How can I stop the icemaker on a GE fridge from overflowing water?

Question

I have a French door stainless steel GE fridge made by Samsung. The water overflows or splashes out of the icemaker andd then freezes in the ice compartment under the bucket, making it impossible to get out without thawing it. This is an icemaker in the upper left corner of the refrigerator compartment. I have leveled the unit and I have replaced the water solenoid valve because I thought it might be sticking on and letting in too much water.

Is there a time adjustment for how long to let the water run? Is it dependent on my water pressure? This fridge worked fine for a couple of years but then started doing this. Link to this model

I asked this question about it a little over a year ago: Previous question

Answer 1

I realize this is an old question, but for anyone else that comes across this:

First thing I would check is the house water pressure. Ice makers are typically operated by a timer and are designed with a specific water pressure and flow rate in mind. You can get a pressure measuring tool that screws on to a garden spigot from any of the big box stores. Make sure to check the pressure when all other valves are closed and the hot water heater has been running, since you may have a check valve in the line and experience high water pressure only after the hot water heater has been on.

As a backup option, I'd consider partially closing the valve to the ice maker line. You'll still have an initial surge of high water pressure, but the flow will be restricted. This may require some careful fine tuning to get just enough water to fill the tray without overflowing.

Answer 2

I threw in the towel and called an applicance guy. He looked at evertyhing I did, and could see no broken parts. Putting our heads together, we came to the conclusion that its a design flaw. We wound up doing two things - 1) We opened up the area at the bottom of the water funnel to water into the mold faster and 2) I made a small "fence" at the back of the funnel out of aluminum duct tape to stop water from overflowing. These two things together seem to have done the trick.

Answer 3

On most ice makers there is a short tube that water goes through to reach the "trough" were it freezes and is pushed out of into a container that holds the ice cubes. Normally the water in this tube drains out when the valve shuts off. If water in this tube freezes, then water runs down the outside of the dispenser or even sprays when the valve turns on. You can remove the ice maker and thaw it out, or just use a hair dryer and melt the ice in the tube.

I had this happen to me a few months ago. I was ready to replace ice maker until I found the iced up tube while removing it.

Answer 4

There is a screw on a cam that operates the microswitch to cut off the water supply solenoid. Turn this to control the time the fill water runs.

Answer 5

Short answer, replace the water valve that supplies water to the ice maker. It is a double valve, so you will also be replacing the water dispenser valve at the same time. Problem solved.

Answer 6

I have an Amana Model # ABB2223DEQ with a bottom freezer.

Same problem, water over flowing the ice maker into the ice cube bin below. Water was also getting frozen in the tube that runs to the tray from outside rear of the refrigerator. I have well water and my saddle valve was tapped into the water supply upstream (before) the water-softener. This was allowing hard water minerals to get into the valve behind the refrigerator and the ice maker itself.

So I replaced the line and did drill a new hole 1/8" drill bit into the water supply downstream (after) the water-softener. Hand drilling is necessary (shut-off house water first) because on the back of the refrigerator it says explicitly not to use a self-piercing valve (to make the hole). The hole can be better made manually with a drill and it will be less prone to clog, but it's actually ok to use the valve with self-piercing tip but after you have drilled the hole using 1/8" drill bit.

Then I tried the ice maker but still had the same overflow problem. I removed the ice maker and used a long screwdriver to make sure that the feed tube had no ice blockage. Then I removed the ice maker and melted ice blockage in the ice maker where the tube entered it using warm water and cleaned the whole thing. My last ice maker had a ton of hard water (white powder/scaling/paint chipping) deposits all over it. This fairly new one still looks pretty good. Reinstalled it. From outside of the freezer each time, I watched to make sure feed tube went into its proper slot.

I tried ice maker and still had water overflow problem. Finally, yesterday I stuck my head all the way into the back of the freezer and checked refill tube placement... it was wrong. I realigned it and voila, it works perfectly now.

That tube was the big culprit. (In side-by-side freezer-refrigerators I suggest getting a mirror and carefully examining the feeder tubes' placement.

Answer 7

I had my ice maker constantly overflowing and creating blocks of ice in the freezer ice bin. I adjusted the icemaker screw in the freezer and it did nothing. I replaced the fridge's water intake valve and it did nothing.

Here is what worked: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01F187152/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I installed that on the tiny plastic input line. And then dialed it in. Now my ice maker rocks... and no longer creates blocks of ice... (note: I have NOTHING to do with this water pressure valve gadget, it's just the thing I used to solve the issue.)