Why is My Refrigerator Ice Maker Not Working?

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

Refrigerator ice makers are one of the most convenient inventions ever. This is a little luxury a lot of people not appreciate. Refrigerator ice makers are relatively simple machines that do not feature a lot of complex parts that can have problems.

As with any appliance repair, there are a few basic things that should be looked at before thinking the worst. And, remember, if needed, you can replace your ice maker without replacing the entire fridge, dependent on the brand and model. First, let’s discuss some of the reasons for an ice maker failure.

If your ice maker is making ice but it is not ejecting the ice it is usually means there is a mechanical issue opposed to an electrical issue. This happens when reorganizing things around in the freezer unit, you could push or pull the control lever up or down. Often the ice maker can be blocked with something else, including a chunk of ice. First, check to see if there is something blocking this from operating properly.

Before starting the steps of clearing out the freezer, check that the ice maker is turned on. This can be done by pulling the metal control arm in the down position. Sometimes, moving food around in the freezer unit may put the switch into the off position. If the the switch is free, then there may be ice stuck inside of the ice maker or it’s not getting a good connection.

Check the Control Arm

If the control arm is down and there’s ice but it’s not dispensing it, there could be a mechanical or electrical failure. This will require a bit more troubleshooting. Ready to begin? First, we must check the electrical connection. This can become unplugged from behind the freezer or refrigerator when moving or shifting the food in the freezer.

To inspect this, unplug the refrigerator and pull it out away from the wall. Turn off the freezer’s water supply. Locate the connection on the back of the inside of the freezer. Basically this is what plugs the ice maker into the freezer. Be sure that it’s actually plugged in the right way.

Then, remove all of the ice that’s inside of the ice maker itself. This can be completed by pouring in a little water to help to get ice that’s in there out.

Once this is done, restore 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. Once the mold is completely full, wait around 4-5 hours or so to see if you have solved the problem.

Check for Frozen Lines

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

First, unplug the refrigerator and find the shut off valve. Shut the water off and then get a hair dryer to warm the water line or just let the fridge sit turned off for a few hours until the line is thawed.

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

When your ice maker isn’t making large enough cubes of ice, there is a problem with the settings. To adjust the settings, take the upper part of the cover of the ice maker off and find a standard control that displays plus and a minus symbols. To do this, 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?