Refrigerator Problems

Several years ago when we moved into this house, we bought a new Refrigerator.  We got a GE bottom-freezer refrigerator with water/ice in the door.

It's been a good refrigerator, but earlier this year, we started having a few minor problems with it.  I'd never gotten around to messing with trying to solve them till this weekend.

Water under produce bins

We've had problems with water collecting under the produce bins to the point it comes out of the fridge and either down to the floor, or into the freezer.  It has been annoying, but not a lot.  We'd pull out the bins, and clean out the water.

Ice maker not working properly

Well, it didn't completely stop working.  But it might only make 1 tray of ice a day, if that.  This has been more troublesome.  We've had to start buying ice and either fill the bin or just leave it in the bottom freezer to scoop out.

Repairs

Today, I had some time, to I've attempted some repairs.  First on tap:

Water under produce bins

Initially, I thought it was related to the ice maker as I thought it started about the same time.  But after I did some research, it appears that it's almost always related to the evaporator coil drain.  I had read several board were people were describing the problem, but it wasn't until I found this video that I decided to give it a try.

Though the video talks about, as did the message boards, having ice in the drain hole, I never found any.  I made sure I had good drainage, cleaned up other ice buildup in the area and put the fridge back together.

I feel pretty comfortable that I've corrected the problem.

Ice maker not working properly

After tackling the drain problem, I moved on to see what I might can find with the ice maker.

I pulled out the ice tray in the door, and looked closely at the ice maker.

There was a lever under the ice maker, a test button, and that was about it, and a tab at the top of the ice maker.

I started with the tab.  I pulled it down and was able to slide out the ice maker, but only a couple inches because of the water supply lines.  I turned the ice maker a bit trying to look at it, but didn't have much luck.  So, I slid it back in till the tab locked into place.  I have found a site that explains how to remove the ice maker.

I looked at the lever next.  It pulls down several inches and immediately goes back up.  I was able to push it up just a fraction of an inch.  I believe this arm is what tells the ice maker to stop making ice.  When it gets full, the ice pushes up on the arm stopping the ice maker.

Last step, I took a look at the test button.  I pushed it a few times and nothing seemed to happen.  I did some more research and found a video that didn't really help too much, except it said to push and hold the test button for 5 seconds to "reset" the ice maker.  I did that, and little bit later, I heard the ice maker empty.  After that, I'm feeling a bit more confident.  However, while typing this, I found another article that said if pressing and holding the test button for 15 seconds, I should hear the ice maker cycle and that if I don't, I may need a new ice maker.

So, it appears that the jury is still out on whether or not I fixed the ice maker.  I'm hoping so as I don't want to buy a new one.

I'll update more as we see how well (if at all) these repairs work.