Why is My Refrigerator Ice Maker Not Working?

Tyson’s Appliance Repair offers refrigerator repair service in CITY, including professional services to repair broken ice makers. Learn about common ice maker failures below:

Ice makers are one of the most convenient inventions ever. This is a little luxury many people certainly not appreciate. Refrigerator ice makers are relatively simple machines that don’t feature a lot of complicated parts that can go wrong with them.

As with any repair, there are some basic things that should be reviewed before assuming the worst. And, remember, if needed, you can replace the ice maker without replacing an entire fridge, dependent on the model. First, let’s take a look at a couple of the reasons for an ice maker failure.

When your ice maker is making ice but it is not ejecting it it is usually a mechanical problem versus an electrical problem. This occurs when reorganizing food around in the freezer unit, you might accidentally shift the control arm up or down. Often the ice maker will be jammed with something, including a chunk of ice. So, look to see if there’s anything blocking this part from working properly.

Before starting the process of clearing out the freezer, ensure your ice maker is turned on. This is done by flipping the metal control arm in the down position. Sometimes, moving food around in the freezer might put it in the off position. If the the switch is free, then there could be food stuck inside the ice maker or it is not getting a good connection.

Check the Control Arm

If the control is down and there is ice but it’s not dispensing it, this might be a mechanical or electrical failure. This is going to require a bit more troubleshooting. Ready to proceed? First, we have to check the electrical connection. This could become unplugged from the back of the freezer when moving or shifting the freezer contents.

To check this, unplug the freezer and pull from the kitchen wall. Turn off the water supply valve. Locate the connection on the rear of the inside of the freezer. Essentially this is what connects the ice maker into the freezer. Ensure that it is plugged in correctly.

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

Once this is 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. After the mold is completely full, wait around 4-5 hours or so to see if you have cleared the issue.

Check for Frozen Lines

Other ice maker failures that can cause your ice maker to not make any ice are frozen water lines. The water lines could be clogged with frost. This is a pretty simple fix.

First, unplug the fridge and locate the water shut off valve. Shut the water off and then grab a hair dryer to heat up the line or just let the freezer sit shut off for a couple of hours until the water line is thawed.

Some models that feature a water filter that can clog or ice up. In these situations, locating the filter is the first step. Then repeat what was done for the frozen water line.

If an ice maker isn’t making big 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 find a simple 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?