The short answer
Ice arriving slowly, hollow, fused into a block or not at all on the BC family is a temperature story far more often than a mechanism story, and that is where this page starts. An ice complaint on a cabinet like this splits in two before any diagnosis starts, because some of the models in the table make ice automatically and some do not, and the two versions of the fault have almost nothing in common.
What you observe on these models
- No ice at all, on a model that used to make it — Complete stoppage points at supply or at the switch rather than at the cold, because a compartment that has gone warm usually produces bad ice before it produces none.
- Ice that smells or tastes of the cabinet — Ice picks up whatever is around it, so a taste complaint is a storage and turnover matter rather than a mechanical one.
- A solid bridge of ice across the storage bin — Cubes that have fused together have melted and refrozen, which means the compartment has been swinging above and below freezing rather than sitting steady.
- NEAR MISS - no ice and nothing else is cold either — When the whole cabinet is warm, ice is a symptom rather than the fault, and the cooling failure page for this family is the right place to start.
Causes, most likely first on this platform
- A freezer running above where ice is made — Ice is nothing more than water held below freezing long enough, so every other cause on this page sits downstream of temperature. A compartment at 0 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 18 degrees Celsius) or below makes ice; one a few degrees warmer makes it slowly, hollow, or not at all. A group built on several distinct bases will not be fitted uniformly, so establishing what your own model actually has comes before any diagnosis.
- A control that says stop — Second on this platform. It stays worth a glance at any point: an arm resting up or a switch left off produces a total stoppage with nothing wrong at all.
- A mechanism jammed by its own product — Third here. Clear a jam before condemning anything, and note that it is usually the visible consequence of a temperature swing rather than a fault of its own.
- What happens before the water reaches the mould — Fourth. Where a model is plumbed, the supply remains worth checking, particularly after the unit has been moved, because a kinked line behind a cabinet is invisible until it is pulled out.
- The model simply does not have one — Last. Where a model never had an ice maker, there is no fault to find: the ice being complained about is frost, and warm air getting in is what makes it.
Check in this order, and why
- Pull the cabinet out and follow the supply line — Where the model is plumbed, look for a shutoff that has been nudged, a kink behind the unit and a line that has been crushed against the wall. This is the check a move most often makes necessary. The 9 entries below sit on 8 different bases, so confirm your own code before carrying a neighbour's result across.
- Look for a jam before condemning the mechanism — A wedged cube or an iced fill tube stops the cycle in place. Clear it with warm water rather than a tool, and watch whether it returns, because a jam that returns is a temperature story.
- Put a thermometer in the freezing compartment — Give it several hours undisturbed. Anything above 0 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 18 degrees Celsius) explains slow, hollow or absent ice on its own, and explains it before any part does.
Before you open anything
Safety
Isolate the cabinet at the plug or the breaker before a panel comes off, and never put a hand into a mechanism that is still live - an ice maker harvests on its own schedule, not yours. Where the model is plumbed, close the water shutoff before disturbing any fitting, and use warm water rather than a tool on any ice you need to clear.
Models in the BC family
Reference| Model number | Family key |
|---|---|
| BC-160OD | avanti:refrigerator:bc |
| BC-46 | avanti:refrigerator:bc |
| BC-47 | avanti:refrigerator:bc |
| BC-50 | avanti:refrigerator:bc |
| BC-65 | avanti:refrigerator:bc |
| BC-70 | avanti:refrigerator:bc |
| BC-71 | avanti:refrigerator:bc |
| BC-90DAN | avanti:refrigerator:bc |
| BC-90OD-DC | avanti:refrigerator:bc |
When to call a technician
The line here is water and panels. Setting the control, clearing a jam, emptying a packed bin and straightening a line are all owner work; a fill valve, a module or a thermostat is not. Go straight to a call where a plumbed connection is wet, where a breaker trips, or where the compartment will not get cold no matter what the dial says.
Other faults covered for these models
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
