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A TW unit that has stopped making ice is worth splitting two ways first: nothing at all, or ice that never completes. A setting that was never what the owner assumed produces a perfectly healthy unit that makes no ice, and the two paths part immediately. Start with a mode or setpoint that is not what the owner assumes and leave the unit no longer reaching its lowest temperatures until everything cheaper has been excluded.
The observables
- Production stopped abruptly and completely — It was normal one day and nothing the next, with no change in cooling.
- Production tailed off over weeks — Fewer cubes, then none, alongside a compartment that is not quite as cold as it was.
- Ice overnight and none during the day — A pattern that follows use and room temperature rather than the machine.
- NEAR MISS - nothing in the cabinet is cold either — That is a cooling failure rather than an ice fault, and the not-cooling page for this line covers it properly.
Causes, most likely first on this line
- A mode or setpoint that is not what the owner assumes — The leading cause on these models: the tell is that everything else about the unit is behaving: steady temperature, normal cycling, and ice that simply never appears.
- Door traffic and warm loads — Second: the pattern is a unit that makes ice overnight and none during a busy day, which is behaviour rather than a fault.
- The compartment never reaching freezing temperatures — Third, and worth excluding before going further: ice needs a compartment that is properly below freezing, not merely cold. A freezer holds food safely at 0 degrees Fahrenheit, which is minus 18 Celsius, or below, and a compartment sitting a few degrees under freezing will make ice slowly, hollow or not at all.
- The unit no longer reaching its lowest temperatures — Last: it is the least likely of the four and the most expensive to be wrong about: it is diagnosed by exclusion and by measurement, and any work on the sealed system is licensed work.
The order to work in
- Read the mode and the setpoint back as they actually are — Read the setting as it is now rather than as it was meant to be, set the coldest available setting, and give it several hours undisturbed.
- Give it an undisturbed run — Count the openings on a typical day. On a compact cabinet the number is usually the explanation.
- Measure the compartment rather than judging it by hand — Put a thermometer where the ice is meant to form and read it after several undisturbed hours. A compartment that is cold but not properly freezing explains slow ice, hollow cubes and none at all.
Before any panel comes off
Safety
Unplug the appliance or switch off its breaker before removing any panel or reaching into an ice maker; a capacitor can hold a charge after the power is off, and a mechanism can cycle without warning. Never use a sharp tool against the mould or the liner to free ice.
Models in the TW family
Reference| Model number | Family key |
|---|---|
| TW115 | alpicool:refrigerator:tw |
| TW35 | alpicool:refrigerator:tw |
| TW45 | alpicool:refrigerator:tw |
| TW55 | alpicool:refrigerator:tw |
| TW75 | alpicool:refrigerator:tw |
| TW95 | alpicool:refrigerator:tw |
When this stops being owner work
Everything you can do from inside the compartment is owner work: clearing a slab, freeing a shut-off arm, unloading, defrosting and proving the supply. Anything behind a panel, and anything on the sealed system, is not.
Same line, other symptoms
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
