Why is My Refrigerator Ice Maker Not Working?

JR’s Appliance Repair provides refrigerator repair in Colchester, including services to repair ice makers that are not working. Learn about some common ice maker failures below:

Refrigerator ice makers are possibly one of the greatest inventions ever. This is a small luxury a lot of people might take for granted. Refrigerator ice makers are simple machines that do not feature a lot of complex parts that could go wrong with them.

As with any appliance repair, there are a few basic things that need to be reviewed before thinking the worst. And, it’s nice to know, if needed, you can replace your ice maker without replacing the entire refrigerator, dependent on the model. First, let’s discuss some of the reasons for an ice maker breaking.

When your ice maker is making ice but it is not dispensing the ice cubes it usually means there’s a mechanical problem vs. an electrical problem. This happens when shifting food around in the freezer, you could shift the control switch up or down. Most of the time the ice maker might get blocked with something, possibly a piece of ice. So, check to see if there’s something blocking this part from working properly.

Before starting the steps of clearing out the freezer, ensure the ice maker is on. This is done by moving the control arm down. Sometimes, moving food around in the freezer unit might put it into the off position. If the control arm is clear, then there could be ice stuck inside the ice maker or it’s not receiving a good connection.

Check the Control Arm

When the switch is down and there is ice but it’s not dispensing it, there could be an electrical or mechanical problem. This will need a bit more troubleshooting. Ready to begin? First, we must check the electrical connection. This can be unplugged from behind the freezer when moving or shifting the freezer contents.

To check this, unplug the fridge and pull 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. Be sure that it’s actually plugged in properly.

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

Once done, restore power to the refrigerator and then turn on the ice maker. It might take the solenoid a few seconds to engage and fill the mold. When the mold is 100% full, wait around 4-5 hours or so to see if you’ve solved the issue.

Check for Frozen Lines

Other ice maker problems that might cause your ice maker to not produce any ice are frozen lines. The water lines have been clogged with frost. This is an easy fix.

Unplug the freezer and locate the shut-off valve. Turn the water off and then grab a hairdryer to warm the waterline or just let the freezer sit shut off for a couple of hours until the line is thawed.

There are some models that feature a water filter that can freeze or ice over. For these cases, locating the water filter is the first step. Then repeat what was done for the frozen water line.

If an ice maker is not making large enough cubes of ice, there is a problem with the settings. To adjust the ice maker settings, take the top part of the cover off and locate a simple control that displays plus and minus symbols. For this process, 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?