Why is my Hoshizaki Ice Machine Beeping?
Many Hoshizaki ice machines have built in safety measures that stop the ice maker when faults or problems are detected. Once one of these faults occur the unit will stop producing ice and will alarm you with a high beeping sound.
The alarm will sound off a number of beeps, pause, then repeats the number of beeps. This number represents the type of fault that equipment has detected. Therefore it is important to determine how many beeps the alarm is giving you before resetting. Let’s take a look at the three most common the faults and what potential issues may have caused the them.
Ice Machine Beeping Once every three Seconds
This fault indicates a High Evaporator Temperature, in which the evaporator temperature exceeded 127*F.
This fault comes from a temperature sensor mounted on the refrigerant line leaving the evaporator. It will be insulated and securely mounted via a metal strap or clip. If you need to locate it, look for the two orange wires that come out of the insulated area of the suction line.
Here are the most common reasons for this fault:
- The hot gas (or harvest valve) is open. It can be open when it’s not supposed to be, either because it has failed or the relay that controls it gets stuck in the closed position. If this happens it will continuously energize the valve keeping it open. Either way, it will allow a continuous flow of hot vapor to the evaporator plate (where the ice is made), thus causing the temperature to exceed the limit of 127*F.
- The water supply to the unit is hot water. This can be caused by accidentally feeding the ice machine from a hot water source. It can also happen if the water line plumbing is long and running through a very hot attic or drop ceiling area. We have seen this happen in unconditioned warehouses in which the water line is feed clear across the building from the water source to the ice machine. All the water sitting in the water tubing is sitting and being heated until it’s called upon.
- The temperature sensor (that triggers the fault) is faulty or is inaccurately sensing the temperature. The sensor is signaling the controller with a resistance measurement, which changes as the temperature changes. This temperature-resistance relation can become out of whack (so to speak) which can give the controller a false reading. It’s rare to see this component fail, but it does happen. To learn more about how to check the resistance-temperature accuracy, you will need an ohm meter along with the resistance chart. This data is usually found in the service manual. There is a pdf service manual link below.
Ice Machine Beeping Twice every three Seconds
This fault indicates a Long Harvest Time, in which the harvest time exceeded 20 minutes two times in a row.
The most common reasons for this fault are as follows:
- Inlet water fill is too slow or clogged water filter. Inlet water fills the reservoir for the next freeze cycle, it also assists with harvesting the ice of the plate(s) during the harvest cycle. Check the water coming into the reservoir during the fill cycle, it should like a nice drizzle of rain flowing out of the bottom of the evaporator plates. If it is slowly filling the reservoir, check your water filters to be sure they are not restricted. Next, confirm that the screen of the water inlet valve is not clogged. Turning off the water supply to the ice machine, then unscrewing the copper pipe attached to the water inlet valve allows you access to this screen.
- The hot gas valve does not energize, or is stuck closed. If this happens then you will have no hot vapor heating up the evaporator plate during harvest, thus ice will not fall off.
- The evaporator temperature sensor is faulty or is inaccurately sensing the temperature, sending the controller an incorrect temperature. This was also mentioned in the first error code above, bullet point three. See the manual on how to use ohms to test the sensor.
Ice Machine Beeping Three times every three Seconds
This is one of the most common faults. This fault indicates a Long Freeze Time, in which the freeze time exceeded its max freeze time setting, which usually is 50 or 60 minutes, but it can differ. See the manual on how to determine your freeze timer setting.
The most common reasons for this fault are as follows:
- The water float switch is stuck, and likely dirty, causing the internal float not to move freely. It could also be faulty. If the float doesn’t drop with the water level in the reservoir the unit will stay in the freeze cycle and harvest will not initiate, thus maxing out on max freezer time. Best thing to do is to remove the float valve and hoses. Be sure all hoses attached are free of debris and that you clean inside the float. The float itself should move freely up and down. Be sure to empty the reservoir first before disconnecting. The float is a white plastic cylinder, with a black rubber boot at its base. You should see if pretty easily with the front panel off near the bottom of your ice machine. There is a picture of it at the end of this post. Remember, it will be feed water from the reservoir, therefore it should be located in front or around the reservoir.
- The inlet water valve is not sealing completely allowing new water to enter the reservoir. This additional water will increase the freeze time since now there is new (warm) water, it’s an added heat load that the unit now has to try and deal with. Best way to determine this is to turn off the ice machine killing power to all the components. If water is coming out of the water inlet valve, filling the reservoir, then it definitely leaking passed and it needs to be replaced.
- The water pump is not working. If there is no water on plate to freeze, the water level in reservoir doesn’t drop, thus the float switch never drops to initiate harvest. The water pump should be running in the freeze cycle. If it is not, then you may have a bad pump or capacitor. Sometimes debris gets inside the pump and jambs it. Check to be sure the pump is getting the correct power. If it is and the motor is not turning, then it’s bad.
Hoshizaki Ice Machine Rest Button
Pressing the reset button on the controller will clear out your fault beep alarm and will allow the unit to restart. You will need to do this to test the operation of the unit. Once you have determined the number of beeps and the type of fault, you can now press the Alarm Reset button on the top-upper left of the control board. Use a flash light to find it and then press. The control board must have power supplied to it when attempting this reset. If you have not corrected the issue that caused the fault to occur the unit will shut off again on that fault alarm. Be cautious as there are live wires in the control compartment that could shock you if not careful. Don’t hesitate to contact your ice machine professional to make the proper repairs and diagnoses.
Commonly Replaced Items: Hoshizaki Water Filter and the Float Switch
To see more information on your equipment click the following link for the Hoshizaki KM Service Manual
I hope this information is of benefit to you and your equipment. Remember to keep it clean and serviced regularly to help avoid and catch issues before issues arise.