Why is My Refrigerator Ice Maker Not Working?

Hall Appliance Repair is experienced in refrigerator repair service in Washington, including professional services to repair ice makers that are not working. Learn about common ice maker issues below:

Ice makers are perhaps one of the best inventions ever. An ice maker is a little luxury most people certainly not appreciate. Ice makers are relatively simple machines that don’t feature a lot of complicated parts that will go wrong with them.

Like with any repair, there are some basic things that should be looked at before thinking the worst. And, it’s good to know, if needed, you can replace your ice maker without replacing an entire fridge, dependent on the brand and model. First, let’s review a few of the causes for an ice maker not working.

When an ice maker is making ice but it is not ejecting the ice cubes it is usually means there is a mechanical problem versus an electrical issue. This can occur when shifting things around in the freezer unit, you accidentally jam the control switch up or down. Most of the time the ice maker might get blocked with something, possibly a chunk of ice. First, look to see if there’s something blocking this from operating the right way.

Before beginning the steps of clearing out the freezer, ensure your ice maker is turned on. This can be done by flipping the metal control arm in the down position. Sometimes, moving things around in the freezer can put it in the off position. If the control arm is free, then there may be ice jammed inside of the ice maker or it’s not getting a good connection.

Check the Control Arm

When the control is down and there’s ice but it’s not ejecting it, there might be a mechanical or electrical issue. This will require a bit more diagnosing. Ready to begin? First, we must inspect the electrical connection. This can be unplugged from behind the freezer or refrigerator when moving or shifting the freezer contents.

To inspect this, first unplug the fridge and slide it out away from the wall. Then, turn off the water supply valve. Locate the valve on the back of the inside of the freezer. Basically this is what plugs the ice maker into the freezer unit. Be sure that it’s plugged in the right way.

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

Once done, restore power to the refrigerator and then turn on the ice maker. It might take the solenoid component a couple of seconds to react and fill the mold. After the mold is 100% full, wait around 4-5 hours or so to see if you have cleared the problem.

Check for Frozen Lines

More ice maker failures that might cause your ice maker to not make ice are frozen water lines. The water lines have been clogged with frost. This is an easy fix.

Unplug the refrigerator and locate the water shut off valve. Shut the water off and then grab a hair dryer to heat up the line or let the fridge sit without being on for a couple of hours and wait until the water line is thawed.

Some brands and models that have a water filter that can freeze or ice over. In these cases, locating the water filter is the first step. Then repeat the same process that was done for the iced line.

When your ice maker isn’t making large enough pieces of ice, there is a problem with the settings. To adjust the the ice maker settings, take the upper part of the cover of the ice maker off and locate a standard knob that has 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?