The Harvest Cycle

The harvest cycle begins when an algorithm programmed into the electronic control board has been satisfied and the sensor arm is out or fully extended. If the arm is in the 'in' position when harvest is to begin, a delay of 3 minutes will be added once the arm is moved to the extended position to allow for drawer type ice buckets to be removed for this amount of time without starting a harvest cycle. This 3 minute delay will begin again if the arm goes back to the 'in' position anytime during the delay period. This arm is spring loaded to go to the 'out' position unless it is being held in the 'in' position by an obstacle such as an ice cube.

At the beginning of the harvest cycle, the mold heater will activate. One second later the motor will start. The heater will remain on until the mold temperature reaches 35.6°F (2°C) and a minimum of 20 seconds have elapsed. If necessary, the heater will cycle within a range of 32°F 'cut in' to 35.6°F 'cut out'.

To assure that the motor makes a complete revolution, the control checks to see if the motor is not 'home' for at least 10 seconds and the sensor arm is 'in' for at least 10 seconds. When the ejector then reaches the 'home' position, this completes the harvest cycle and the motor will turn off. If the harvest cycle, which consists of one complete revolution, is not completed within 7 minutes, the control will assume that a cube is blocking the completion of the cycle and will initiate a "Harvest Fix Mode". If the Harvest Cycle is not complete within 30 minutes, the electronic control board will assume some other problem occurred and will enter the "Fault Mode" which will cause the LED to start blinking in an 1/2 second 'on' 1/2 second 'off' pattern.

Harvest Fix Mode

The harvest fix mode occurs when the harvest cycle is not completed within 7 minutes, as mentioned earlier. This is achieved by powering the heater to raise the mold temperature to 68°F as measured by the internal thermistor. At that point the heater will cut out and cut back in again when a 59°F temperature is sensed. During this mode the motor will cycle off 10 seconds per minute of cycle time. If the motor reaches home position, a second revolution of the ejector will occur to verify that there is no more blockage. At this point, the control board will initiate another freeze cycle without a water fill to avoid a double shot of water from entering the mold.

The control will enter a Fault Mode if a harvest cycle (including Harvest Fix Mode) is not complete within 30 minutes.

Problem Diagnostics

Potential causes for a harvest cycle to take longer than 30 minutes and thus enter a fault mode (led blinks):

Stuck ejector possibly caused by a cube that was not cleared or a mechanical problem.
Bad heater or caused by open circuit, control board triac failure or thermal cutout.
Bad motor or control board triac failure.
Motor 'home' position not correct caused by control board problem or loose switch magnet. The latter may result in continuous ejector operation.
Internal thermistor open or shorted.