Why is My Refrigerator Ice Maker Not Working?

Finch Appliance Repair performs refrigerator repair service, including professional services to repair broken ice makers. Learn about some common ice maker failures below:

Refrigerator ice makers are one of the best inventions ever. This is a small luxury many people not appreciate. Refrigerator ice makers are relatively simple machines that don’t have a lot of complex components that might go wrong with them.

Like with any appliance repair, there are some basic things that should be looked at before assuming the worst. And, it’s good to know, if necessary, you are able to replace your ice maker without replacing an entire fridge, depending on the model. First, let’s take a look at a few of the reasons for an ice maker breaking.

If the ice maker is making ice but it isn’t dispensing the ice cubes it is usually a mechanical problem versus an electrical failure. This can happen when reorganizing things around in the freezer, you jam the control lever up or down. Most of the time the ice maker can get blocked with something else, possibly a chunk of ice. So, look to see if there is ice or food blocking this from operating the right way.

Before beginning the steps of clearing out the freezer, be sure your ice maker is on. This is done by flipping the control arm down. Sometimes, moving food around in the freezer unit might put it into the off position. If the control arm is free, then there may be ice stuck inside the ice maker or it is not getting a good connection.

Check the Control Arm

If the control is down and there’s ice but it’s not dispensing it, there could be a mechanical or electrical issue. This will need some more diagnosing. Ready to begin? First, we need to check the electrical connection. This could become unplugged from behind the freezer when moving or shifting the freezer contents.

To check this, first unplug the freezer and move away from the kitchen wall. Turn off the freezer’s water supply. Locate the connection on the back 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.

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

Once done, restore power to the refrigerator and then turn on the ice maker. It could take the solenoid component a few seconds to react and fill the mold. When the mold is full, wait around 4-5 hours to see if you have solved the issue.

Check for Frozen Lines

Other ice maker issues that will cause your ice maker to not produce any ice are frozen lines. The water lines have been clogged with frost. This is an easy problem to fix.

Unplug the fridge and locate the water shut off valve. Turn the water off and then grab a hair dryer to warm the line or just let the refrigerator sit turned off for a couple of hours and wait until the line is thawed.

There are some brands and models that feature a water filter that can freeze or ice over. For these cases, locating the filter is the first step. Then repeat the same process that was done for the frozen water line.

When your ice maker isn’t making big enough cubes of ice, there is a problem with the ice maker settings. To adjust the the ice maker settings, take the top part of the cover of the ice maker off and find a standard dial that displays plus and a minus signs. 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?