Why is My Refrigerator Ice Maker Not Working?

Choice Carmel Appliance Repair performs refrigerator repair in Carmel, including professional services to fix broken ice makers. Learn about some common ice maker problems below:

Ice makers are one of the best inventions ever. An ice maker is a small luxury most people might take for granted. Refrigerator ice makers are relatively simple machines that do not feature a lot of complex parts that might cause issues.

As with any repair, there are basic things that should be looked at before thinking the worst. And, remember, if necessary, you can replace the ice maker without replacing an entire refrigerator, dependent on the model. First, let’s discuss some of the reasons for an ice maker not working.

If your ice maker is making ice but it isn’t ejecting the ice cubes it is usually means there’s a mechanical problem versus an electrical problem. This can happen when shifting things around in the freezer, you could push or pull the control switch up or down. A lot of the time the ice maker can get blocked with something else, even another chunk of ice. First, check to see if there’s ice or food blocking this from working properly.

Before starting the steps of clearing out the freezer, check that your ice maker is turned on. This is done by pulling the metal control arm in the down position. From time to time, moving food around in the freezer unit might put the control into the off position. If the the switch is clear, then there may be something stuck inside the ice maker or it is not getting a good connection.

Check the Control Arm

If the switch is down and there is ice but it is not ejecting it, there might be an electrical or mechanical problem. This will need some more troubleshooting. Ready to proceed? First, we have to check the electrical connection. This can become unplugged from behind the freezer or refrigerator when shifting or moving the freezer contents.

To inspect this, first unplug the freezer and pull from the kitchen wall. Turn off the water supply. Locate the valve on the back of the inside of the freezer unit. Basically this is what connects the ice maker into the freezer unit. Be sure that it is plugged in correctly.

After that, remove all of the ice that is inside of the ice maker. This can be completed by adding a little water to help to get the ice that’s inside of there out.

Once complete, restore power to the fridge and then turn on the ice maker. It could take the solenoid component a couple of seconds to engage and fill the mold. Once the mold is 100% full, wait 4-5 hours to see if you have cleared the problem.

Check for Frozen Lines

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

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

There are some brands and models that have a water filter that can clog or ice up. For these situations, finding the filter is the first step. Then repeat the same process that was done for the iced line.

If your ice maker is not making large enough pieces of ice, there’s an issue with the settings. To adjust the settings, take the upper part of the cover of the ice maker off and find a basic knob that displays plus and a minus signs. To do this, you could need a flat head screwdriver.

ADDITIONAL REFRIGERATOR RESOURCES

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