Why is My Refrigerator Ice Maker Not Working?

Reed Appliance Repair performs refrigerator repair service in CITY, including professional services to fix ice makers that aren’t working. Learn about common ice maker failures below:

Refrigerator ice makers are possibly one of the best inventions ever. This is a little luxury a lot of people certainly take for granted. Ice makers are simple machines that do not have a lot of complicated components that can cause issues.

Like with any repair, there are some basic things that should be reviewed before assuming the worst. And, remember, if needed, you can replace an ice maker without replacing the entire fridge, depending on the brand and model. First, let’s discuss a few of the reasons for an ice maker breaking.

If the ice maker is making ice but it is not dispensing it it is usually a mechanical problem vs. an electrical problem. This happens when shifting food around in the freezer, you push or pull the control arm up or down. Most of the time the ice maker might be blocked with something, even another chunk of ice. First, look to see if there is ice or food blocking this part from operating properly.

Before beginning the steps of clearing out the freezer, ensure the ice maker is on. This can be done by moving the metal control arm down. From time to time, moving food around in the freezer can put the control into the off position. If the control arm is free, then there could be ice jammed inside the ice maker or it is not receiving a good connection.

Check the Control Arm

If the control is down and there is ice but it is not ejecting it, this might be an electrical or mechanical problem. This will need some more troubleshooting. Ready to get started? First, we must inspect the electrical connection. This could become unplugged from the rear of the freezer when moving or shifting the freezer contents.

To check this, unplug the fridge and move away from the wall. Then, turn off the water supply valve. Locate the valve on the rear of the inside of the freezer unit. Basically this is what plugs the ice maker into the freezer. Be sure that it’s plugged in the right way.

Then, remove all of the ice that’s inside of the ice maker. This can be completed by pouring in a small amount of water to help to get any ice that’s inside of there out.

Once complete, restore power to the fridge and turn on the ice maker. It could take the solenoid a few seconds to react and fill the mold. When the mold is 100% full, wait around 4-5 hours or so to see if you’ve solved the problem.

Check for Frozen Lines

More ice maker failures that can cause your ice maker to not make ice are frozen lines. The water lines have been clogged with frost. This is a pretty simple fix.

Unplug the fridge and locate the water shut off valve. Shut the water off and get a hair dryer to heat up the water line or let the freezer sit without being on for a couple of hours and wait until the line is thawed.

There are some models that feature a water filter that can clog or ice up. In these cases, finding the water filter is the first step. Then repeat the same process that was done for the iced water line.

When an ice maker isn’t making large enough pieces of ice, there’s an issue with the ice maker settings. To adjust the settings, take the upper part of the cover of the ice maker off and find a simple knob that has plus and a minus symbols. To do this, you may need a flat head screwdriver.

ADDITIONAL REFRIGERATOR RESOURCES

• Refrigerator Noisy
• Refrigerator Water Dispenser Not Working
• Refrigerator Not Cooling
• How Does a Refrigerator Work?