Why is My Refrigerator Ice Maker Not Working?

King Appliance Repair performs refrigerator repair service in Rhode Island, including professional services to fix 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 many people not appreciate. Ice makers are simple machines that don’t have a lot of complicated parts that will go wrong with them.

Like with any appliance repair, there are basic things that need to be looked at before assuming the worst. And, remember, if necessary, you are able to replace your ice maker without replacing the entire refrigerator, dependent on the model. First, let’s take a look at a couple of the causes for an ice maker breaking.

When the ice maker is making ice but it is not dispensing it it is usually means there’s a mechanical issue opposed to an electrical failure. This happens when reorganizing things around in the freezer unit, you accidentally push or pull the control switch up or down. Often the ice maker might get jammed with something, including a piece of ice. So, look to see if there’s anything blocking this from working the right way.

Before starting the steps of clearing out the freezer, check that your ice maker is on. This is done by pulling the metal control arm in the down position. Sometimes, moving food around in the freezer might put the switch in the off position. If the control arm is clear, then there may be ice jammed inside the ice maker or it is not receiving a good connection.

Check the Control Arm

When the control is down and there’s ice but it’s not ejecting it, there could be a mechanical or electrical failure. This will need some more diagnosing. Ready to proceed? First, we have to check the electrical connection. This can be unplugged from the rear of the freezer when shifting or moving the food in the freezer.

To inspect this, first unplug the refrigerator and move away from the wall. Turn off the freezer’s water supply. Locate the valve on the rear of the inside of the freezer. Basically this is what plugs the ice maker into the freezer. Ensure that it is plugged in the right way.

Next, remove all of the ice that’s inside of the ice maker itself. This can be done by pouring in a small amount of water to help to get the ice that is inside of there out.

Once this is done, turn on the power to the fridge and turn on the ice maker. It may take the solenoid a few seconds to react and fill the mold. Once the mold is completely full, wait 4-5 hours or so to see if you’ve cleared the issue.

Check for Frozen Lines

Other ice maker problems that can cause your ice maker to not produce ice are frozen lines. The water lines have been clogged with frost. This is a pretty simple fix.

Unplug the freezer and find the water shut off valve. Shut the water off and then grab a hair dryer to heat up the water line or just let the refrigerator sit shut off for a couple of hours until the water line is thawed.

Some models that have a water filter that can clog or ice up. For these cases, finding the filter is the first step. Then repeat the same process that was done for the frozen line.

If your ice maker is not making large enough cubes of ice, there is an issue with the settings. To adjust the settings, take the top part of the cover off and locate a basic knob that has plus and a minus signs. 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?