@@Sweetescapeteam 120mm x120mm x 25mm 2-Pin High 12volt from KEYFANCLUB it says computer fan, but I've found it works fine its on amazon it should be 14 dollars make sure its 2 pin not 3.
I really appreciate the video! My ice maker was on the Fritz for a few months. I had watched numerous videos to try to get to the root of the problem. I did a deep cleaning thinking that a sensor somewhere was dirty. I kept unplugging it for a few hours and it would make ice for a couple of hours then shut off. I was two steps from trashing it and decided to look for more videos to try and resolve the issue and I came across your video. I changed the fan with one I got on Amazon for $12.00. After changing the fan and 15 minutes from starting it back up, it was making ice like it was new! Thanks so much for the great video and instructions!
Mine is doing the same I I notice the fan stopped working when i opened it my last hope is to replace the fan so I can have my ice machine back again. Wish me luck 😅
I just wanted to say thanks for this video! I was about ready to throw our machine out (after only having it about 2 years) and would probably never have attempted a home repair if I didn't see such a specific recommendation on what was the likely problem and such a detailed explanation on how to fix it. I did have to end up getting a low profile ratchet screwdriver set to get the screws out/back in, but it all worked like a charm and now it's making ice again. Thanks again!
Not Always an Over Heating Problem! for anyone reading this who has tried the fan, tried cleaning, tried descaling, vacuuming, etc... these things did not fix my opal. The one place I had not looked was the two tiny sensors up in the ice chute that tell the machine when to stop making ice because the bin is full. If you have not cleaned those, they may have hard water deposits or other gunk on them making the ice maker think it's full of ice. I took a tooth brush and water and just lightly scrubbed them, and suddenly the ice maker is working again. We are pretty good about cleaning the machine regularly, and have a whole home softener and filter, and I was going crazy because most forums and youtube videos i could find only talked about cleaning out the hoses, getting the dust off the vents, making sure the fan is working properly. I was doing all of this for days. Please learn from my mistakes! check the sensors too! It may be a combination of all of this, but don't forget to check the sensors! they're like the sensors for a garage door that look across to see if the ice is full in the machine, and if they get blocked at all, it will stop making ice.
Great video, I am on my 3rd opal, 2 of the 1st gen/now have GE. If I had seen this I could have fixed those others I'm sure of it. Don't be embarrassed by the dust, I live in Texas, I totally understand the dust issue. I appreciate that you took the time to help the rest of us.
Thanks for your video, before purchasing replacement fan, I set a small fan on the left side of the maker just to see if the maker would make ice and sure enough it worked like it should….so now I’m off to purchase a replacement fan. Thanks again!!!!
Man you are a life savor, just picked one up for 10 dollars the guy didn't know why it wouldn't make ice, did a complete flush of the reservoir made sure there was no clogs, noticed there was a few ice droplets coming in to the tank and felt where the intake fan was and it was super hot so figured their was some sort of issue with cooling, naturally a computer works the same so I figured this was a fix for the overheating issue, but being able to see the internal components makes and validates the fix a whole a lot more!
@@pualmorrisPaul, I have a question. Normally the unit is cool on the left side and warm on the right side when running; however, my husband followed your video (or so he says😂) but now the unit is really warm on the left side and cool on the right side; is this how it should be??? At least it’s functioning once again. Thanks
Thanks for the tutorial. This got my machine up and running but the ice production isn't as good as with the old fan. The original fan uses 0.36A and the one from this video is 0.18A. I think finding a more comparable fan in power will fix it like new.
I have the 2.0 version of the ice maker and I'm getting the problem with the unit constantly cycling between making ice and defrosting. Is that a symptom of the fan failure? I already opened it up and cleaned the fins but I didn't think to check the fan while it was open.
@annamiranda7861 The fan was running. I came to the conclusion that it most likely lost coolant ("freon" but not really.) I don't know how to fix that myself and figured the repair would cost more than a new unit, so I just replaced it. The new one has run a lot longer with no problems (so far).
Once installing the new fan, is the unit suppose to be really warm on the left side and cool on the right side?? Fan was installed with the label on the fan facing inward. Does it matter which way the fan is installed? Originally the unit was cool on the left side and warm on the right side.
@@pualmorris I just cleaned all my tubes and omg they were gross. I have them all clean and no one has a diagram anywhere on how to reassemble. I'm stuck trying to watch this and other videos backwards and match parts. I'd kill for a diagram
Our Opal is making a loud clicking noise when it is making ice only. It doesn’t make the loud clicking noise while in the cleaning mode. It sounds like it is coming from the left side. Could this also be the fan?
Have you thought about using zip ties instead of reinstalling the fan screws? It would make it easier to remove if you ever have to replace the fan again. I've done this for other difficult to get to screws.
One tip i'd add is to flip the fan around so its blowing the hot air of the heat exchanger out not sucking cool air in. It makes no since why they mounded the fan that way it blows all of the hot air into the case causing everything inside to heat up.
My first attempt to fix this worked fine and lasted for months so in my eyes if it works there is no need to try to disassemble further and with the amount of dust, we get cleaning out the nooks and crannies doesn't make much sense.
At 13:13, you remove the fan and reinstall the new unit at 15:05. From the label on the fan, it looks like you installed the new fan with the air blowing in the wrong direction. You never even mentioned fan direction in the video.
Actually he cut the video for editing purposes (my guess.) and place the fan wrong when filmed again, if you see before that the logo of the fan was pointing inside the machine 9:33 as you can see here.
I found your video helpful in knowing how to disassemble. My fan won't work because the main control board has no voltage output to the fan. I have years of experience and I could repair the board to the component level, but there is no schematic for it anywhere that I can find. But neither did the fan have any continuity when measuring the resistance of the windings. Confusing. Should have been 33 ohms. (12v/0.36A) There could be a directional diode built into it because the windings do check like a diode. HINT: Using a 9V battery to test the fan works fine. QUESTION: Do you have a main PC board for sale? My model is OPAL01GEP0KT. I really don't want to scrap the icemaker. Please let me know in the comments. I will pay you in advance of shipping the board if you have one. THANKS, Doug
HEADS UP! I have confirmed that the fan motor has a reverse polarity protection diode. The resistance of the motor coil cannot be measured with and ohm meter as an indication of a good or bad motor. Also when testing with a 9 volt battery, the motor will run only with the battery hooked up with the correct polarity. It will not run with reversed polarity. Unlike most 2 wire DC motors which simply run it the opposite direction. HEADS UP..
I contacted GE for repair parts and schematic. They told me they do not sell repair parts or service manuals for the ice maker. Only accessories. The told me bluntly to just replace the failed unit.
I had two similar units fail within a week of being turned on. The third unit works great - air is blowing OUT of it instead if being drawn in. So, poor quality control at the plant in China. BTW they just had me toss the units that were defective
how did you know that this was the issue exactly? Was it just troubleshooting? Because my ice isn't forming in my machine and I’m trying to open it up but the last screw is stuck in there and it won’t loosen. I think it might be stripped.
ours stopped producing ice so I felt around the fan area and noticed it didn't have great air flow and that's how I identified the issue you should be able to feel warm air coming out.
where did ou get the fan
It's just a 120mm Fan DC 12V Computer Fan 120mm x120mm x 25mm 2-Pin High Performance Cooling Fan this is the one I used.
a.co/d/1qJG4kh
Thanks Paul
Which one in particular? I’m
Trying myself I did everything and it worked a few days
@@Sweetescapeteam 120mm x120mm x 25mm 2-Pin High 12volt from KEYFANCLUB it says computer fan, but I've found it works fine its on amazon it should be 14 dollars make sure its 2 pin not 3.
Just fixed my machine by following the instructions in this video. Thank you so much!!!
Glad I could help!
I really appreciate the video! My ice maker was on the Fritz for a few months. I had watched numerous videos to try to get to the root of the problem. I did a deep cleaning thinking that a sensor somewhere was dirty. I kept unplugging it for a few hours and it would make ice for a couple of hours then shut off. I was two steps from trashing it and decided to look for more videos to try and resolve the issue and I came across your video. I changed the fan with one I got on Amazon for $12.00. After changing the fan and 15 minutes from starting it back up, it was making ice like it was new! Thanks so much for the great video and instructions!
Glad I could help!
Mine is doing the same I I notice the fan stopped working when i opened it my last hope is to replace the fan so I can have my ice machine back again. Wish me luck 😅
This worked! Replaced the fan, vacuumed out the dust and it works again. Thank you!
Thanks for this video Paul. I swapped out my fan using your instructions and my ice maker works great now.
I just wanted to say thanks for this video! I was about ready to throw our machine out (after only having it about 2 years) and would probably never have attempted a home repair if I didn't see such a specific recommendation on what was the likely problem and such a detailed explanation on how to fix it. I did have to end up getting a low profile ratchet screwdriver set to get the screws out/back in, but it all worked like a charm and now it's making ice again. Thanks again!
Not Always an Over Heating Problem! for anyone reading this who has tried the fan, tried cleaning, tried descaling, vacuuming, etc... these things did not fix my opal. The one place I had not looked was the two tiny sensors up in the ice chute that tell the machine when to stop making ice because the bin is full. If you have not cleaned those, they may have hard water deposits or other gunk on them making the ice maker think it's full of ice. I took a tooth brush and water and just lightly scrubbed them, and suddenly the ice maker is working again.
We are pretty good about cleaning the machine regularly, and have a whole home softener and filter, and I was going crazy because most forums and youtube videos i could find only talked about cleaning out the hoses, getting the dust off the vents, making sure the fan is working properly. I was doing all of this for days. Please learn from my mistakes! check the sensors too!
It may be a combination of all of this, but don't forget to check the sensors! they're like the sensors for a garage door that look across to see if the ice is full in the machine, and if they get blocked at all, it will stop making ice.
i think my fan i toast as its not spinning but i feel i might try this before buying a fan.
Thank you! This fixed our machine, too, using the same $12 fan from Amazon. It’s finally making ice again 🙏
Great video, I am on my 3rd opal, 2 of the 1st gen/now have GE. If I had seen this I could have fixed those others I'm sure of it. Don't be embarrassed by the dust, I live in Texas, I totally understand the dust issue. I appreciate that you took the time to help the rest of us.
Thanks for your video, before purchasing replacement fan, I set a small fan on the left side of the maker just to see if the maker would make ice and sure enough it worked like it should….so now I’m off to purchase a replacement fan. Thanks again!!!!
I’m in the process of doing the same thing. So far so good!
Man you are a life savor, just picked one up for 10 dollars the guy didn't know why it wouldn't make ice, did a complete flush of the reservoir made sure there was no clogs, noticed there was a few ice droplets coming in to the tank and felt where the intake fan was and it was super hot so figured their was some sort of issue with cooling, naturally a computer works the same so I figured this was a fix for the overheating issue, but being able to see the internal components makes and validates the fix a whole a lot more!
Glad I could help!
@@pualmorrisPaul, I have a question. Normally the unit is cool on the left side and warm on the right side when running; however, my husband followed your video (or so he says😂) but now the unit is really warm on the left side and cool on the right side; is this how it should be??? At least it’s functioning once again. Thanks
Thanks for the tutorial. This got my machine up and running but the ice production isn't as good as with the old fan. The original fan uses 0.36A and the one from this video is 0.18A. I think finding a more comparable fan in power will fix it like new.
That was my problem! A $12 fan fixed it, thank you so much for the help!
Glad it helped!
Thanks for making this video!
I have the 2.0 version of the ice maker and I'm getting the problem with the unit constantly cycling between making ice and defrosting. Is that a symptom of the fan failure? I already opened it up and cleaned the fins but I didn't think to check the fan while it was open.
I Have the same issue, did you try this? Did it work?
@annamiranda7861 The fan was running. I came to the conclusion that it most likely lost coolant ("freon" but not really.) I don't know how to fix that myself and figured the repair would cost more than a new unit, so I just replaced it. The new one has run a lot longer with no problems (so far).
Is there any reason why you couldn’t put the screws on the fan on the outside (vs inside) to make it easier to replace in the future?
Has anyone filmed where to put the hoses back after you deep clean them all?
Once installing the new fan, is the unit suppose to be really warm on the left side and cool on the right side?? Fan was installed with the label on the fan facing inward. Does it matter which way the fan is installed? Originally the unit was cool on the left side and warm on the right side.
Can you put a link to the fans from Amazon?
Hi Paul, do you have a video for cleaning the tubing inside? I pulled it apart and now I don't know how to put it back together again
Sorry I don’t have a video I haven’t had to clean any tubing before. out of curiosity do you mean the water tubing or the copper tubing?
@@pualmorris I just cleaned all my tubes and omg they were gross. I have them all clean and no one has a diagram anywhere on how to reassemble. I'm stuck trying to watch this and other videos backwards and match parts. I'd kill for a diagram
How can I get the indicator circle lights to work, my unit stop working. Thx in advance BA
Our Opal is making a loud clicking noise when it is making ice only. It doesn’t make the loud clicking noise while in the cleaning mode. It sounds like it is coming from the left side. Could this also be the fan?
Yes. If the bearings on the fan are beginning to fail, you will hear a clicking sound like you describe.
Great video. Just what I need to know to fix my Opal. My question is where did you get the fans you are installing in this unit?
a.co/d/1qJG4kh
I got mine from amazon here is the link.
How do you know which fan to buy on Amazon?
My add water light won’t go off. It cycles water but won’t make ice grr.
Have you thought about using zip ties instead of reinstalling the fan screws? It would make it easier to remove if you ever have to replace the fan again. I've done this for other difficult to get to screws.
Would it be better if the fan was blowing out instead of sucking air through?
Needs to blow in to cool the compressor.
One tip i'd add is to flip the fan around so its blowing the hot air of the heat exchanger out not sucking cool air in. It makes no since why they mounded the fan that way it blows all of the hot air into the case causing everything inside to heat up.
It blow in. That's why the dirt is on the outside of the condenser coil.
Easier to clean the fan filter when blowing in and the dirt remains on the outside of the fan.
While in there why did you not try to clean any of the other reservoirs?
My first attempt to fix this worked fine and lasted for months so in my eyes if it works there is no need to try to disassemble further and with the amount of dust, we get cleaning out the nooks and crannies doesn't make much sense.
Was the right side (opposite side of the fan) getting hot as well? Great video, thank you!
Yes, the whole area around the back of the machine gets warm from the compressor.
At 13:13, you remove the fan and reinstall the new unit at 15:05. From the label on the fan, it looks like you installed the new fan with the air blowing in the wrong direction. You never even mentioned fan direction in the video.
You are correct what is the correct direction of the fan?
Actually he cut the video for editing purposes (my guess.) and place the fan wrong when filmed again, if you see before that the logo of the fan was pointing inside the machine 9:33 as you can see here.
@@KT-bf8wc 9:33 you can see the logo is pointing towards the inside of the machine.
You want the fan blowing out. The metal fins are hot, so you don't want to blow that heat back into the unit.
I found your video helpful in knowing how to disassemble. My fan won't work because the main control board has no voltage output to the fan. I have years of experience and I could repair the board to the component level, but there is no schematic for it anywhere that I can find. But neither did the fan have any continuity when measuring the resistance of the windings. Confusing. Should have been 33 ohms. (12v/0.36A) There could be a directional diode built into it because the windings do check like a diode. HINT: Using a 9V battery to test the fan works fine. QUESTION: Do you have a main PC board for sale? My model is OPAL01GEP0KT. I really don't want to scrap the icemaker. Please let me know in the comments. I will pay you in advance of shipping the board if you have one. THANKS, Doug
HEADS UP! I have confirmed that the fan motor has a reverse polarity protection diode. The resistance of the motor coil cannot be measured with and ohm meter as an indication of a good or bad motor. Also when testing with a 9 volt battery, the motor will run only with the battery hooked up with the correct polarity. It will not run with reversed polarity. Unlike most 2 wire DC motors which simply run it the opposite direction. HEADS UP..
I found a main control board from a freight damaged unit on EBay. The seller has one more.
Can you share link for the fan you found on Amazon?
There should be a link in the pinned comment
My fan seems to be working, do you still need to replace?
If your fan seems to be running strong and moving air well, you probably don't need to replace it.
What is model number on the fan? Does it run on 5V or 12V?
12V I don't know about model numbers but here is the link.
a.co/d/1qJG4kh
Would this fix my ice maker? Let me try and get back to you after the video.
i have a opal01b that is dead will not power up cannot find a wiring diagram no tech support if anybody can help me it would be appreciated
I contacted GE for repair parts and schematic. They told me they do not sell repair parts or service manuals for the ice maker. Only accessories. The told me bluntly to just replace the failed unit.
I had two similar units fail within a week of being turned on. The third unit works great - air is blowing OUT of it instead if being drawn in. So, poor quality control at the plant in China. BTW they just had me toss the units that were defective
how did you know that this was the issue exactly? Was it just troubleshooting? Because my ice isn't forming in my machine and I’m trying to open it up but the last screw is stuck in there and it won’t loosen. I think it might be stripped.
ours stopped producing ice so I felt around the fan area and noticed it didn't have great air flow and that's how I identified the issue you should be able to feel warm air coming out.
Thank you!
i got the external tank for mine.. and added in the filters :)
👍🏻
Tried this unfortunately it didn’t work 😢
Air should be sucking into the unit.
I like how starts the drill before setting the drill onto the screw…. 👌🏽 perfect for stripping the screws 👍🏽🤦🏻♂️