Why is My Refrigerator Ice Maker Not Working?

Pride Appliance Repair is experienced in refrigerator repair service, including professional services to repair broken ice makers. Learn about common ice maker failures below:

Ice makers are one of the best inventions ever. This is a small luxury a lot of people not appreciate. Ice makers are relatively simple machines that do not feature a lot of complicated components that might go wrong with them.

Like with any repair, there are basic things that need to be looked at before thinking the worst. And, remember, if necessary, you are able to replace an ice maker without replacing the entire refrigerator, depending on the brand and model. First, let’s discuss some of the causes for an ice maker failure.

When an ice maker is making ice but it isn’t ejecting the ice cubes it is usually means there’s a mechanical problem vs. an electrical failure. This happens when reorganizing things around in the freezer unit, you might jam the control lever up or down. Most of the time the ice maker might be jammed with something else, even another chunk of ice. So, look to see if there is ice or food blocking this part from operating the right way.

Before starting the process of clearing out the freezer, ensure the ice maker is on. This can be done by flipping the metal control arm in the down position. Sometimes, moving things around in the freezer may put it in the off position. If the control arm is clear, then there may be something jammed inside of 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 is going to need some more diagnosing. Ready to get started? First, we need to check the electrical connection. This can become unplugged from the rear of the freezer or refrigerator when moving or shifting the food in the freezer.

To inspect this, unplug the freezer and slide away from the wall. Turn off the freezer’s water supply valve. Locate the connection on the rear of the inside of the freezer unit. Essentially this is what connects the ice maker into the freezer unit. Be sure that it’s actually plugged in correctly.

Then, remove any ice that is inside of the ice maker. This can be done by pouring in a small amount of water to help to get ice that is inside of there out.

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

Check for Frozen Lines

More ice maker problems that will cause your ice maker to not make ice are frozen lines. The water lines might be blocked with frost. This is a pretty simple fix.

Unplug the freezer and find the shut off valve. Turn the water off and grab a hair dryer to warm the line or let the freezer sit shut off for a couple of hours and wait until the water line is thawed.

Some brands and models that feature a water filter that can clog or ice over. For these situations, finding the water filter is the first step. Then repeat the same process that was done for the iced line.

If an ice maker is not making large enough pieces of ice, there’s an issue with the settings. To adjust the settings, take the top part of the cover off and locate a standard knob that displays plus and a minus symbols. To do this, you may need a flat head screwdriver.

ADDITIONAL REFRIGERATOR RESOURCES

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