Whirlpool In Door Ice Maker

[DieselDennis]

Anyone want to commiserate with me on an ice maker issue?

Whirlpool side by side.  Probably a 2013 model.  Good fridge.  Still keeps everything nice & cold.  

Noticed Saturday the ice bin was empty.  Some disassembly and found that the icemaker is not getting power (at L & N in the icemaker. If you've been in ice makers, ykwim).  Went down to the bottom of the unit to see if any wires were broke where the door swings.  Wires looked fine.  Unplugged the wires at the bottom of the freezer.  No power at the plug either.  

Unplugged the fridge to do a reset.  Waited a minute and plugged it back in.  The ice maker cycled (dumped ice, refilled with water) and after about a minute, lost power again.  

Took a peek at the main control board.  Nothing obvious there.  And have I mentioned the fridge is running fine?  

New control board is $650.  Anyone ever ran into an issue like this before?  Anyone have any experience with these online "talk with a tech" services that will answer questions and walk you though a problem?  

Right now my main question is does the power to the ice maker come straight from the main control board or is there some kind of electrical widget in between?  And if it does come from the main control board, why is the main control board cutting power to the ice maker after a minute?  I need help going through the logic of sending power to the ice maker.  

I suppose I need to keep disassembling and test if the level sensor is good.  The model basically has a photo eye that shoots across the ice bucket.  If the beam is broken, then the bin is full, and that cuts off the icemaker.

[joe1086]

I've had success with these guys Circuit Board Medics. They can repair or replace boards, and their website lists some boards that are available. Once you get to a specific board's web page it will list some of the functions that board controls. I have a Whirlpool built-in and the main board isn't available new any longer from the OEM and they have helped me twice with replacements.

I also called once or twice and they've been helpful. Good luck.

[DieselDennis]

I did pull out the bin sensor & on/off switch last night. Basically two small circuit boards shooting a beam between them. There's some power there, but honestly I'm not sure what kind of power to look for there. Is it AC or DC at that point? I don't know. There was a red LED on one of the boards. I never could get it to light up no matter what I did.

I'm telling myself this is a first world problem, and it will get done eventually. Lucky for me my employer has an ice maker !

[FrankAtl]

Go on YouTube and do a search. There are several good videos on troubleshooting a whirlpool icemaker.

[fredhargis]

I wish I had known about Circuit Board Medics 2 weeks ago. My shop furnace quit working, or rather it was acting really wonky (and not heating). This is a ceiling hung gas/forced air job and I think I paid about $700 for it 6 years ago when i installed it. Anyway, the repair tested everything and it all checked out so his diagnosis was the circuit board was bad...he was right. A new one came in and the furnace is now it's normal self; except the board cost $500, and I paid another $150 for the 2 trips the repair guy made. For this removing the board and having it checked out would have been something I would have done had I known about them.