The short answer
On the Amana 4w9g00 refrigerator family, an ice maker that has stopped filling the bucket points at the bucket, because a maker that is working perfectly and has nowhere to put its ice looks identical to one that has stopped. The brand-generic article puts the ice maker module itself at the top of this symptom; on this platform it sits fourth, behind causes that are quicker to rule out.
What you observe on these models
- Ice has welded into one block in the bucket — A maker with nowhere to put its output looks exactly like a maker that has stopped.
- Frost has built up around the bucket and the door — Humid air reaching the freezer, which welds good ice into useless ice.
- Production has slowed rather than stopped — A gradual decline is a supply story; an abrupt stop usually is not.
- NEAR MISS — the dispenser works but the maker does not — Water reaching the door proves the supply and moves the ranking on.
Causes, most likely first on this family
- Ice bucket jammed, or the auger seized in a block — The first thing to rule in. Ice that has partly melted and refrozen welds into a block that the auger cannot turn. The maker may be making ice perfectly well and simply have nowhere to put it.
- Humid air reaching the bucket and frosting it into a block — Second, and close behind the first. A gasket that no longer seals at one corner lets the bucket frost over. The maker keeps cycling and the ice keeps welding itself together.
- Freezer not cold enough to finish a harvest — Third. The maker waits for the mould to reach its harvest temperature. A freezer sitting a few degrees warm never gets there, so the ice stops without a single ice-maker part being faulty.
- Ice maker module, ejector or its thermostat — Last, and the only one of the four here that is not owner work. When the harvest never starts, the mould stays full and the cycle stops there. It is a real failure mode, and it empties a bucket in exactly the way several cheaper causes do.
Check in this order, and why
- Lift the bucket out and look at the ice in it — Start here. A welded block means the maker has nowhere to put its output, which is a different fault entirely.
- Look for frost on the bucket and around the freezer door — Then this. Frost that is worst at one corner points at the gasket there rather than at the maker.
- Put a thermometer in the freezer and leave it overnight — Third. A freezer sitting warm stops the harvest, and the ice maker is then a symptom rather than the fault.
Before you open anything
Safety
Unplug the appliance or switch off its breaker before removing any panel; a capacitor can hold a charge after the power is off. Refrigerant work is licensed work. Do not cut, braze or vent a sealed system, and do not run a unit that is leaking oil at the compressor.
Models covered by the 4w9g00 family
Reference| Model number | Family key |
|---|---|
| 4w9g00-03 | amana:refrigerator:4w9g00 |
| 4w9g00-04 | amana:refrigerator:4w9g00 |
| 4w9g00-05 | amana:refrigerator:4w9g00 |
| 4w9g00-06 | amana:refrigerator:4w9g00 |
| 4w9g00-07 | amana:refrigerator:4w9g00 |
| 4w9g00-08 | amana:refrigerator:4w9g00 |
| 4w9g00-09 | amana:refrigerator:4w9g00 |
| 4w9g00-10 | amana:refrigerator:4w9g00 |
| 4w9g00-11 | amana:refrigerator:4w9g00 |
| 4w9g00-12 | amana:refrigerator:4w9g00 |
| 4w9g00-13 | amana:refrigerator:4w9g00 |
| 4w9g00-14 | amana:refrigerator:4w9g00 |
| 4w9g00-15 | amana:refrigerator:4w9g00 |
| 4w9g00-16 | amana:refrigerator:4w9g00 |
| 4w9g00-17 | amana:refrigerator:4w9g00 |
| 4w9g00-18 | amana:refrigerator:4w9g00 |
| 4w9g00-19 | amana:refrigerator:4w9g00 |
| 4w9g00-20 | amana:refrigerator:4w9g00 |
| 4w9g00-21 | amana:refrigerator:4w9g00 |
| 4w9g00-22 | amana:refrigerator:4w9g00 |
| 4w9g00-23 | amana:refrigerator:4w9g00 |
| 4w9g00-24 | amana:refrigerator:4w9g00 |
| 4w9g00-25 | amana:refrigerator:4w9g00 |
| 4w9g00-26 | amana:refrigerator:4w9g00 |
| 4w9g00-27 | amana:refrigerator:4w9g00 |
| 4w9g00-28 | amana:refrigerator:4w9g00 |
| 4w9g00-29 | amana:refrigerator:4w9g00 |
| 4w9g00-30 | amana:refrigerator:4w9g00 |
| 4w9g00-31 | amana:refrigerator:4w9g00 |
| 4w9g00-32 | amana:refrigerator:4w9g00 |
| 4w9g00-33 | amana:refrigerator:4w9g00 |
| 4w9g00-34 | amana:refrigerator:4w9g00 |
| 4w9g00-35 | amana:refrigerator:4w9g00 |
| 4w9g00-36 | amana:refrigerator:4w9g00 |
| 4w9g00-37 | amana:refrigerator:4w9g00 |
| 4w9g00-38 | amana:refrigerator:4w9g00 |
| 4w9g00-39 | amana:refrigerator:4w9g00 |
When to call a technician
Call once the supply, the shutoff arm, the bucket and the freezer temperature are all proven good, because what is left is the module or the valve. Call before cutting into any water line. A saddle valve on a supply pipe is the single commonest cause of a repair that turns into a plumbing job.
The other faults covered for this family
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