Hello Everyone. I am hoping that someone can help me with a solution to a problem I have. I am trying to fix the ice maker on my Samsung refrigerator. The ice maker does not get enough water. The problem is in the main control board. It sends 120VAC to a water inlet solenoid for a fixed amount of time. I replaced the solenoid valve and it didn't fix the problem. I think what has happened is that there is probably an output driver or FET relay on the main control board that has gotten weak that drives the water valve solenoid, so it's only closing the solenoid for a duration shorter than it is supposed to.

My thought was to install a delay off timer using the output of the 120VAC control board as a trigger. However, all the delay off timers I found start the time counting cycle at the end of the trigger pulse and drive the output starting at the beginning of the trigger pulse. So, if the fridge outputs 120VAC for 1s, I would get 1s + delay timer time programmed as the output. I would like to find one that activates the output of the timer when the trigger input goes back to 0V (like a negative edge trigger sort of thing). That way, if the fridge control board outputs 120VAC for 1s or 6s, it won't matter to the delay off timer - it will always drive the solenoid for duration I set it to.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

Hi,
Can you rule out a partially blocked water pipe to the ice maker?
Have you checked the trouble shooting info in the user manual?
Have you checked your house insurance, for unofficial modifications?
Good luck......

 

In that instance the very first place to check is the water delivery flow rate and pressure.. A flow reduction due to a slight kink in a copper tube , or in a plastic tube, will cause a large pressure drop at flow, and so the flow will not be adequate. In addition, some of the tap-valves used for icemaker connections may not be fully opened, and that will cause a similar problem.
In every case, the fill time is based on a specified pressure at the inlet to the system., so you will probably never see the solenoid valve as the problem source.
It might also be an issue with any in-line filter included with the installation.

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Does the valve stay on for the same amount of time each time it's activated? If so I would suspect it's a water flow issue.
The one in my frig runs appx 7 seconds.

 

Can you rule out a partially blocked water pipe to the ice maker?

That's the first thing to check.

Have you checked the trouble shooting info in the user manual?

Always recommended.

Have you checked your house insurance, for unofficial modifications?

I wouldn't expect that so much. Partially blocked or kinked tubing is still my first inspection. Especially if the refrigerator has recently been pulled out and pushed back in.

Fully diagnose the problem before you start throwing parts at the problem. You COULD end up with a whole new refrigerator for your ice maker.

In that instance the very first place to check is the water delivery flow rate. A flow reduction due to a slight kink in a copper tube , or in a plastic tube, will cause a large pressure drop at flow, and so the flow will not be adequate.

I'm sensing a theme here. Check the plumbing first.

It might also be an issue with any in-line filter included with the installation.

Again - flow rate.

Finally, my own pearls for consideration: You think there could be a problem with the control board. IF SO - then don't try to find a way around the problem but rather, IF IT IS THE CONTROL BOARD then it's failing. Best to replace it before it completely fails. Again; IF THAT'S THE PROBLEM. I don't think it is but I've had control boards go out on a number of dishwashers. It's not outside the realm of possibility; but I still fall back on fully diagnosing the problem BEFORE you start buying parts.