The short answer
An ice complaint on the FFS family splits at the first question: whether the model in front of you was built with an automatic ice maker at all, because the two versions of this fault have almost nothing in common. 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.
- Water arriving but never freezing into shape — Where a model fills and then fails to release, the water is reaching the mould and the cold is not finishing the job in the time the cycle allows.
- 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 - the ice maker is noisy but working — Filling and harvesting are both audible events on any model that has them, and a working cycle is not a fault however loud it sounds.
Causes, most likely first on this platform
- The bail arm or the on-off control — By far the commonest reason an ice maker stops is that something told it to. An arm lifted by a bag of ice, a switch caught during cleaning, a control left off after a defrost - each looks exactly like a failure and each costs nothing to undo. With one catalogued entry the first question answers itself once you have looked inside, and the rest of the page follows from that single observation.
- A mechanism jammed by its own product — Second on this platform. A jam is worth clearing before condemning anything, and it is usually the visible consequence of a temperature swing rather than a fault in its own right.
- The model simply does not have one — Third here. Where a model was never fitted with an ice maker, the fault is not a fault: the ice being complained about is frost, and it is driven by warm air getting in.
- A freezer running above where ice is made — Fourth. Temperature stays on the list even when the mechanism is clearly at fault, because a compartment running warm turns every other marginal cause into a visible one.
- The water supply, on models that have one — Last. 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.
Check in this order, and why
- 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. With one catalogued entry behind this page, whatever you find here is the answer for every owner of the model.
- Establish whether this model has an ice maker at all — Look for a mould, a bail arm and a fill tube rather than for a badge. If none of those are there, the rest of this page collapses into a temperature and sealing question.
- Check the arm and the switch before anything else — A bail arm resting up or a control switched off costs nothing to find and accounts for a striking share of total stoppages, particularly after a clean or a defrost.
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 FFS family
Reference| Model number | Family key |
|---|---|
| FFS157L3S | avanti:refrigerator:ffs |
When to call a technician
Call when the compartment measures cold, the arm and the switch are set right, the supply is proven and the cycle still does not run, because everything left is behind a panel. Call sooner if the supply is leaking at a fitting, or if the compartment cannot hold temperature at all, since that second case is a cooling fault and it is the one that spoils food while you are looking at ice.
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.
