Why is My Refrigerator Ice Maker Not Working?

Premiere Appliance Repair is experienced in refrigerator repair in Chula Vista, including professional services to repair broken ice makers. Learn about some common ice maker problems below:

Ice makers are perhaps one of the most convenient inventions ever. This is a small luxury a lot of people take for granted. Refrigerator ice makers are simple machines that don’t feature a lot of components that could have problems. As with any appliance repair, there are basic things that should be reviewed before thinking the worst. And, remember, if needed, you can replace the ice maker without replacing the entire refrigerator, dependent on the model. First, let’s take a look at some of the reasons for an ice maker failure.

When the ice maker is making ice but it is not ejecting the ice it is usually means there is a mechanical problem opposed to an electrical issue. This can happen when reorganizing food around in the freezer, you could accidentally shift the control lever up or down. A lot of the time the ice maker can get jammed with something, even another piece of ice. So, look to see if there’s ice or food blocking this from operating properly.

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

Check the Control Arm

When the switch is down and there’s ice but it’s not dispensing it, there might be a mechanical or electrical problem. This is going to need some more diagnosing. Ready to proceed? First, we must inspect the electrical connection. This can become unplugged from the back of the freezer when shifting or moving the food in the freezer.

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

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

Once this is done, restore power to the refrigerator and then turn on the ice maker. It might take the solenoid component a couple of seconds to engage and fill the mold. Once the mold is completely full, wait 4-5 hours or so to see if you have cleared the issue.

Check for Frozen Lines

More ice maker failures that can cause your ice maker to not produce ice are frozen water lines. The water lines might be clogged with frost. This is an easy fix. First, unplug the freezer and locate the water shut off valve. Shut the water off and get a hair dryer to heat up the water line or just let the refrigerator sit shut off for a few hours and wait until the line is thawed.

There are some models that have a water filter that can freeze or ice up. For these situations, locating 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 big enough cubes of ice, there is a problem with the settings. To adjust the settings, take the top part of the cover of the ice maker off and find a basic dial that displays plus and a minus symbols. 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?