Why is My Refrigerator Ice Maker Not Working?

Green Bay Appliance Repair offers refrigerator repair in Green Bay, including professional services to repair ice makers that are not working. Learn about some common ice maker problems below:

Refrigerator ice makers are one of the most convenient inventions ever. This is a small luxury many people certainly take for granted. Ice makers are simple machines that do not have a lot of complex components that will have problems.

Like with any repair, there are basic things that need to be looked at before thinking the worst. And, remember, if needed, you can replace an ice maker without replacing the entire fridge, dependent on the brand and model. First, let’s discuss some of the causes for an ice maker breaking.

When an ice maker is making ice but it isn’t dispensing the ice it is usually a mechanical failure vs. an electrical failure. This can happen when reorganizing things around in the freezer unit, you could accidentally jam the control lever up or down. Often the ice maker can be blocked with something else, even another chunk of ice. So, check to see if there’s something blocking this part from working properly.

Before beginning the process of clearing out the freezer, check that your ice maker is turned on. This can be done by moving the metal control arm in the down position. From time to time, moving things around in the freezer unit may put the control in the off position. If the control arm is clear, then there could be something stuck inside of the ice maker or it is not getting a good connection.

Check the Control Arm

If the switch is down and there is ice but it’s not ejecting it, there might be an electrical or mechanical failure. This is going to require some more diagnosing. Ready to begin? First, we have to inspect the electrical connection. This can be unplugged from behind the freezer when shifting or moving the freezer contents.

To inspect this, unplug the refrigerator and slide away from the kitchen wall. Then, turn off the freezer’s water supply valve. Locate the valve on the back of the inside of the freezer. Essentially this is what plugs the ice maker into the freezer unit. Be sure that it’s actually plugged in correctly.

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

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

Check for Frozen Lines

Other ice maker failures that could cause your ice maker to not produce ice are frozen lines. The water lines might be blocked with frost. This is an easy problem to fix.

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

Some models that feature a water filter that can freeze or ice over. In these cases, finding the filter is the first step. Then repeat what was done for the iced water line.

If an ice maker is not making large enough cubes of ice, there’s an issue 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 displays plus and a minus signs. For this process, 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?