Proper Operation
Learn how your appliance is supposed to operate so you can determine if it is malfunctioning.


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The Water Fill Cycle

The water fill cycle occurs when the harvest cycle is completed and the icemaker is 'pre-chilled' to 35.6°F. This pre-chilling of the mold allows the thermistor to better detect the level of the water. Water entering the icemaker mold will cause the mold temperature to change, effecting the resistance of the thermistor. The thermistor has a negative temperature coefficient. This means that an increase in temperature will cause a decrease in resistance.

The first fill cycle activates the water valve for 5.1 seconds. After this fill, there is a 15 second delay to allow time for the thermistor to 'read' the water temperature and thus determine if the mold is sufficiently full. If the temperature exceeds 39.2°F (4°C) after this delay, the icemaker will end the water fill cycle and initiate the freeze cycle.

The second fill cycle is initiated if the temperature is still below 39.2°F after the 15 second delay. This second fill will be only for 2.5 seconds, and again, another delay for 15 seconds will be made to allow time for the thermistor to determine if the temperature has reached 39.2°F (4°C). If so, the icemaker will end the water fill cycle and initiate the freeze cycle.

The third and final fill cycle occurs after the 15 second delay if the thermistor detects that the water temperature still has not reached 39.2°F (4°C) . The third fill cycle lasts 2.4 seconds. After this, the icemaker control board is programmed to override this temperature requirement and will end the water fill cycle and proceed to the freeze cycle.

The point of all these fill cycles is to help compensate for low water pressure and hopefully avoid undersized cubes resulting in the 'ice cubes stuck in the ejector' problems that is so common on other icemaker designs.