Cuisinart ice cream maker dead, what's usually the culprit?

[Thomas Martinez]

Found this writeup on troubleshooting why Cuisinart ice cream makers will not power on. There are only a few thing to check once you have the appliance open. The power switch, motor/drive gear, fuse on the board. Not a huge list of issues but helpful nevertheless.
The fuse within the plug for the unit is one that gets tested on the UK models. You can test the fuse with a multimeter and replace if necessary. This is the first thing that should be checked before opening the unit.
The drive motor and gear are the first of failure for these appliances. The motor work but the gear will fail. Have you opened one of these models? Are the gears plastic or is there a metal gear in these models? Is the power switch a standard switch or one that is proprietary to the appliance?

 

[My Little Racc]

The gears are all plastic on the ICE-21 and ICE-30 at least, ive been inside a few. The motor itself is fine usually, its the nylon worm gear that strip. The gears can be bought on ebay but usually not worth it to ship the unit in exchange for a gear vs buying a refurbished unit from marketplace for $25

 

[M.C. Escher's]

The fuse in the plug is the first thing that anyone with half a brain will check before opening the unit. It takes 30 seconds. Maybe 1 in 10 units will have a blown fuse in the plug but its so easy to check that its impossible not to at the first opportunity.

 

[Electric D]

The gears are all plastic on the ICE-21 and ICE-30 at least, ive been inside a few. The motor itself is fine usually, its the nylon worm gear that strip. The gears can be bought on ebay but usually not worth it to ship the unit in exchange for a gear vs buying a refurbished unit …

If the gear strips can you hear the motor running? How do you differentiate between a failing motor and drive gear?

 

[My Little Racc]

If the gear strips can you hear the motor running? How do you differentiate between a failing motor and drive gear?

If it is the drive gear you will hear a faint hum or buzz from the motor, sometimes its a little click click as the motor tries to engage with the stripped gear. A dead motor is silent and may smell of burnt plastic. Put your ear against the unit and switch it on, its pretty obvious.