Why is My Refrigerator Ice Maker Not Working?

Victory Indio Appliance Repair offers refrigerator repair in Indio, including services to repair broken ice makers. Learn about some common ice maker failures below:

Refrigerator ice makers are perhaps one of the greatest inventions ever. This is a little luxury a lot of people might take for granted. Refrigerator ice makers are simple machines that do not feature a lot of parts that could have problems.

As with any repair, there are a few basic things that need to be reviewed before assuming the worst. And, remember, if needed, you are able to replace the ice maker without replacing the entire fridge, dependent on the brand and model. First, let’s discuss a couple of the reasons for an ice maker failure.

When the ice maker is making ice but it isn’t ejecting it it is usually a mechanical problem versus an electrical problem. This happens when moving things around in the freezer unit, you could accidentally push or pull the control arm up or down. Often the ice maker will get jammed with something, possibly a chunk of ice. So, look to see if there’s ice or food blocking this part from operating properly.

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

Check the Control Arm

If the control arm is down and there is ice but it is not ejecting it, there might be an electrical or mechanical issue. This is going to require a bit more troubleshooting. Ready to proceed? First, we must check the electrical connection. This can be unplugged from the back of the freezer when moving or shifting the freezer contents.

To inspect this, unplug the freezer and pull away from the wall. Then, turn off the freezer’s water supply valve. Locate the valve on the back of the inside of the freezer. Essentially this is what plugs the ice maker into the freezer unit. Ensure that it is plugged in the right way.

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

Once complete, turn on the power to the refrigerator and then turn on the ice maker. It could take the solenoid component a few seconds to react and fill the mold. When the mold is completely full, wait around 4-5 hours or so to see if you have solved the issue.

Check for Frozen Lines

More ice maker problems that can cause your ice maker to not produce any ice are frozen water lines. The water lines could be blocked with frost. This is an easy fix.

Unplug the fridge and locate the water shut off valve. Turn the water off and get a hair dryer to heat up the line or just let the refrigerator sit turned off for a couple of hours until the water line is thawed.

There are some models that have a water filter that can freeze or ice up. In these situations, finding the filter is the first step. Then repeat what was done for the frozen line.

When an ice maker is not making large enough pieces of ice, there’s an issue with the ice maker settings. To adjust the the ice maker settings, take the top part of the cover off and locate a basic control that has plus and a minus symbols. For this process, you might need a flat head screwdriver.

ADDITIONAL REFRIGERATOR RESOURCES

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