Why is My Refrigerator Ice Maker Not Working?

Chesapeake Appliance Repair provides refrigerator repair in Chesapeake, including professional services to repair 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 little luxury most people certainly take for granted. Refrigerator ice makers are relatively simple machines that don’t feature a lot of complex parts that could cause issues.

Like with any repair, there are a few basic things that should be reviewed before assuming the worst. And, remember, if needed, you are able to replace your ice maker without replacing the entire fridge, dependent on the model. First, let’s review a few of the causes for an ice maker breaking.

If an ice maker is making ice but it is not dispensing it it is usually a mechanical issue versus an electrical problem. This happens when reorganizing things around in the freezer, you might accidentally jam the control switch up or down. Most of the time the ice maker will get blocked with something, including a piece of ice. So, look to see if there is anything blocking this from working properly.

Before beginning the steps of clearing out the freezer, check that the ice maker is on. This is done by moving the control arm in the down position. From time to time, moving food around in the freezer can put it in the off position. If the the switch is clear, then there might be food or ice jammed inside of the ice maker or it’s not receiving a good connection.

Check the Control Arm

If the control arm is down and there is ice but it is not dispensing it, this could be an electrical or mechanical problem. This will require some more troubleshooting. Ready to get started? First, we need to check the electrical connection. This can become unplugged from behind the freezer when moving or shifting the food in the freezer.

To inspect this, first unplug the refrigerator and slide away from the wall. Then, turn off the freezer’s 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. Be sure that it’s actually plugged in properly.

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

Once this is done, restore power to the fridge and then turn on the ice maker. It could take the solenoid component a few seconds to react and fill the mold. Once the mold is 100% full, wait around 4-5 hours to see if you’ve cleared the issue.

Check for Frozen Lines

More ice maker failures that may cause your ice maker to not produce any ice are frozen lines. The water lines might be blocked with frost. This is a pretty simple fix.

First, unplug the fridge and locate the water shut off valve. Turn the water off and grab a hair dryer to heat up the line or just let the refrigerator sit without being on for a few hours and wait until the water line is thawed.

There are some brands and 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 iced water line.

If your ice maker isn’t making big enough cubes of ice, there’s an issue with the settings. To adjust the the ice maker settings, take the top part of the cover of the ice maker off and find a standard knob that displays 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?