freeze as well. The bottom side of the ice bin itself gets a generous layer of ice on it and the wire shelves will have frozen drips hanging from them as well as the contents of the freezer getting a powdery frost all over them. It's like the "frost free" ain't so frost free after all. Shoot, my non-frost free doesn't get this much ice build up in it!

    I have checked:

    • door seal (just fine)
    • dispenser flap (Seals well, works up and down with slight delay, but I'm thinking of changing dispenser solenoid regardless because a while back the water acted like it didn't want to dispense, but it's working now)
    • The ice maker arm
    • Ice maker gears (not broken)

    I am so ready to fix this problem. I've been waiting for months now from another forum that has yet to reply to 3 different submissions. If I could just be sure of what part I needed, I'd order it and be on my merry way. This ice maker stuff is really pretty cut and dry but I cannot find anything visually wrong so far.

    Everything seems to freeze just fine, but why all the frost and melting? I was going to check the water valve but read somewhere that if it's making ice, then the valve isn't the culprit. Also, I wanted to check the fill line but it doesn't seem to be removable on my model, any ideas on how to clear it out?

    If you know what else I can investigate, PLEASE let me know! I'm at my wits end with this thing! I can't afford a service call or I would go that route. Nor can I afford to throw money at random parts)

    I will be ever so grateful for any suggestions.
    Last edited by joyalaura; 08-16-2012 at 03:52 PM.

  2. #2
    Admin/Technician Doc Ryan's Avatar
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    Your model number isn't pulling up for me. Can you double check it for me, and make sure to read it from the tag on the refrigerator.

    There are a few possibilities as to what could be causing your problem. You could have either a leak somewhere causing water to drip down and causing a large ice clump or your could have something melting the ice causing the ice clump. If it is leaking it could be causing by a bad water inlet valve causing water to fill into the ice maker when it's not supposed to be filling with water. When this happens, the water will overflow and drip onto things below the ice maker. The other possibility is that the is a crack in the mold of the ice maker, and the water is leaking from the ice maker when it fills up with water and the water seeps through the ice maker mold and drips onto the things below. If the ice is melting, I would first put a thermometer in the freezer to see what the temperature is. It should be around 0 degrees at the factory temperature settings. Also, check out the freezer light switch to make sure the light is shutting off when you close the door. The light bulb staying on can be enough to melt things and warm up the freezer.
    Ryan

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  3. #3

    Corrected model# GSH25JS"T"A

    My bad doc It's GSH25JSTA, not JSA. Thx so much for the quick reply! I'm going to rest some water in the ice molds while I have it out and see if there's any leaking going on. I'll leave it sitting overnight, incase it's a hairline I can't see.

    With regard to the water "inlet" valve, is that the infamous standard "water valve" everyone talks about on the back of the fridge? If so, I thought that wouldn't be the culprit since the ice maker is producing cubes just fine. I guess I misunderstood the article I was reading.

    Most of the ice is located on the underside of the ice bin and some of the shelving has frozen drips, along with the auger freezing up. Do you think there's a chance the ice maker needs to be re-replaced? (just had it changed about 2 years ago). It would be nice if it wasn't the expensive thing that was wrong with it for once! LOL

    I'll check the light, the molds, the temperature and the water line for kinks & crimps and check back with you. Is there an actual test I can perform to see if it's the water inlet valve or not?

    Many, many thanks!

    Quote Originally Posted by Doc Ryan View Post
    Your model number isn't pulling up for me. Can you double check it for me, and make sure to read it from the tag on the refrigerator.

    There are a few possibilities as to what could be causing your problem. You could have either a leak somewhere causing water to drip down and causing a large ice clump or your could have something melting the ice causing the ice clump. If it is leaking it could be causing by a bad water inlet valve causing water to fill into the ice maker when it's not supposed to be filling with water. When this happens, the water will overflow and drip onto things below the ice maker. The other possibility is that the is a crack in the mold of the ice maker, and the water is leaking from the ice maker when it fills up with water and the water seeps through the ice maker mold and drips onto the things below. If the ice is melting, I would first put a thermometer in the freezer to see what the temperature is. It should be around 0 degrees at the factory temperature settings. Also, check out the freezer light switch to make sure the light is shutting off when you close the door. The light bulb staying on can be enough to melt things and warm up the freezer.

  4. #4
    Admin/Technician Doc Ryan's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by joyalaura View Post
    My bad doc It's GSH25JSTA, not JSA. Thx so much for the quick reply! I'm going to rest some water in the ice molds while I have it out and see if there's any leaking going on. I'll leave it sitting overnight, incase it's a hairline I can't see.
    This is a great way to see if the mold is leaking.

    Quote Originally Posted by joyalaura View Post
    With regard to the water "inlet" valve, is that the infamous standard "water valve" everyone talks about on the back of the fridge? If so, I thought that wouldn't be the culprit since the ice maker is producing cubes just fine. I guess I misunderstood the article I was reading.
    Yes, water inlet valve are water valve are the same thing. The water valve can fail in different ways. Sometimes it can cause the ice maker not to fill with water, other times it can leak and cause water to fill into the ice maker when it's not being used. Sometimes the leak is slow and hard to notice and other times the leak can be large and easily noticeable.

    Quote Originally Posted by joyalaura View Post
    Most of the ice is located on the underside of the ice bin and some of the shelving has frozen drips, along with the auger freezing up. Do you think there's a chance the ice maker needs to be re-replaced? (just had it changed about 2 years ago). It would be nice if it wasn't the expensive thing that was wrong with it for once! LOL
    There's always a chance, but hopefully it isn't!

    Quote Originally Posted by joyalaura View Post
    I'll check the light, the molds, the temperature and the water line for kinks & crimps and check back with you. Is there an actual test I can perform to see if it's the water inlet valve or not?
    There isn't really a way to see if the valve is leaking. You could put the ice maker back into the refrigerator without plugging it back in. If it starts filling up with water when the ice maker isn't plugged in, then the water valve is bad and it will need to be replaced.


    These are the parts for your refrigerator:

    Ice Maker Assembly - Part # PD00000998 (mfg # WR30X10093)



    Water Inlet Valve - Part # PD00001042 (mfg # WR57X10032)
    Ryan

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  5. #5

    Ice maker after all?

    Good afternoon Doc,

    Okay, I've checked:

    • Temp (is good/zero)
    • Water valve (installed but didn't plug in, it didn't fill any after about 5 hours)
    • No leaks in molds
    • Light is definitely shutting off when door closes


    The only thing left is a thorough check for kinks and crimps, but I think that would have manifested itself with the unplugged ice maker.

    It's looking more and more like it's the ice maker itself. Are the symptoms I listed typical with an ice maker failure or is it likely something else? I can't wrap my head around how the ice maker would cause all the ice on the underside of the bin and why the ice would melt together because of it. Hmmm... Plus the auger eventually freezing... those just don't seem related to the ice maker itself unless I'm missing something.

    What you say?

  6. #6
    Admin/Technician Doc Ryan's Avatar
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    Check out this thread: GE Profile Ice Maker Drips. This customer had an older GE ice maker that was overfilling causing similar symptoms to yours. The new ice makers have a fill level adjustment on the side (yours might have this if it is new enough).

    The next two thing I would check is to hook the ice maker back up and see if the ice maker is overfilling with water and make sure the fill tube that feeds the ice maker is seating into the ice maker properly and this the fill tube isn't leaking anywhere.
    Ryan

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  7. #7
    Hi Doc,

    I checked for crimps and kinks. All looks good there. Unfortunately I don't believe I have an adjustment on my ice maker, the model is WR30X10061. I've looked it over pretty good and I'm just not seeing an adjustment knob.

    So my plan is to place the ice bin on a lower shelf to catch the cubes as they fall. I'll place a paper towel against the wall and below the ice maker itself, so in the event it is overfilling or leaking, it will soak the towel and I will have confirmation of that. I'm also going to check the auger motor for freezing without the influence of the ice bin. That usually happens after a solid week or so of the freezer running (after I've thoroughly thawed the auger motor out).

    My question is, if I confirm overfilling or leaking only when the ice maker is plugged in, does that indicate it's likely the valve or can it still be the ice maker? I left the ice maker unplugged all night and it didn't put any water in the bowls at all, as you suggested would be a definite valve failure. Or is it possible that the valve or ice maker is still bad even if I'm not detecting any overfill?

    I'm not sure where my point of confirmation is. I've investigated every angle of this dilemma that I can think of. The more I think about it, it seems it would have to be a leaking issue, perhaps a super slow one. The reason I say that is because of the auger freezing and the ice cubes clumping into a huge mass. But then, how does frost manage to get on the items all over the freezer? And if it is leaking, is it the valve or the ice maker? UGH!

    This thing is driving me nuts! LOL

    Thanks for all your help Doc.

  8. #8
    Admin/Technician Doc Ryan's Avatar
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    Well, the easy answer is to replace both parts . Either part could be causing your problem, and you will have to keep a close eye on it to determine which one it is (in some rare cases both parts can be bad, so don't rule that out either). If water is leaking into the ice maker when the ice maker isn't calling for water, then that would be the water valve that would cause that problem. If the ice maker is overfilling it could be either part that could cause that problem. In some cases it can be caused by the water pressure in the house being too high. You can look in the owners manual or installation manual that was included with the refrigerator for the water pressure specifications. GE has added the adjustment on the new ice makers so you can adjust the fill time. Ice makers work on a timed fill; most fill up for about 8 seconds. If the ice maker fills up with too much, or too little water during the fill cycle, it can cause problems with the ice maker. Keep in mind that the valve or ice maker might be acting up intermittently, and not show the problem right away.

    Excess frost showing up on the items in the freezer can be caused by a few things. It can be caused by air leaking in from the door gasket seal (refrigerator door or freezer door) or from the ice door flap. This lets humid air in the refrigerator and freezes on things in the freezer. Look at the door gasket very closely, some time putting a light inside the refrigerator or freezer can help you see where the door isn't sealing properly. The only other way frost will show up on the things in the freezer is if moisture is being circulated around the refrigerator/freezer. This moisture could come from the leaking ice maker, clogged defrost drian, ect.
    Ryan

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  9. #9

    Hmmm

    Hi Doc,

    I've been exploring, cleaning and soaking up water from under the water valve and I took off the valve itself and was disappointed by my "Made in China" model not having a filter to clean. I have well water and I was reading an article that indicates the minerals may very well have clogged it up.

    For now I'm going to see if all that cleaning did any good. I blew it out pretty good with compressed air. I'm intimately familiar with the fridge at this point. So if it goes to freezing up again in the next couple of weeks, I will begin with a valve replacement. I'll get back with you after this little trial period and let you know the outcome.

    I can't thank you enough for all your help.

  10. #10
    Admin/Technician Doc Ryan's Avatar
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    Just a warning to you. Most water valves are not designed to be cleaned. If they build up with sediment, then they need to be replaced. Often when we see people try to clean their water valves, it causes them to fail and leak. We do not recommend trying to clean them for that reason. It's not worth flooding your house over a relatively inexpensive part. And keep us up to date on what you find as the cause of the problem(s).
    Ryan

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  11. #11
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    Hello there. I have this same model frig and am experiencing the same problem. I had the water valve replaced the other day but same problems came back up. Does anyone have solution to this issue? Replace the ice maker itself?

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Patrick Klepper View Post
    Hello there. I have this same model frig and am experiencing the same problem. I had the water valve replaced the other day but same problems came back up. Does anyone have solution to this issue? Replace the ice maker itself?
    Could you please describe the problem that you're having for me? Do you have the model number of your refrigerator?
    Ryan

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  13. #13
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    This is all described at the beginning of this thread. It is GE model GSH25JSTASS. I originally noticed the problem when the ice dispenser would not switch from crushed to cubed ice. I discovered that the ice bin and the motor behind ice bin were covered in ice (ice, not frost) and the crushed/cubed solenoid was frozen up. I have taken them out to let them thaw but the problem returns. I notice there is ice along the bottom of the ice bin, all on the ice bin motor (freezing up solenoid), and there are frozen puddles on top of ice bin motor. Also, the ice in the bin will freeze into a big chunk (ice on top). I had a tech come out and replace the water control valve 2 days ago but that didn't work.

  14. #14
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    I just spoke with the tech and he is now suspecting that it might be a defrosting issue but I'm not so sure. None of the food items in freezer have frost on them

  15. #15
    Admin/Technician Doc Ryan's Avatar
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    I would also recommend to check the ice maker mold for any hairline cracks. To do this, unplug the refrigerator, remove the ice maker, and fill it with water and let it set for a while and see if any of the water drips through the mold. Let me know what you find.
    Ryan

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  16. #16
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    Thanks Doc. I happened to check the freezer compartment this morning while it was in the defrost cycle. Seemed as if it had been in defrost for far too long. The entire ice bin had a layer of water on it and was running down to the bottom of it which was what was causing the icicles to form. The tech came out and replaced the $30 defrost sensor behind the panel in the back. Will have to wait and see how it performs in the next day or so. Will report back later with results.

  17. #17
    Admin/Technician Doc Ryan's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Patrick Klepper View Post
    Thanks Doc. I happened to check the freezer compartment this morning while it was in the defrost cycle. Seemed as if it had been in defrost for far too long. The entire ice bin had a layer of water on it and was running down to the bottom of it which was what was causing the icicles to form. The tech came out and replaced the $30 defrost sensor behind the panel in the back. Will have to wait and see how it performs in the next day or so. Will report back later with results.
    Yes, that could definitely be causing your problem. Keep me posted on how it works.
    Ryan

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  18. #18
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    Problem solved. It was the defrost sensor. No ice at all on the bottom of ice bin or auger motor.

  19. #19
    Admin/Technician Doc Ryan's Avatar
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    Awesome! Thanks for the update!
    Ryan

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  20. #20

    Same Problem / Different Model

    Quote Originally Posted by Doc Ryan View Post
    Awesome! Thanks for the update!
    I have what sounds like the same problem with an older GE SxS model TPX24PRYF.

    Periodically, the defrost heater seems to run way too long, causing large clumps of ice cubes to melt together and containers of ice cream to soften and then re-freeze.

    Patrick Klepper reported the defective part as the 'defrost sensor'. On my model, is this the same as the defrost thermostat?

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