Why is My Refrigerator Ice Maker Not Working?

National City Appliance Repair provides refrigerator repair in National CIty, including services to repair broken ice makers. Learn about common ice maker issues below:

Ice makers are one of the best inventions of all time. An ice maker is a little luxury many people certainly take for granted. Refrigerator ice makers are simple machines that do not have a lot of complex parts that might have problems.

Like with any appliance repair, there are some basic things that should be looked at before assuming the worst. And, remember, if needed, you can replace the ice maker without replacing the entire fridge, depending on the model. First, let’s discuss a couple of the causes for an ice maker breaking.

When your ice maker is making ice but it is not ejecting it it is usually means there is a mechanical issue vs. an electrical problem. This happens when shifting things around in the freezer unit, you might jam the control switch up or down. Often the ice maker will be jammed with something, even another chunk of ice. First, check to see if there is ice or food blocking this from operating the right way.

Before starting the steps of clearing out the freezer, ensure the ice maker is on. This is done by pulling the control arm in the down position. Sometimes, moving things around in the freezer can put it into the off position. If the the switch is free, then there may be food or ice jammed inside 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, this might be a mechanical or electrical issue. This is going to need some more diagnosing. Ready to proceed? First, we must check the electrical connection. This can be unplugged from behind the freezer or refrigerator when moving or shifting the food in the freezer.

To check this, first unplug the freezer and pull it out from the wall. Turn off the freezer’s water supply. Locate the valve 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 is plugged in properly.

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

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

Check for Frozen Lines

More ice maker issues that could cause your ice maker to not make any ice are frozen water lines. The water lines could be clogged with frost. This is an easy fix.

First, unplug the refrigerator and find the water shut off valve. Turn the water off and grab a hair dryer to heat up the water line or let the fridge sit turned off for a couple of hours and wait until the water line is thawed.

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

When your ice maker isn’t making large enough pieces of ice, there’s a problem with the settings. To adjust the the ice maker settings, take the top part of the cover off and locate a basic knob that displays plus and a minus symbols. To do this, you could need a flat head screwdriver.

ADDITIONAL REFRIGERATOR RESOURCES

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