The answer first
Ice production on the RM family depends on three things arriving together — water, cold and a working harvest cycle. The diagnosis is a matter of establishing which of the three is missing, and the mould tells you that in one look. Nothing below requires a panel off until the last step.
What this looks like at the cabinet
- One solid block instead of separate cubes — The harvest cycle is not releasing, or cubes are melting and refreezing in the bin.
- The mould holds water that never freezes solid — Water is arriving and the compartment is not cold enough to finish the job.
- There is no sound of a fill at any point in the day — A fill is audible; its absence over a full day means water is not being called for or not arriving.
- NEAR MISS — no ice and the food in the freezer is soft — That is a cooling fault first. Fix the temperature and the ice usually returns on its own.
Causes, most likely first on RM models
- The cabinet is not fitted with an ice maker, or its switch is off — Across a stem this wide the fitting is not uniform, and an arm resting in its raised position or a switch left off produces exactly the same complaint as a broken machine. It heads the list because the thirty-four codes this stem runs to share it — nothing in the model table separates one code from another on this point.
- Fill valve or its inlet screen blocked — The inlet screen catches grit from the supply and is a common restriction; the valve itself is electrically opened and can fail closed. It ranks second on RM rather than first only because the cause above it is quicker to exclude, not because it is rarer.
- Air path to the compartment blocked by how it is packed — A compartment packed to the rear wall stops the cold air reaching the mould, so the machine can be running correctly and the ice maker still never see its release temperature. Third: common enough on refrigeration generally, but on a cabinet of this size the two above it account for most of what walks in the door.
What to check first, second, third
- Where to begin on this model group — Two of the causes above are not faults at all, and both are excluded from the doorway of the freezer section. They come first for that reason.
- Look inside the freezer section for the mould and the arm — No mould means nothing to fix. An arm in the raised position, or a switch at off, means nothing broken.
- Judge the fill by the cubes it makes — Hollow or half-height cubes mean water is arriving but not enough of it, which points at the screen before the valve.
- Clear the rear of the compartment and leave a gap — Anything hard against the back wall or a vent is a candidate before a part is suspected.
Safety before diagnosis
Safety
Switch the breaker off or unplug the unit before removing any panel; a capacitor can hold a charge after the power is off. Anything you do behind the freezer rear panel happens next to a fan blade that the door switch is there to stop, so leave that switch alone.
Models in the RM family
Reference| Model number | Family key |
|---|---|
| RM16J0W | avanti:refrigerator:rm |
| RM16J0W* | avanti:refrigerator:rm |
| RM16J0W-IS | avanti:refrigerator:rm |
| RM16J1B | avanti:refrigerator:rm |
| RM16J1B* | avanti:refrigerator:rm |
| RM16J1B-IS | avanti:refrigerator:rm |
| RM16J3S | avanti:refrigerator:rm |
| RM16J3S* | avanti:refrigerator:rm |
| RM16J3S-IS | avanti:refrigerator:rm |
| RM17T0W | avanti:refrigerator:rm |
| RM17T1B | avanti:refrigerator:rm |
| RM17T2P | avanti:refrigerator:rm |
| RM17T3S | avanti:refrigerator:rm |
| RM17X0W-IS | avanti:refrigerator:rm |
| RM17X1B-IS | avanti:refrigerator:rm |
| RM17X3S-IS | avanti:refrigerator:rm |
| RM24T1B | avanti:refrigerator:rm |
| RM27B2P | avanti:refrigerator:rm |
| RM27B3S | avanti:refrigerator:rm |
| RM32J0W | avanti:refrigerator:rm |
| RM32J1B | avanti:refrigerator:rm |
| RM32JS | avanti:refrigerator:rm |
| RM3306W | avanti:refrigerator:rm |
| RM3316B | avanti:refrigerator:rm |
| RM3326PS | avanti:refrigerator:rm |
| RM3336SS | avanti:refrigerator:rm |
| RM4406W | avanti:refrigerator:rm |
| RM4416B | avanti:refrigerator:rm |
| RM4426PS | avanti:refrigerator:rm |
| RM4436SS | avanti:refrigerator:rm |
| RM46J0W | avanti:refrigerator:rm |
| RM46J1B | avanti:refrigerator:rm |
| RM46J3S | avanti:refrigerator:rm |
| RM52T1BB | avanti:refrigerator:rm |
When to call a technician
Call when the next step would need a meter, and call earlier than that for three things: a breaker that will not stay in, a plug or cord warm to the touch, and oil at any joint in the tubing. Everything above those lines is owner work and most of it needs no tool at all, which is why the order puts it first.
The rest of this family's faults
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
