Answer first
On a Wine Enthusiast dual-zone wine cooler, not making ice usually comes down to no automatic ice maker fitted at all, with expecting the colder zone to behave like a freezer next. Separate no ice at all from small or hollow cubes first, because those are two different faults with two different lists behind them.
What you actually observe
- Neither zone freezes anything, including water left in a tray — Both zones on this cabinet are set above freezing by design.
- Cubes are small, hollow or half-formed
- NEAR MISS — the freezer itself is not properly cold — Fix the cooling first; ice making is gated on temperature and will not resume until it is right.
Causes, most likely first on this platform
- No automatic ice maker fitted at all — First, and for the same reason as on any wine cabinet: both zones are set above freezing, so neither will make ice and almost none of these cabinets carries an ice maker at all.
- Expecting the colder zone to behave like a freezer — Second, and specific to a two-zone cabinet: owners expect the colder compartment to behave like a freezer. It does not, and no setting will make it, which is the commonest reason people arrive on this page.
- A freezer that is not cold enough to trigger a harvest — Third. Even the lower zone's range is a serving range, and ice making is gated far below it.
- A compact compartment that cannot hold ice-making temperature — Fourth: holding two set points at once uses the capacity that a freezing compartment would need.
Check in this order, and why that order
- Establish whether the cabinet has an ice maker at all — Many cabinets in this class were sold with the space and not the part, and an empty bin is then correct behaviour. It goes first: top-ranked above, and free to rule out.
- Check what the lower zone is actually set to, and what its range allows — A serving range is not a freezing range, and no setting on this cabinet will cross that line. Second: the next cause in the ranking, and this check separates it from the first.
- Measure the freezer temperature with a thermometer — A freezer holds food safely at 0 degrees Fahrenheit, which is minus 18 Celsius, or below, and ice making is gated on being near that. Third, once both checks above come back clean.
What an owner can safely check
- Look inside the freezer compartment for a mould, an arm and a fill tube — If none of the three is there, the cabinet was not built to make ice and nothing is broken.
About 5 min
- Set the colder zone to its lowest setting, leave a glass of water in it overnight and look in the morning — Water still liquid confirms the cabinet is doing exactly what it was built to do, and there is nothing to repair.
Tools: thermometerAbout 30 min
- Leave a thermometer in the freezer overnight and read it in the morning — A freezer holds food safely at 0 degrees Fahrenheit, which is minus 18 Celsius, or below. Warmer than that and the ice maker will never start a cycle.
Tools: thermometerAbout 30 min
- STOP HERE if the next step needs a panel off or a meter on live terminals — That is where an owner check ends on any sealed refrigeration system.
Before you take anything off
Safety
Unplug the appliance or switch off its breaker before removing any panel; a capacitor can hold a charge after the power is off. Leave the door switch wired as it is and do not defeat it to watch something run. If you find oil outside the tubing, stop: the sealed system is open, and refrigerant work is licensed work.
Where an owner check ends
Call when the arm is down, the freezer is cold, the filter is fresh and the mould still never fills, because the next checks are electrical and behind the compartment wall. There is no urgency to this fault unless the cabinet is also failing to hold temperature. On a two-zone cabinet, say which zone is affected when you call: it is the single most useful thing a technician can be told before arriving.
Where to go next in this class
What this page does not cover
This page is written for the Wine Enthusiast dual-zone wine cooler as a class, not for one family or model line. Where a family- or model-specific page exists for your unit it is linked here, and it is the more specific answer. Not here: part numbers, wiring colours and panel sequences, which differ by family.
Links: - [Wine Enthusiast dual-zone wine cooler making a new noise: what it is, and what it is not](/blog/wineenthusiast-refrigerator-abnormal-noise) - [Wine Enthusiast dual-zone wine cooler running but not cooling: the causes in order](/blog/wineenthusiast-refrigerator-cooling-failure) - [Willz refrigerator making no ice, or not enough of it](/blog/willz-refrigerator-ice-production)
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
