GE OPAL Ice Maker Repair (stop the screech)
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 4 фев 2023
- So in this video, I take apart my Opal Ice Maker to investigate a screeching noise that occurs when the system is making ice. This video will show you how easy this ice maker is to take apart to investigate any odd noises emanating from it.
Хобби
OMG! I have the original opal (like from the kickstarter) and it has always screeched. I was able to fix it following your video! Only thing I did differently was add some food safe grease to the top and bottom of the auger. And I had only one extra screw. :)
I love tutorials that don't have 10 minute intros. Thank you for not wasting time!
I'm VERY grateful you didn't draw this video out to 20 plus minutes. You are AWESOME.
Thank you for saving us a repair company visit…..this was spot on! Really appreciate you posting this!
I have been wanting to open up my opal ice maker for a long while now to do a deep cleaning. After watching your detailed video I was no longer afraid to open it up. The reservoir tank had a heavy build up. I clean that up really well along with all the parts that you mentioned and I’m back on. Thank you!
So glad this video was of value to you. Thanks for the comment!
Thanks for posting, I followed your instructions, soaked pieces in pure vinegar, including spindle, scrubbed with wire pad and bottle cleaner …. And machine is running much better! No squeak! Took me about 1.5 hr to complete. Good reminder to do the vinegar overnight soaks more routinely as we had a lot of build up around the bottom of spindle and on surrounding parts. Ours started this sound after 1.5 yr. Clean monthly and descaled overnight once in that period. Will be doing that more. Thanks again!
I am so appreciate of this video. Mine was making same noise after a good deep clean that didn't require removing any screws. I have a ton of lime in cylinder and not sure how I am going to get it cleaned out good. I have my work cut out for me but this was a life saver for sure
Mine was getting loud after 3 years and your directions were spot on. I was surprised by how clean mine was. Just some minor build up in the white tank which I cleaned. I also had a little corrosion and some rust on the lag bolts. Like you, I didn't find a smoking gun. A couple of the white gaskets were a little slick so I wiped them off in case they were the culprit. It's back running again and no squeals yet. Hoping for the best.
Update on squeals?
Thanks. It worked!! Soaking spindle in vinegar overnight got rid of the mineral build up and it works great again.
Thank you so much. Purchased a brand new Orgo Sonic Ice Maker, and it was making a similar sound. Had tried defrosting, and due to the machine being new I didn’t believe I needed to descale. Did everything exactly as shown and machine has been running fine so far. This video also works for the ORGO brand, I believe it is just a reskin of the machine in video. Thanks again!!!
Omg thank you! I was worried I was going to have to get rid of my ice machine that I love your tutorial was fantastic. I was able to take my machine apart and clean it extremely well. I appreciate it thank you.
Very helpful, thank you; after cleaning, I lightly coated the gaskets with Vaseline. All working well now. Big thank you, I probably would have tossed it out if not for your guidance.
thanks a bunch for doing this video. we only use store bought filtered water and havent cleaned it in over 2 years. we leave it on and use it daily, but once it started squeeling it just got louder and louder with each passing day. finally i could not take it any more and decided to do the vineger cleaning. Well that didn't do shit, so time to dismantel this beast. The bottom of the freeze chamber was caked with crud. Took me an hour to scrape that out including that little orifice where the water comes in. I had to get a tiny wire brush to clean that. The rest of the cleaning was easy including the plastic holding tank. All back together and working well, thanks again
Thanks for the video. Ours was making the squealing noise. Spindle was covered in what looked like snot. Cleaned everything and shes working like a champ.
Same here. Biofilm. Not exactly alive but not inorganic . Don’t understand correlation to noise unless hydraulically jacking key joints. Gear train probably not happy.
thanks, great video, the amount of sludge and lime build up inside my unit after 2 years of no maintenance was insane.
This is a great video as we have had ours for about 2.5 yrs. The noise just started. Did all of this and no more noise! The only thing is I had to do the gear box trick twice as no one tells you how much oil to put in it. First time noise was still there. Did the gear box trick again and added a lot more oil. Not tons but enough to get to everything in there and voila noise gone and it’s much quieter now.
Same, had ours for 2 years now, out of nowhere it kicks off like it’s a dirt bike and is loud as hell. Bout to take it apart today.
What kind of oil did you use and what exactly did you put oil on?
I’m going to give this a try. Thank you!
I did a 100% vinegar bath over night with 4 runs prior to the sit in the cleaning cycles. Then 2 days of bath soak, ran 5-6 warm water rinse cycles with the cleaning cycle. Also remove the back rubber hoses and cleaned with bleach and a pipe cleaner brish. That also removes that squeaky noise.
Thank you for your advice I’m going to try this before I attempt to take mine apart, it may be missing parts haha
Yes I descaled according to their (annoying but now learned) instructions and so far no more squeak. I was looking for doing the least before having to pull apart this machine. But appreciate the teardown :)
I think this is my issue. I am gonna give it a go and pray that's it. Thank you sir.
Excellent video, thanks!!
Nice job! Saved $300.
Thank you, very helpful
I have a Gevi V1 purchased through Amazon. Have received a replacment for noise, was told to throw the machine away and they sent another. Second was replaced due to a recall about possible metal in the ice. The third unit i have is now squealing after only days use. Based on lime formation after such a small period of use, I'm thinking they sent me a used unit as a replacement. I'm done throwing them in the landfill but thought I'd open it up...lo and behold it looks pretty identical inside to the opal, which I almost bought as a replacement till I saw many claims of squealing machines and got scared that the internals were similar. Guess I was right. I stripped a screw while disassembling but hope it works assuming I can get it back together!
Good video
Thank your sharing your info. Cause g e want tell you nothing except 300 dollars to fix it maybe. Your a good man
Great video! We followed it to a T and found tons of mineral build up on our 3 year old machine. Sadly, my husband dropped the spindle (auger) while cleaning it and broke a gasket on the bottom. It is not leaking from the auger. Any idea where to get a replacement gasket? We have tried several from the hardware store.
This is an interesting video and it's great to see how everything comes apart and goes back together. But the manual does say that the screech means the machine just needs to defrost, which it does so automatically. But it is important to take it apart and clean it if you got black slime!
Yes and everyone here did the defrost step. The simple solution that does not work. Once you are past that step and it does not stop the screech. Bookmark me so you can come back.
@@JONSDIY Worked for me! Every once in a while it will squeak again, and then it just defrosts itself. If it happens when we're watching a movie or something, we just turn it off--which I assume would also defrost it? Anyway, that's been my experience.
You can lead a horse to water
Thank you!
John, Thanks for this video. I will give it a try soon. I do have the screeching noise but it also makes a very very loud pounding noise before it stats to screech. Do you have any idea what that might be? Thank you
I did this same repair/maintenance a few months ago. Worked great. Until it started doing it again a few weeks later, so I did it again and was more thorough like you. It went away again. About a months later, it now does it sporadically. I’m about to take it apart again.
Anyone have the noise come back after getting rid of it?
Thank you for this video! Problem solved.
Bought my new one about a month ago after my Generation 1 died and now my 2.0 is already making the squeaking noise. Have done a monthly cleaning, but still making noise. Have to unplug and leave unplugged for about 10 minutes, then plug back in and it goes back to normal. Any suggestions?
This was a great video. Thank you for taking the time. Did you notice better production after doing that thorough cleaning? My ice maker has become really slow making ice.
Lol. YES. but my wife said I was imagining things
You need to blow off the condenser. It's the thing you see through the slots on the left side near the back that has the metal fins like a radiator.
This actually sounds like a solution to the screeching problem. Everyone else is recommending cleaning the water pump, oiling the gear box or fans, etc. But the screech everyone hears from these things is coming from a a high torque part moving slowly and directly reacting to ice.
I can only say that from the comments it sounds like a solution to me
That’s where the noise is coming from on my unit. Pour vinegar down through it since it doesn’t come out with screws like the others. Don’t know how to get into it. I did oil the gear box well.
Guess we will see if that works after sitting for 24 hrs. And a few cleaning cycles.
Mine is making the same noise. Thanks for the guide, will give it a try.
Ours is doing the same thing. Hopefully it works for us! We will let you you!
The screws have rusted to dust on my spindle shield. I've tried to push it off lightly with a flathead screwdriver, but I'm afraid it'll break. It's not budging. I was thinking of spraying WD40 in the holes next. Any ideas for a way to get it off now, please?
Hey! Thanks for this video. Do you know if you can submerge the spindle? Mine is pretty grimy and was thinking it could use a soak? Thanks!
I don’t see why not. Nothing electronic about it and ice is water. Should be fine.
@@JONSDIY I thought so - thank you!
Brand new machine started making this exact noise 1 day later. Turned it off and will be promptly returning. The noise was alarmingly loud! We got to enjoy "Sonic" ice for exactly 1 day!
same at my moms and her new one is doing it now i come on here to see the issue and i am not doing all of this... back to store it goes...
@@rojoselena9903 the guy at Best Buy mentioned it too. He said they were getting a lot of returns of and people were complaining about the same problem. I wish someone would have told me about it before lugging this heavy thing back and forth to the store. What a waste of money time and effort
Great step by step Jon. Quick question. I have two bad sensors that are above the shoot and not telling machine there is water. Would I have to do everything you did to get access to those?
Better question is can you get those replacement parts? But yes to access the sensors on the top the same steps will get you there.
Perfect Jon. Maybe eBay. Waiting to hear from seller. Love the ice maker but should last more than a year. Seems like these are fraught with problems.
John, on the chute there are three small screws on the top of it and then four in the holes, yes? If so, I'm struggling to get them out. Im encountering a lot of black "dust". Any advice? Thanks.
Get some compressed air and blow out the screw tops before you begin. This will clear any debris keeping your screwdriver tip from latching properly.
@@JONSDIYGreat video! I encountered that black dust. Screws are completely rusted out. Only solution I can think of is to carefully drill the heads off to get the cover loose.
My ice maker won’t produce ice. I took it apart and the spindle gets cold and I can see ice frozen inside of it, but it’s not cutting the ice and letting it come out. Any ideas?? Should I try to take the spindle out and see if it needs cleaning? I do have a lot of hard water build up in my machine
Yes, break it down. Cleaning can never hurt.
Thanks!
Wow! Thanks SuzanneMarie.
I’m giving this a try tomorrow. I’ll let you know how it goes
What if mine does not have the 4 bolts to spindle head. Seems to have a special locknut?
Sounds like yours is not the same model as mine.
Hi - I have the same screech on my 8 months since first use GE OPAL, so I will use this video to pull mine apart. Question: in the last day, twice I've heard a very loud knocking sound and the first time it happened I ran in and switched from ice to cleaning to stop the noise which it did. However, the sound returned and the second time I let it run and the knocking lasted about 10 seconds and then stopped. Have you experienced the same thing?
Keith, I have not experienced what you are describing. But if you ever let the water run dry the pump can get an air pocket in it and cause the knocking you are describing.
Follow up to previous comment: Check the two top exit points of the worm-drive; I found both were pinched due to metal fatigue and causing the ice to pinch and squeal/grind. once i removed the pinch points and ground with Dremel the ice is flowing freely.
Great information
Anyone have issue with overheating & no longer making ice? I made sure inlet & exhaust vents are clear (in this video it looks like one side could be blocked by the refrigerator) and I had a service guy come out and he said he couldn’t do anything - GE does not make spare parts for this unit. He thought the compressor might be shot which would really suck for something that isn’t even 2 years old.
No. No issues with over heating. This thing has no issues making ice. Just a random noise that I seem to have fixed.
Ours occasionally stops too. It will be making ice, and we still hear the squeaking noise, the motor is on, but no ice dropping. I haven't figured it out yet. After unplugging it for a day or two, it works well again.
Mine makes a loud noise, almost like a knocking or stutter. Any ideas as of what it could be ?
The auger has reduction gears. If plastic or weak shaft then gear train is broken. Chattering sounds.
Tyvm single has fix stuff myself ❤
I did this but now my ice maker is leaking from the bottom of the metal tube that holds the ice pusher. Any ideas?
Sounds like your resivour tube came loose when putting it back together.
I checked mine out lastnight and the ice is freezing over at the top and causing a loud screeching noise. Would this help?
Yes, you need to do a leaning according to the manual. Water deposits and mold cause the water to cling in place causing freeze build up. I would recommend the standard cleaning to avoid this problem.
I have had 4 of these and they have all done the same thing. I got the warranty at Best Buy and they just give me a new one. You would think they could fix the problem.
Or if they just updated the intake filter they would go longer before the hard water build up gums it up.
My ice maker has stopped producing ice. I get a few cubes at a time and they sometimes melt if I don't get them out right away. Do you have any good ideas?
I would attempt to clean the reservoir. Sounds like you are having a water flow issue. Step through this process and when you get the reservoir out, take it and clean it. See if this helps.
Clean the coils with some compressed air.
@@JONSDIY Mine is really slow making ice. Im going to try this cleaning.
My Opal is making a loud noise running, loud rattly or vibrating sound. No screeching. Any idea what it could be
Yes, you need to clean the small white water reservoir on the inside side of the machine. It is building pressure trying to get water through. That is placing extra strain on the pump. See if you can pull it out and flush it. This should help.
@@JONSDIY thanks
Hi, I can't get the spindle to come out. Do you know why that would be? We got the spindle head out (by removing the bolts) but then the actual spindle part is stuck!
My guess would be that you have an unseen screw not removed. Because once all are removed it slides out pretty easily.
Have the same issue. You ever figure out how to get it out?
I had that issue initially, had to work on it to get it out, but it came out after 5 minutes. Just grabbed a towel to protect my hands and kept trying to loosen.
@@0mariiie yes. I worked on it for a while and then my husband was able to get it out. I told him I just loosened it for him :) he was trying to wiggle/twist/turn it and eventually it came out. Good luck!
I have been trying for hours to get mine out. It won't budge. I have followed all the instructions and don't think there is a screw or anything else blocking it.
Any ideas how to get it loose?
Thanks for making the video. My GE Opal 2.0 machine was making a loud screeching sound. I opened it up and disconnected all of the tubes and cleaned out the mineral build up. I opened the evaporator and removed the spidle and removed mineral deposits from the spindle. I reassembled the entire unit and ran a cleaning cycle then attempted to make ice again. The machine sounds like it is working however no ices comes out only water drips out of the spout for about 10 min then the machine stops. Any ideas?
Hi when u put the spindle back in did it spin freely by hand? Mines seems locked up?😊
sounds like your flush pushed something in the water flow tube and blocked or clogged it. Hard to say but if it was making ice before and now it is not, then something dislodged and clogged a line.
@@nms1508 it does not spin freely by hand but it does spin when "making ice" is activated.
@@JONSDIY All visible lines are patent. And the spindle rotates with water flowing through it when "making ice". It doesn't feel like the chamber that the spindle sits in is getting cold enough to freeze the ice. Is there a repair manual or some way to to test the compressor? Is there a rest function?
@@jpouanestry taking the ice maker apart again. The water pump pumps water to 2 places- the bottom of the auger motor and the white reservoir with the float in it. Run the cleaning cycle with it taken apart and verify water flows out of both locations (the spillway on the white reservoir and the top of the auger motor). My auger motor was clogged internally so I pinched the hose going to the reservoir off and it forced more pressure to the auger motor which unclogged it.
When running in normal operation, when the ice maker is turned on several things will be initiated- the water pump, auger motor, and condenser fan. These will run for exactly 5 minutes and then the condenser will turn on. The condenser will not turn on if the ice bucket is not in the machine (there is a little switch it actuates on the top left corner) and will also not turn on if the sensors that tell if the ice bucket is full of ice is either dirty or something so obstructing the path between the sensors. Make sure those are clean.
There is a cap with a metal clip covering the electrical terminals to the condenser where you can verify that the condenser is getting power after that 5 minute interval. Remove the clip and cap and connect a volt meter to the red and black terminals. After 5 minutes of the ice machine running you should here the compressor turn on and there will be 120 volts across these terminals. If not, my guess would be several different issues- bad switch on the ice bucket, bad or dirty sensors, or a bad control board. There could also be an issue with the float in the white reservoir but not sure exactly how that plays into the logic for the ice maker yet. 6:15
If the machine is running and not producing ice, try cleaning the cooling coils with some compressed air.
@@JONSDIY I wasn’t commenting to the noise issue. There are several comments here about the machine and not making ice. It’s a common problem and blowing out the coils is solution for it.
Thank you! I'll give that a try.
“I also took the rubber bushings and flipped them, so the new side would be facing out”
Me:🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯 wouldn’t even think of that.
Mine is making the same noise, took it apart and can see that the noise comes after the ice can't make it up quick enough and gets stuck causing everything to freeze, will attempt to take apart like you did. Did the noise ever come back?
No not yet. After you take it apart. Take a pick where you thing ice is getting stuck. This sounds intriguing
@JON'S DIY Hello, I'm having the exact same issue as the user above. I took my Opal 2.0 down to the frame for a deep clean and the squeaking came back. I've isolated it to the ice shield area, but it appears my issue is that ice freezes, hits the top of the spindle but doesn't fall, then melts and refreezes causing the worm gear to seize up. I'm at wits end but can send a photo or video if you're interested.
@@IfUOnlyKnew Mine is doing the same did you ever fix it?
@@manuel509rios yep, dumped it right in the trash... I took it down as far as I could... cleaned all the parts, reassembled and it immediately started doing the same thing
I broke one of the four bolts off. There was so much rust in them. I’m gonna try to drill and extract
I would say leave it. The others are enough to complete the seal. Don’t want to mess up the surface if it takes damage.
I have a freezimer. There are no bolts to get to pull the spindle. There are 4 bolts bolting the whole unit down. Anyone know how to pull the spindle out on a Freezimer to clean it?
I can't get mine out either. Did you ever figure it out?
Anybody with their ice maker going right now getting the stereo effect literally hear the same exact noise even though it's a different brand mine is much cheaper like only $120 could buy three for that service call.
Does anyone with the 2.0 have this problem and successfully fixed it? Our spindle isn't like any others we're seeing in videos. It can't be removed as its soldered to multiple parts. Bought December 2022.
I have the same one that you described. I’m also looking for answers. Anyone?? It looks like GE said “hey they’ve learned to fix it themselves, can’t have that!!”
@@sunnysidefarmsdeming I can't get my spindle out either and It's driving me nuts. Anyone figure this out?
Follow the cleaning instructions with vinegar cleaning. Stopped my problem, the same noise that he’s talking about, and that works fine.
1:11
What size socket did you use?
I believe it was a metric 10.
It was
Did everything you said, now it leaks from the upper part to the bottom and out to the counter
Leaks? You might have unlogged the reservoir tube. Make sure its on. not sure where it could possibly be leaking from if that's not it.
This fixed the screech I was hearing and my ice maker was back to normal, but after a week, I started to hear a clicking noise about ~7 min after turning it on. i opened it up again, removed the ice shield, turned it on, and saw that the spindle started to stop-and-go stutter (4-5 clicking noises every time it stopped) after ~7min as it started to cool and make ice. it still makes ice but super slowly and loudly. ice is definitely not clean-shaped looking nuggets either. has anyone else experienced this and can help out? thanks!
I have the same problem. I thought maybe the spindle gear broke, and when ever it came back around it tried to catch on, but only clicked. The ice bin only filled occasionally. I removed the spindle and the gear is fine, but VERY crusty with buildup. My mistake for not using bottled or filtered water. It appears as if the gasket on the bottom of the spindle is missing or completely worn. I am going to have to see if I can find some more videos with more detail.
Should the spindle turn freely?
Yes. but make sure all the screws are out.
@@JONSDIY My spindle is not turning. I saw Ice buildup on the spindle, but it doesn't turn.
Mine just keeps running water in the back. It’s loud with constant water flow any ideas?
Check to see if someone has not flipped the Cleaning switch on.
Very helpful! Apparently the water in my area has excessive lime because even the insides of my hoses were thick like eggshells. Needless to say, my repair isn't going as smoothly as yours 😂
My recommendation would be to use the filtered water from your refrigerator to fill the tank. Lime is a tough one to beat.
Heads up y'all, fyi those outer metal "walls" have edges that are SHARP. When you're getting that basin side-screw, have gloves on. And maybe a sanding block so you can just F-you that edge to do "Future Self" a favor.
that folded corner's edge in particular.
Mine was screeching after a few days of use. Tech on phone said it needed priming. I am returning it to store. Junk.
Mine is doing the same thing!!!
Me too , i see ice built up but no way to come out!!!!
Should clean out the resivour when it’s apart
Mine just started making this stupid noise
Mine started making that noise after 1 day.
Would it not still be under warranty? I would send it back
Really good video but missed the opportunity to clean the res. The top pops off and you would be disgusted if you saw it.
I just finished over an hour of cleaning that thing, I can’t believe I’ve enjoyed ice coming from something that looked like that 🤮
@@arembr01 I think the regular cleaning schedule makes a big difference. When it is open, take the chance to check it. It would be nice if they made them removable and cleanable. That is how they sell more ice makers I guess.
Good grief, GE. Please go slap your engineer that put the common problem in the core of the machine without thinking to add a simple little lubricant tube to the spindle.
Charges half a grand for a product and uses cheap styrofoam as part of the build.
Hey! I am an Opal Ice Maker repairman. Please dont share this video. I depend on these high repair bills as my income. Please, I have cable, how else will I pay the bill?
Ya not gonna happen unfortunately.
@@landonphillips7013 ya I was Joking with that comment. But I'll tell you this. I have 3 of these machines and they have all failed one way or another. I have learned how to completely tear down and figure out a lot of problems. Most of which are caused by calcium build up in all the tubes. (Easy to clean, remove the tubes, and clean with warm water and a long pipe cleaner, like the kind you clean a baby bottle with.) One of my machines ran fine, sounded fine, but produced no ice and it turned out to be a broken gear in the transnission. That machine is now a "parts" machine to fix the other two.
These ice makers are great when they work, but so frustraring to maintain. Tap water, and any kind of "filtered" water will still build up calcium. The only water that is good on the machine is true "distilled" water.
Good luck, hope you can resolve your issues, and enjoy your ice.
Have an ice day! Haha.
Nahhhthis machine is TOO expensive for me to bring out my toolbox and socket wrench… out unit started squeaking after the 2nd month.. and by squeaking it’s more of a 6 year old starting a slow cry… I actually yelled at my older kid to stop picking on his brother..
Very good analogy of the noise. 😂
Dude…this is why I only buy from Costco. Just take it back and get a new one.
LOL
Mine is only 4 mos old. There is no way I am doing all of this for a $500 ice maker.
ok, I'm not GE. Just here to help.