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Three things could be wrong:
Solenoid switch where the water comes into the unit has gone, this control the flow of water into both the ice maker and the water dispenser.
If the switch is good and then you need to check your filters, sometimes inside the door top right. or on one of the corners on the bottom front.. You should be able to unscrew them with you hands.. make sure water is off behind unit or where ever your shut off is at.
One last thing.. check for kinks in the water line behind the unit if it was pulled out lately.
You either have a faulty thermostat, a loose connection or most likely a build up of ice inside the freezer. I had the same problem. Almost replaced fridge. Took all the food out one day, took out the racks and disassembled bottom and rear and found a two foot log block of ice inside air return. Removed ice everything works perfectly.
The door switch controls a solenoid valve. I don't know exactly where it is. The solenoid valve is bad, or the switch is bad. If it works intermittently, it is more likely the switch - usually. However, if you are hearing a buzz, I would think that would be the solenoid valve buzzing, indicating a problem with the mechanical valve part of the solenoid valve. Likely, it needs to be removed, taken apart and cleaned.
If this has been helpful, please take a sec to rate me. Thanks! Don
There is a simple switch behind the push lever which activates the water/ice dispenser circuit. Sometimes these switches are poorly engineered to the lever with an adhesive or plastic rod which will break away. This is the first place I would look for a culprit.
I have to manually make the ice dump. 2) I now have a slight build up of ice under the ice maker where it appears the water from the ice tray is leaking and the inside of the freezer also has a slight build up of frost on the walls.
From my 40 years of experience that statement is telling me that the freezers' evaporator coils are blocked with ice. (i.e frost on the walls) When the coils become blocked or built up with ice everything APPEARS to be working fine but the actual freezer temp is above 17 deg F. An ice maker will not initiate an ice-harvest cycle until the temps are between 14 - 16 Deg F. I.e it is not cold enough to automatically make ice because the ice maker thermostat is not closing at 14 - 16 deg F to start the ice harvest.
So I will pose these questions for you and answer them:
Q? What causes the ice on the walls
A: The unit is not defrosting properly.
Q? What causes a refrigerator to not defrost properly?
A: There are several; reasons that a refrigerator will not automatically defrost
1. The defrost control has failed (Most common failure)
2. The defrost heating element has failed
3. The defrost thermostat has failed
4. A wiring problem in the defrost circuit
Now.... you also made this statement: I now have a slight build up of ice under the ice maker where it appears the water from the ice tray is leaking
You may have a leaking ice tray but it is quite rare. What usually causes an ice build up directly under and ice maker is the inlet water valve leaking / bypassing water when it is supposed to be shut off. An inlet water valve will bypass water when the internal diaphragm fails or debris is blocking the needle seat of the diaphragm. Either way the only remedy is to replace the inlet water valve because the valves are NOT repairable.
Reach inside your freezer and squeeze the rubber tube that fills the ice maker with water. If there is a problem with the inlet water valve the rubber tube starts freezing up with ice. Eventually when the rubber tube is totally frozen the plastic tube on the back of the refrigerator that connects to the rubber tube either leaks or separates from the rubber tube and ports water onto the floor. If you really want to prove that there is a problem with the inlet water valve turn the ice maker OFF. Remove the plastic tube from the rubber ice maker fill tube (Just pulls out) and place it in a bucket overnight. IF you note water in the bucket the next day then the inlet water valve has for sure failed. Sometimes they LEAK intermittently when the failure first begins so the bucket test may not reveal a leaking inlet water valve. The key here is you said you have water UNDER the ice maker and you suspect a tray leak.
Here is what I recommend you do after the overnight plastic tube in a bucket leakage / bypassing test: 1. Reinstall the plastic tube on to the rubber fill tube. 2. Turn the ice maker ON 3. UNPLUG the refrigerator and so a manual defrost by removing the freezer contents then directing a fan into the freezer compartment for just over 2 hours. (Makes a water mess) 4. Return the unit to normal service 5. Check for ice production 6 - 8 hours after you performed the manual defrost. If you have automatic ice production you most likely have and automatic defrosting problem... BUT.... there can be a problem with the freezer door / light switch. The door light switch is a 3 contact switch. One contact is a common power wire and the other 2 contacts turn on the light and provide power to the ice maker (and some times the evaporator fan also depending on unit design)
Test the door light switch amd make sure the light will go off when the door is closed. (depress the plunger) If the light stays on the door switch is bad.
Hopefully you have enough information to understand what is happening with your refrigerator and what the causes of the symptoms you have are.
I think in the end you will have to repair the automatic defrost problem and replace the inlet water valve. Do not forget about testing the door light switch.
There are usually two solenoids one for the water and one for the ice, you can trouble shot by switching the wires on the solenoids and see if you can still dispense water. If you can then the icemaker inside is where you problem is and it is easy to replace usually one elctrical connection and thwo maybe three screws and can be purchased online...
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