[cfidad]

My GE GSL25JFPH BS is a side by side with freezer door water & ice dispenser. Out of the blue, the water dispenser stopped putting out any water. It was showing no signs of dispensing slowly or any other problems prior to its not working. The ice dispenser continues to work perfectly.

The water line is always run through a filter before it reaches the fridge. I have already replaced the dual water valve. As a matter of fact, I can disconnect the water line just inches before it goes up into the freezer door and get water to dispense (into a container) when pressing the dispense mechanism. This verifies the entire system is working properly until it reaches the freezer door. I can't imagine that an instant clog large enough could make it through the filter. I tried to force compressed air through the water line (both ends) in question and witnessed no movement.

I checked diagrams of the freezer door on the GE website and it only shows the water line under the door & where it connects, but no water line shown in the door. It also does not show the little white elbow tube where the water comes out in the diagram, nor does it show any other parts that could interrupt the flow of waterI took the dispenser part of the door off and could not access any additional portions of the water line - nor could I make visual contact with additional water line. It appears the only way to get inside the door would be to peel the inner plastic and/or outer metal - both of which appear to be sealed with the inner foam insulation.

I figure there might be a frozen portion of the line, but not likely since water has never come through near freezing temp. I'm stuck. Any theories/help is most appreciated. Thank you in advance.

[cfidad]

Anyone . . . Bueller?

[woodchuck]

It probably is frozen in the door. It's a fairly common problem. Don't know why it happens when it's never happened before. You can thaw it with a hair dryer blowing at the tube on the dispenser end. Raising the temp of the freezer slightly may prevent it from happening again.

[cfidad]

Although I mentioned the possibility of a frozen portion of the line, it wasn't until I was validated by your suspicion that a solution occured to me. Since others may look to this forum for answers, I'll post what I did.

Looking for a flexible, yet firm enough tube, I found the thin plastic tube hooked to a hair spray pump. Then, I wrapped masking tape around the end I was to put onto my mouth. The tube easily went back into the dispenser tube 4 inches where I marked it with a pen. Since I had no other way to pump water through the straw, I filled my mouth with warm water and blew it through the straw and into the tube. The excess water exits back down the straw, so have something to catch it. After 2 mouthfuls, the straw was able to extend into the tube an additional inch. It took about 8 mouthfuls to melt through approximately 3-4 inches of frozen water line.

My theory as to what caused the freezing is simple. The ice chute and water dispenser share the same area. The small circular door that opens to allow ice to flow can get stuck open due to jammed ice in the ice door opening. If the ice door were to be jammed open for several hours, say overnight, the cold freezer air will flow onto the dispenser tube and freeze the line.

Thanks to WoodChuck & this forum for helping me save $$$ on a service call.

[EvanKon]

I think I am having a similiar problem, however I am having trouble understanding where you found this hose? Does the end of the hose where you introduced warm water connect directly to the water dispensing valve on the door? How did you get the unit easily out of the door?
Thanks.

[cfidad]

If I understand your question correctly, this should answer it. If you have a frozen line, it just needs to be thawed. You can leave the freezer off as long as it takes to reach warm temp, you can use a hair dryer, use my technique, or come up with a better way on your own.

I'm not sure how your frig dispenser is designed, but mine has a small quarter inch white tube with a 90 degree bend where the water comes out. The opening is a narrower eighth inch wide. Try to find where the water should be coming out and estimate the size of the opening. Then find a smaller tube that can flex it's way through the bends in the dispenser tube by sliding it into the opening, not by connecting. I don't think a drinking straw or coffee stirrer could handle much bending without kinking up and blocking your flow of warm water you wish to introduce. You might be able to find such a tube at a craft store, auto parts store, etc. I'm a cheapskate so I used the thin tube that is commonly found attached to the kind of sprayers you manually pump with your finger (like hair sprays). The down side is that you'll introduce the tiniest amount of residual hair spray and impurities from your mouth into your dispenser line (which you can later rinse out with bleach OR peroxide OR alcohol - NOT WITH YOUR MOUTH). The benefit was not having to search the town for the right tube. The hair spray tube worked perfectly by flexing its way down the dispenser without kinking and deep enough to feel the frozen blockage. If you get a long enough tube, you can feel the blockage. If after going deep and finding no obstruction, your problem lies elsewhere. If you do feel the straw being stopped, that's the frozen portion & you may want to mark on your straw to show how deep it went. Now, the taste of hair spray is awful, so you may want to wrap tape around where your lips will touch. Next, fill your mouth with warm water and gently blow it into your straw. The warm water quickly starts to melt the ice. However, it doesn't melt instantly, so excess water will run back out the dispenser while you're pushing in the warm water - so get a cup or towel ready. The amount of frozen water will determine how much warm water you have to introduce to free the blockage. Once cleared, test for normal water dispenser operation. Consider rinsing the line with some aforementioned chemical to clean the bacteria you may have introduced. Then, run the water for a couple minutes to rinse out residual cleaning chemicals. Obviously, you wouldn't see a service guy using his mouth with this technique. But if he had a small simple pump and a clean straw, that would keep it all sanitary. For us, the entire process took 10-15 minutes once we came up with the idea and found the needed supplies.

"I am having trouble understanding where you found this hose? "
Get a manual PUMP bottle of hair spray (not the kind under pressure where you only press the top)& unscrew the top. The little hose is connected to this lid. I have also seen these tiny straws taped to the side of a NEW can of WD-40, which might be better since the new straw is clean and you can use the WD-40 around the house.

"Does the end of the hose where you introduced warm water connect directly to the water dispensing valve on the door?"
No connection, the smaller straw should slide easily into the dispenser opening - perhaps even deep enough to reach the frozen blockage.

"How did you get the unit easily out of the door?"
That was the beauty of it - no disassembly at all. We took nothing apart. The straw does the work of delivering the water to the frozen portion. However, the shorter the straw, the closer you'll have to get your face up to the freezer door. Once finished, the straw slides out even easier than before.


I'm curious to hear how your situation turned out. If you have a moment, give us a quick reply once you try it.

Enjoy.

[dtr]

thank you
I was having the problem with the water line.
My husband thought I was crazy when he walked into the kitchen and found me blowing hot water into the frig. But it worked we now can get water. thanks again

[rjones3]

Originally Posted by woodchuck

It probably is frozen in the door. It's a fairly common problem. Don't know why it happens when it's never happened before. You can thaw it with a hair dryer blowing at the tube on the dispenser end. Raising the temp of the freezer slightly may prevent it from happening again.

Worked great thanks.

Only issue I had was in beginning I had no water at disconnect at bottom of door.

Checked and I had water at output of valve. With door disconnected blew on line at valve end and I could hear a little water and air coming out door end. Reconnected , pressed dispenser and waited quite a while for the water to refill the line to the door.

Then I heated door just above dispenser, in a pretty short time I saw water dripping out of dispenser.
Reconected line at bottom of door, Yeah!

Thanks woodchuck

[sirzappa]

cfidad and woodchuck, thanks for the genius idea!

I had also tracked it down to being a frozen water line. The problem was that I didn't know where it would be.
This advice has saved me a lot of time in tracking it down. Your theory about why it happens is probably correct. One of my kids gets ice and water every night before bed. If this is why it happened, it may be by luck that it hasn't happened before now.
We have had this fridge for 5.5 years and it just started last month. It went away in about three days on its own. Last week it started again. Broke out the meter and went to work. All electrical checked out so I figured it was a frozen line somewhere.

I ended up using a piece of fairly stiff heat shrink tubing about 3/16" diameter and the mouth to force the water method. I got a friendly "what are you doing" from the wife. I had been keeping her in the loop this evening with the repair so she wasn't too shocked. I just relieved that it worked.

I will be keeping that piece of shrink wrap tubing close to the fridge in the future. If it happens again, I will look for something a little easier to work with like a squeeze bulb or something.

This is my first post so I will have to say good forum and good members!

[bridgeman65]

We had the same problem. Started about a week ago and I hadn't time to look at it. I was dreading having to circuit test and find parts. Glad I took the time to check here. 5 minutes and we're in business.

Thanks again.