Thermador Refrigerator Ice Dispenser Not Working
On a Thermador T18ID80NLP/37 in Irvine, the ice dispenser stopped putting out ice for two separate reasons: the flap in the door that opens during a dispense had failed, and the motor that pushes the ice out had failed. Replacing the flap (part 00701074), the flap motor assembly, and the ice maker solenoid valve brought it back.
What did the customer describe?
Ice stopped coming out of the dispenser. The dispenser itself had quit delivering, which is how these calls usually come in: the fridge is running, and the one thing that has changed is that no ice arrives when you ask for it.
What causes a Thermador refrigerator ice dispenser not working?
On this style of door dispenser there are a small number of parts in the ice path, and any one of them stops delivery on its own.
The dispenser flap. This is the hinged cover in the door that opens when ice is dispensed and closes the chute the rest of the time. It takes a beating because it moves every time someone gets ice, and when it fails the ice has nowhere to come out.
The eject motor behind the flap. Inside the door assembly is the motor that drives the ice out of the chute. If that motor is dead, the ice maker can be full and the dispenser will still do nothing.
The ice maker solenoid valve. This is part of the ice supply side rather than the delivery side, and it is a part I replace on this job as well.
What it turned out to be on this job
Both of the first two. The flap in the door had failed, and so had the motor that ejects the ice, so the dispenser had two independent reasons not to work. I replaced the flap, part number 00701074, along with the flap motor assembly and the ice maker solenoid valve.
To get at the flap and the motor I had to pull the refrigerator’s interior paneling off. Those parts sit behind the panel, not behind a snap-off trim piece, so the panel comes off before anything else happens.
What can you check yourself?
Start with the ice bin. Pull it out and see whether there is actually ice in it. If the bin is empty, the problem is upstream in the ice maker, not in the dispenser, and that points the diagnosis in a different direction before anyone opens up a door.
Then look at the flap while someone presses for ice. If it does not move at all, or it sits open and will not close, you have narrowed it to the flap and its motor. That is as far as I would go at home. The door assembly on these carries wiring behind the panel, and removing that panel to test parts is work for a technician.
FAQ
Why does my ice maker make ice but nothing comes out of the dispenser?
Because making ice and delivering ice are two different systems. The ice maker fills, freezes and drops cubes into the bin on its own cycle. Getting those cubes through the door takes the eject motor and the flap working together. When the delivery side fails, the bin keeps filling and may even overfill, while the dispenser stays silent or hums without producing anything.
Can I keep using the refrigerator with a broken dispenser flap?
Yes, the cooling system is unrelated to the dispenser and keeps running normally. The thing to watch is the flap’s second job: it seals the ice chute when the dispenser is idle. A flap stuck open leaves an opening between the room and the ice compartment, which lets cubes clump together in the bin. You can still take ice straight out of the bin by hand.
Do dispenser flaps and motors have to be replaced together?
Not always, but they often go as a pair because they work as one mechanism. On this Thermador both had failed, so the flap and the flap motor assembly went in together. Flap part numbers are model specific, and 00701074 is the one that fits this unit. Check the model number on the tag inside the fresh food compartment before ordering anything.
Need ice again?
If your Thermador refrigerator ice dispenser is not working in Irvine or nearby, we handle the diagnosis and the parts on the same visit. Call and have your model number ready.
