Why is My Refrigerator Ice Maker Not Working?

Ward Appliance Repair is experienced in refrigerator repair service in Atlanta, including professional services to fix broken ice makers. Learn about common ice maker problems below:

Refrigerator ice makers are perhaps one of the greatest inventions ever. This is a little luxury a lot of people not appreciate. Ice makers are simple machines that don’t feature a lot of complicated components that will cause issues.

Like with any repair, there are basic things that should be reviewed before thinking the worst. And, it’s nice to know, if needed, you can replace the ice maker without replacing an entire fridge, depending on the model. First, let’s review a few of the reasons for an ice maker not working.

When an ice maker is making ice but it isn’t dispensing it it is usually means there is a mechanical problem versus an electrical issue. This can occur when moving food around in the freezer, you could shift the control switch up or down. Often the ice maker might get blocked with something else, possibly a chunk of ice. So, check to see if there’s ice or food blocking this 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 down. Sometimes, moving food around in the freezer may put the switch in the off position. If the the switch is clear, then there could be ice jammed inside of the ice maker or it’s not getting a good connection.

Check the Control Arm

When the control arm is down and there’s ice but it is not dispensing it, this could be a mechanical or electrical failure. This will require some more troubleshooting. Ready to begin? First, we must inspect the electrical connection. This can be unplugged from behind the freezer when shifting or moving the freezer contents.

To check this, first unplug the refrigerator and move from the kitchen wall. Turn off the freezer’s water supply. Locate the valve on the back of the inside of the freezer. Essentially this is what connects the ice maker into the freezer. Ensure that it is actually plugged in correctly.

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

Once complete, restore power to the fridge and turn on the ice maker. It may take the solenoid component a few seconds to react and fill the mold. When the mold is full, wait 4-5 hours to see if you’ve solved the problem.

Check for Frozen Lines

Other ice maker issues that will cause your ice maker to not produce ice are frozen water lines. The water lines might be blocked with frost. This is a pretty simple issue to 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 let the fridge sit without being on for a couple of 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 over. For these cases, locating the water filter is the first step. Then repeat what was done for the iced line.

When an ice maker isn’t making big enough pieces of ice, there is a problem with the ice maker settings. To adjust the the ice maker settings, take the upper part of the cover of the ice maker off and find 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?