Kenmore Side by Side not getting cold enough to freeze food.

Is the ice maker itself filling normally, meaning where the cubes are made gets enough water to cover the complete area or just a few slots? If not then check the fill tube where the water comes into the ice maker to make sure no ice has formed blocking the water from coming in.
Now if ice production in general has slowed, going from every 45 minutes or so to like every 6 hours, then your machine more than likely isn't getting cold enough. The ice maker requires the temperature be at least 10 degrees F or below for it to function properly.

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This can be a tricky problem. There are three things that I can think of that can cause this. First is the defrost timer. To determine if this is the case look in the freezer at the freezer back wall. Is it cover completly with snow like ice? If so the timer is not letting the machine go into defrost. Also you should notice the fresh food part of the machine start to rise in temperature. The next thing is the machines cold control thermostat is faulty and even though the machine maybe cold enough the thermostat can't tell so it never kills power to the compressor. The last is that your machine is low on freon, so the freezer temperature never really gets low enough. Signs of this are decrease in ice maker production, ice cream softer than normal, or put a thermometer in t he freezer. The temperature should be around 0 degrees F and no more that 5 degrees F

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hello,

In a case like that usually the problem is going to be a cooling issue, is the fresh food and freezer section both cold? it obviously takes water and freezing tempatures to make ice.

2 things to check are

1) the condenser coil under the grill below door or on back depending on model is clogged with dust and needs to be cleaned

2) the fan in the freezer isn't running circulating air into ff section and directly onto icemaker

Good luck, i hope this helps

Gene

If the freezer is staying cold it sounds like a defrost system problem. A bad timer, heater or thermostat can cause frost to build up on the coils and block air flow to the refrig side. Check out ACMEHowTo.com for troubleshooting the defroster problem.
There is a small duct between the freezer and refrigerator side if this is blocked the frig side won't cool.

the freezer feeds the refridgerator with cold air,when you open the freezer door,do you hear the fan blowing,if not you need to change the evap fan motor,next take out the second from bottom food bin and touch back wall,if you feel snow or ice you have a defrost problem, you'll have to take off back wall,advance the timer till it clicks into defrost and see if the heater comes on,if so you have a bad timer,if not read out the t-stat and the heater,if there are plug in wires on t-stat unplug them and bypass the t-stat by plugging t-stat wire to heater if heater comes on change t-stat,leave the heater on to help you defrost the ice off of evap coil and use hair dryer to melt ice,hope that helps

Sounds like a main control board problem keeping the freezer fan from working . If no air flow to the top of the freezer , the icemaker will stop working and the ice will begin to melt ( leaking from freezer ) . The coils will start to freeze up due to no air flow across them . If continued for a period of time , the cold air could return thru the return vent located in the bottom of the ref/freezer section and freeze the water tank in the refrig section , causing the no water thru dispensor .

HI,

if the compressor is running your ref. should be getting cold. Their is a defrost timer but when it is in defrost the compressor shuts off. I think you do have a leak.

thanks,

Make sure nothing is inhibiting air flow. I don't think it is advisable to store food in an ice machine however that is not likely the problem unless the food itself is inhibiting air flow. Most ice machine manufacturers recommend against storing any food in an ice machine. If there is a freezer component in you model the check to see if the evaporator coils are frosting up and the frost is blocking airflow causing the ice storage chamber to get warm. High humidity can cause frosting. Leaving a door to the ice maker open too long can cause frosting. A low refrigerant charge can do this although it seems logically like it should not. With a very slightly low charge one end of the evaporator gets super cold and the other end is not cold enough. Frosts starts collecting on the super cold end and accumulates across the evaporator coil to the other end eventually blocking all air flow. With too much humidity from open doors frost accumulates over the entire evaporator evenly but still blocks. You shut the unit down. It thaws out and works OK on restart until frost again builds up. If its not a frosting problem but it just stops making ice then the ice may not be releasing. Check the water supply and change any filters to insure good water flow. A good water supply is required for proper release and harvest of the ice in many ice machines. If the ice doesn't release it takes a shut down and thaw to clear the suspended ice out. Check for these things and write back if you need further assistance and can provide me with more details.

The freezer is supposed to thaw at least everyday. Only, you usually kant tell because it doesn't do it long enough to melt the food so you don't notice it. You have a couple of components to check here. 1 is the defrost timer, which unless it has been changed recently, has the same pre determined defrost time. So you would have noticed by now. Next is the defrost termination switch. If you have excess ice on the evaporator, this will make the defrost longer than before. Unless the switch is going bad causing the defrost to go extra long, there is an excess amount of ice that is more than usual. Bad door seal will cause this. A slightly low freon charge. And a thermostat that is malfunctioning, causing the freezer to run continuously, will make excess ice buildup in the freezer. I would make sure the kids aren't leaving the door open and the gaskets are good. If not the case, call a repairman.

Your refrigerator isn't defrosting. When you melted the ice on the coils in the freezer you might have noticed a glass tube with a wire going into each end this is your defrost element that is probably bad. If it tests out good then your problem is either in the defrost thermostat, or the motherboard that tells your fridge when to defrost.