Whirlpool Side-by-Side Refrigerator Ice Dispenser Problem

[firebiker]

My Whirlpool frig won't dispense ice. Push the lever and nothing happens. Nothing is frozen up and "auger" will turn manually. Any suggestions?

[thetruth]

My Whirlpool frig won't dispense ice. Push the lever and nothing happens. Nothing is frozen up and "auger" will turn manually. Any suggestions?

For example, did you change the filter? Is the water shut off valve shut off. Ours is behind the refrigerator. You need to pull the refrigerator out to shut the valve. I assume it is possible to kink the hose. Or to forget to turn the valve back on. Aside-yes I believe I've read it is not necessary to shut the water off to change the filter BUT, why tempt fate? Also, you should vacuum the coils every six months anyway.

Also, the filter, a new one is filled with air not water. Before I change the filter, I take a glass of water and pour it into the filter so that you do not need to wrestle with the system to eliminate the air. If, that is the problem, you can shut off the water, take out the filter, pour water into it and reinstall the filter.

Off brand filters a friend has not a Westinghouse but a Sanyo.
He used an off brand filter and broke what ever that piece is called that the filter mounts to. Sanyo voided the warranty-his bill was far more than any saving on an unknown filter.

[alwann]

Likely the unit has failed. Mine died after three years. Luckily, it was still under warranty.

[villagetinker]

We are on the 3rd ice maker unit, the last one is a different design, hope it will last longer. We used beck's for the repairs. The first one i could have done easily, the second took over 45 minutes as the wiring harness had to be changed.....

[retiredguy123]

For example, did you change the filter? Is the water shut off valve shut off. Ours is behind the refrigerator. You need to pull the refrigerator out to shut the valve. I assume it is possible to kink the hose. Or to forget to turn the valve back on. Aside-yes I believe I've read it is not necessary to shut the water off to change the filter BUT, why tempt fate? Also, you should vacuum the coils every six months anyway.

Also, the filter, a new one is filled with air not water. Before I change the filter, I take a glass of water and pour it into the filter so that you do not need to wrestle with the system to eliminate the air. If, that is the problem, you can shut off the water, take out the filter, pour water into it and reinstall the filter.

Off brand filters a friend has not a Westinghouse but a Sanyo.
He used an off brand filter and broke what ever that piece is called that the filter mounts to. Sanyo voided the warranty-his bill was far more than any saving on an unknown filter.
If you pull out the refrigerator, it is a good idea to place a hard piece of plexiglass on the floor to protect it. This is especially important if you have a sheet vinyl or wood floor. The tiny plastic wheels on the refrigerator can damage almost any flooring except ceramic tile. Also, I don't think the filter actually filters the ice maker water, but I am not sure.

[Villageswimmer]

We have what sounds like the same problem. The ice maker makes the ice fine but will not dispense. We gave up messing with it and just open the freezer door and get the ice out of the bin.

When you press the dispenser thingy, you can hear the auger rotating but no ice comes out.

Our problem is definitely not related to the filter.

[Villageswimmer]

Forgot to add that our fridge is 9 years old so definitely out of warranty. First problem we’ve had with it.

[Navy (SSBN 633)]

had same problem few weeks ago....ice maker and master memory board had to be replaced

[retiredguy123]

We have what sounds like the same problem. The ice maker makes the ice fine but will not dispense. We gave up messing with it and just open the freezer door and get the ice out of the bin.

When you press the dispenser thingy, you can hear the auger rotating but no ice comes out.

Our problem is definitely not related to the filter.
Are you sure the auger is engaged with the bin? It needs to be pushed all the way back. You may want to pull out the bin and completely empty it and reinstalled it.

[Villageswimmer]

Are you sure the auger is engaged with the bin? It needs to be pushed all the way back. You may want to pull out the bin and completely empty it and reinstalled it.

You may very well be on to something. I didn’t mention this. The bin is removable BUT for some reason we can’t remove it now. First, we thought it was frozen and put some hot water down there. After we were sure all the ice melted, we still couldn’t remove it.

[firebiker]

I've tried almost all of your suggestions. It makes ice just fine. Will resort to using a scouper for now. Thanks for your replies.

[HiHoSteveO]

As mentioned in post #9, the auger is most likely not going into the ice bin receptacle properly.

Ice is made OK and everything sounds normal, but no ice comes out. The auger in the plastic ice bin is not turning. That's the problem.

The ice bin VERY EASILY can be prevented from being pushed all the way in. Looks like it's all the way in, but it's not. Ice cubes or ice debris block they way. Or the auger is just plain not lining up.

Sometimes the ice bin is just as difficult to remove.

[Doctor Who]

It sounds like my Whirlpool is about the same age as yours. The ice maker acts up sometimes. I take the ice maker from the door. I then shut the ice maker off. I empty the cubes into a dish and put them back into fridge. I then use hot water to clean the bin. Now the most important part. Where the ice maker meets the bottom hinge of where it sits sometimes has ice...even a small amount in it will cause the ice maker not to work. I use a small fork to clean it out. Transfer the cubes back into the ice maker...turn it back on and wait until you hear the first cube drop..maybe 3 hours.

Wish you the best of luck.

[rjm1cc]

I think there is a law some place that they can not work for more than a few months. We gave up on ours in our old ref and our new one.

Look on YouTube for instructions on how to fix. One of my neighbors did fix their by pulling out the old unit and putting in a new one.

[blueash]

The solution to the ice cube maker problem is a great invention which takes less space and never requires a repair.

[Villageswimmer]

The solution to the ice cube maker problem is a great invention which takes less space and never requires a repair.


:bigbow:
We just purchased some of these! The Kitchen Store in LSL has a great selection.

[Topspinmo]

Probably the gears are stripped in the ice machine. You IMO were very lucky to 9 years out of ice machine and refrigerator. Find you model number and order new ice machine online. Watch UTube video on how to replace it. Basically two screws, disconnect harness. Guide it out of the water filler tube. Remove harness form the ice maker, transfer it to new one ( if they model don’t come with one). Guide the new ice makers up line up plug in the harness, guide tube back in, install the two mount screws. Takes about 15 to 30 mins, unless you have ice maker at bottom drawer, it harder cause use are old backs don’t want to bend anymore and our eyes can’t look up through bifocals? If can’t do it just call repair man mention.

[mrdarcy]

My 3y/o Whirlpool side-by-side stopped making ice, but would still dispense ice in the bin. I had Fields appliance come to diagnose problem. Turned out to be severed wire in cable bundle that feeds freezer located at bottom of the freezer door. Cable housing is rigid plastic and opening/closing door resulted in rigid plastic severing one wire in the cable. This wire operated ice tray. Other wires OK, so auger still runs fine. Cost to replace freezer door quoted as $1800. My solution is I buy 5lb bag of spring ice from Publix and pour it in the freezer bin. Now, I am actually dispensing better tasting ice than what refrigerator produced. I suggest you peer down at freezer cable bundle. See attached pic of my severed wire.

[Lawrance]

Try taking the bucket out and turn auger a little bit then replace bucket. May not be in properly. Back of bucket has fitting and auger does also.