Why is My Refrigerator Ice Maker Not Working?

Pace Appliance Repair is experienced in refrigerator repair service in CITY, including professional services to fix ice makers that aren’t working. Learn about some common ice maker issues below:

Ice makers are one of the greatest inventions of all time. This is a small luxury many people might take for granted. Refrigerator ice makers are simple machines that don’t feature a lot of complicated parts that might have problems.

As with any appliance repair, there are basic things that should be reviewed before thinking the worst. And, it’s nice to know, if needed, you are able to replace the ice maker without replacing the entire fridge, dependent on the model. First, let’s review a couple of the reasons for an ice maker failure.

When an ice maker is making ice but it is not ejecting the ice it is usually a mechanical problem versus an electrical problem. This can happen when reorganizing things around in the freezer unit, you could push or pull the control arm up or down. Often the ice maker will get blocked with something, even another chunk of ice. First, look to see if there is something blocking this part from working the right way.

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

Check the Control Arm

If the control is down and there’s ice but it’s not dispensing it, there could be a mechanical or electrical problem. This is going to need some more diagnosing. Ready to proceed? First, we need to inspect the electrical connection. This could become unplugged from behind the freezer when shifting or moving the freezer contents.

To inspect this, first unplug the freezer and slide from the kitchen wall. Turn off the water supply. Locate the valve on the rear of the inside of the freezer. Essentially this is what connects the ice maker into the freezer unit. Ensure that it is actually plugged in correctly.

Next, remove all of the ice that’s inside of the ice maker itself. This can be accomplished by adding a bit of water to help get any ice that is in there out.

Once this is done, restore power to the refrigerator and turn on the ice maker. It could take the solenoid a few seconds to react and fill the mold. When the mold is completely full, wait 4-5 hours or so to see if you’ve solved the issue.

Check for Frozen Lines

More ice maker failures that will cause your ice maker to not make any ice are frozen water lines. The water lines could be clogged with frost. This is an easy issue to fix.

First, unplug the refrigerator and locate the shut off valve. Shut the water off and grab a hair dryer to warm the line or let the refrigerator sit turned off for a few hours and wait until the water line is thawed.

Some brands and models that have a water filter that can clog or ice up. For these cases, finding the filter is the first step. Then repeat the same process that was done for the frozen water line.

If your ice maker is not making large enough pieces of ice, there is a problem with the 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 signs. For this process, 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?