A silent Kenmore ice maker sends owners hunting for "Kenmore ice maker" advice — which is exactly the wrong search, because there's no such machine. Check the model sticker: 106. means Whirlpool built it, 795. means LG, 253. means Frigidaire, and each lineage quits in its own signature ways. Match your prefix and skip the generic guessing.
106-prefix (Whirlpool inside)
The classic modular ice maker with the classic failure set: a frozen fill tube (maker cycles an empty mold forever — the #1 finding), a tired solenoid on the dual inlet valve, an overdue filter shrinking the cubes, and on in-door-ice side-by-sides of a certain age, the infrared bin optics convincing the maker the bin is eternally full — readable via the well-known status-light blink code. Whirlpool's test points make this the most diagnosable ice maker in the business.
795-prefix (LG inside)
These Kenmore Elites use LG's in-door ice architecture, so the LG failure set applies: the ice-room seal leaking humid air until the compartment glaciates (frosted mechanism, welded cubes, groaning auger), the frozen fill tube, and flow starvation from an overdue filter or marginal house pressure. One more 795-specific note: because ice production is a thermometer in disguise, a slowly failing linear compressor on these often announces itself as "the ice maker got lazy" months before the fridge itself feels warm. Tapering ice on a 795 earns a full cooling check, not just an ice-maker part.
253-prefix (Frigidaire inside)
Frigidaire's makers — including the paddle/flex-tray styles on many models — fail toward the fill valve and mold thermostat, with frozen fill tubes as the shared family curse. Garage-unit 253s add the seasonal pattern: ice quits in summer heat and resurrects in fall, which is a compartment-temperature story rather than a broken part.
The pre-checks that embarrass everyone (us included)
Feeler arm down or switch bumped OFF; bin not fully seated (parks the whole mechanism); freezer drifting above ~5°F (the maker only cycles at harvest temperature — thermometer before tools); and the saddle valve on the house line quietly half-closed since the kitchen was painted. Two minutes on these saves a service call surprisingly often — we'd rather tell you that than bill you for it.
When it's really a part
Valves, filters, modules and the common LG/Whirlpool/Frigidaire ice components ride in our van; the meter and blink codes pick the guilty one; the quote is fixed before work starts. Most Kenmore no-ice calls around the North Seattle metro end with a first harvest the same visit — whichever manufacturer is hiding under your badge.
