Raritan Ice Maker

Ice maker will not turn on. Makes no noise. All the breakers are on. Unit is 18 months old recessed in a cover cabinet in the cockpit.

It is a model 85 and if it is kaput I would like to put a small refrigerator in the opening.

Any ideas?

Time to pull out your test meter.

Time to pull out the whole thing. I can't get in to test the 110v receptacle without pulling it. Another thing that I thought of was checking all the GFI plugs in case one inside the boat was tripped. The best solution to this is that I find the unit plugged into a tripped GFI inside its cabinet. My luck is not that good, however.

Don't forget to check the water input line if it has one. Our refer ice maker won't do anything when it has no water feed.

My Raritan Icerette is 28 years old and still works fine or it was when I left the boat last fall. Mine is mounted like yours with no access to the outlet and cord without pulling the unit. Mine has a on/off switch at the bottom of the unit maybe it was switched off accidentally, it's a small toggle on the grill under the door. Good luck

I guess calling tech support at Raritan is out of the question??? 800-352-5630

No, calling them has not been out of the question. In fact I did call them Monday but have been traveling and not checking in here. They are nice people and walked me through a series of tests.

To prove it has power I did a TH test first. That is jumping between the T and H access holes to see if the plastic ice ejector turns, what position it stops at and continues to run when you pull the jumper wire. It passed that test which verifies that the unit has power and that the wheel is in alignment. Then I did the LN test and there was power there. These tests prove that the control module is good. It is.

Then I pulled the control module and tested for power between the two bottom contacts in the nylon plug at the lower left side of the exposed area after the control module was removed. Power there too.

Then I reinstalled the control module and tested for power to the compressor...the bottom plug to the neutral plug above. No power there.

He suspects a bad neutral connection and said we could go no further until I pulled the unit out for further tests. He said that the wiring diagram is on the back of the cabinet and to check all neutrals.

I left town yesterday for a two week trip so this will have to wait.

The Raritan tech was very profession and always warned me to unplug the dock power at the appropriate times since we were dealing with live 110v.

Did you ever check to see if you had water in the ice tray? On mine if it does not have water in the ice tray it will not run. It has a switch to tell it if it has water. I just took a small cup and added water and I heard the compressor kick on and started working. Does not make sense to me but that is the design of mine. I saw in this post someone else mentioned this also. So I did fix my water source problem. Air in the line going to the unit as a result of shutting off the water. When I turned it on it had an air trap.

Roger, thanks

In the TH test the tray filled with water.

BTW, I am in your neighborhood this morning. Cold in Pensacola.

who needs ice today!

I had it diagnosed for $90. It will cost $200 for the part plus another $100 to do the work. So I will have $400 in something that I use to make ice for the beer and coke cooler in the cockpit. It needs a new ice mold assembly because it is causing an open neutral which will not allow the compressor or fan to run. The control module is fine.

This is a built in model 85 Raritan Icer ette.

What will fit the cut out hole? I use a freezer or another refrigerator more than an ice maker. I could also have a door made and have a nice storage locker.

Ideas?

seasalt007 said:

What will fit the cut out hole? I use a freezer or another refrigerator more than an ice maker. I could also have a door made and have a nice storage locker.

Click to expand...

We took our ice maker out and using the space for storage. Ice makers in general seem to be expensive and unreliable.

Today there are zillion "portable"/countertop icemakers that actually work very well and make ice a lot faster than the pricey built-ins...for prices under $200. Here's a good sample of what Amazon has: http://www.amazon.com/b?node=2399939011 Home Depot, Lowes and Best Buy also sell 'em.

So if it were my boat, I'd pull out the 30 yr old Raritan (geeze, everything has a finite lifespan and 30 yrs is a pretty good run!) and replace it with a small fridge or turn space into a cabinet that would prob'ly be a good place to store the portable.

I'm with Peggie, go to best buy and get a under counter model for a lot less than ( marine) type units. Changed one for a friend for under $300.00 including beer.

Mine is 18 months old, not 30 years old. I am thinking about fixing it because it is too new to toss.

Sorry...when you said it was a model 85 Raritan Icer ette, I thought 85 referred to it's model YEAR, not just the model. 18 months IS a bit premature to give up on it.

Fwiw, the working innards of almost all under-counter icemakers are interchangeable. The Raritan models used to be identical to U-line, who makes the same one for household use...don't know if they still are. Before I'd pay "marine" prices, I'd make a phone call or two to local household refrigerator/freezer repair shops to see if you can get what you need for less. You'll save a bundle if you can install it yourself, 'cuz labor is where those folks make their money.

Thanks, Peggy.

According to the tech getting it fixed involves changing the mold assembly which requires purging the system of gas to change it. Then adding the saved gas back in. Over my pay grade.

Even more interesting to me is that the PO apparently fibbed to me about it being new when I bought the boat last summer. Apparently the ones built after 2007 do not require the gas to be purged for this repair.

I am still leaning towards fixing it regardless.

He may not have lied...I see all kinds of "new in box" marine stuff on ebay that is still in its unopened box, but that box has been sitting on the shelf for sometimes as long as 20 years.

The typical scenario: the original purchaser never got around to installing something...his heirs find it while getting ready for the estate sale, don't have a clue what it is...so they google it and then offer it for sale using the 'net boilerplate as their description. A new boat owner who doesn't know any more about it than they do grabs a bargain. That may be what your PO did...it would explain the kind of failure you've experienced after only a short time in use.

At least the seller can't destroy an icemaker by "bench testing" it to find out if the motor(s) still run...but running a Lectra/San dry does huge damage to it. I can't count the number of people over the years who've come to me for help with a L/S they bought on ebay or a marine flea market.

Who told what it would take to fix it--Raritan, or a a local fridge/freezer tech who told you what it would take to fix it?

The PO made a big deal of saying he got it from Defender and although expensive they were the best deal. Me thinks fib. About an hour ago a guy told me to look inside the cabinet for the sticker which has date of manufacture. I just got back from the boat and if I read it correctly it was made in April 2006.

It was a local tech that is known to Raritan, has Raritan listed on his business card and was recommended by some of my fellow boat club members as having fixed their Raritans. Short of taking it off the boat and driving it to Ft. Lauderdale it was the best that I could do.

Most fridge/freezer shops make house calls to give estimates...'cuz it's kinda hard for a homeowner to take a 26' side-by-side or even an installed undercounter icemaker to them.

I tried to get a appliance dealer come about 2 miles and check out my Raritan ice maker, he told me they don't work on boats. A boater friend at the marina fixed it for free, just a adjustment.

"I tried to get a appliance dealer come about 2 miles and check out my Raritan ice maker, he told me they don't work on boats."

I'm not surprised...you called a DEALER. Dealers make their money SELLING appliances, they don't work on them. They'll only do warranty work, and they contract that out to a REPAIR/SERVICE business who's "factory authorized" (translation: "gets paid") to work on that/those brand(s). So of course they're not gonna send anyone to a boat to look at an out-of warranty icemaker they don't even sell!

But this time you got lucky...it was a minor problem that a dockmate knew how to fix for nothing.

Next time any of you need a repair on an appliance that can "cross over" to home appliances, look in your yellow pages for "appliance REPAIR" companies (NOT dealers!!!!) ....they work on appliances that are OUT of warranty. They WILL work on appliances on boats...and anywhere else too...as long the appliance is a brand name they recognize and can get parts for. The honest ones will tell you if it's not cost effective to repair it.

(Whizzit that women know this stuff and men never do?)

seasalt007 said:

The PO made a big deal of saying he got it from Defender and although expensive they were the best deal. Me thinks fib. About an hour ago a guy told me to look inside the cabinet for the sticker which has date of manufacture. I just got back from the boat and if I read it correctly it was made in April 2006.

It was a local tech that is known to Raritan, has Raritan listed on his business card and was recommended by some of my fellow boat club members as having fixed their Raritans. Short of taking it off the boat and driving it to Ft. Lauderdale it was the best that I could do.

Click to expand...

Did you ever get this fixed ?? I got one to work on next week with a dead compressor, just curious, wish I was closer, I am turning into a refrigeration junkie as a hobby

Yes, I got it fixed. It needed a new ice cuber and a thermostat. $390.00 more added to the $90 that I paid to have it diagnosed.

No choice really as nothing else will neatly fit in the cabinet.