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Vivaci After a day of observation, I have concluded that the freezer is working. It is getting cold enough. My ice cube trays (separate from the maker) are freezing solid in reasonable time, and staying frozen.
But the ice maker is malfunctioning. Before, it was not doing anything. Now, it is making ice, yet also dripping water down into the ice bin for a short time (I'll explain more later). This small layer of water freezes, producing what looks like peanut brittle in the ice bin, yet made of ice, where the "peanuts" are embedded ice cubes! Weird.
I have cycled it many times, and observed it, so now know what is happening, and when, and where. I am not yet sure why, though. Also, when it starts to drip, I just swap out the bin with a bowl to catch the water. Then when it stops, I dump the water and put the ice bin back in. That will have to do until I get around to contacting maintenance again. But it is not urgent.
I have also done a lot of research online. I have watched a few repair videos. So I have a better understanding.
When this model ice maker is working normally, it will fill an ice mold with water for a few seconds. I think the amount of water is based on time, not volume. I think there is a screw inside that can be used to change the time. Water pressure can affect it, too.
Then, if the lever (that measures the ice level in the bin) is still down, it waits for the ice to freeze. It has a thermometer. When it gets cold enough, it turns on a heating coil to melt the bottom of the ice and loosen it. Then ejector blades (an axel with fins on one side) rotate. They scoop up the ice and spin it to the top, where it falls off over another set of stationary blades, and slides into the bin.
(If the ice level is high and pushes up the lever, however, then no ice is harvested. Nothing happens.)
After the ice is harvested, then the ejector blades rotate back to their starting position, and the mold refills with water. I think this is rotation is only supposed to happen once (or maybe twice?)
Yet right now it is happening 3-4 times before stopping. The blades keep rotating, and with each pass the water comes on for a few seconds. Eventually the mold overflows and pours, then drips, water into my bin, later forming "ice brittle". But to prevent this, I have been swapping the bin for a bowl to catch the water.
It is almost as if it still thinks ice is there, so tries to harvest it with the blades, and refill the mold with water. I read that if the thermometer is warm enough, it should not move. So maybe I have a bad thermometer? Maybe it is covered in ice? I cannot see it.
I read something about making sure the maker is level. It did not look level (the maintenance man had to remove it to get at the back panel on Friday, maybe he did not install it level again). So I loosened to the two bolts and made it more level, and retightened them. But the water still overflows, yet it is more spread out now. Before, it was dripping mostly one end only, the lower end.
Ugh.
I have been making ice all day, and soon will just turn it off by lifting the lever. I also have the old-fashioned manual trays as backup. Ice is not essential. I am all out of soda, anyway.
I may not call this in right away. I just need a break from it all. It is not urgent, anyway.
Ugh. I am hearing ice falling down into the bin in my sleep! So tired.
