Why is My Refrigerator Ice Maker Not Working?

Ericson Appliance Repair provides refrigerator repair service, including professional services to fix ice makers that are not working. Learn about some common ice maker failures below:

Ice makers are possibly one of the most convenient inventions of all time. An ice maker is a small luxury a lot of people certainly take for granted. Ice makers are simple machines that don’t have a lot of complex parts that will go wrong with them.

As with any appliance repair, there are basic things that should be reviewed before thinking the worst. And, it’s nice to know, if needed, you are able to replace your ice maker without replacing the entire fridge, depending on the brand and model. First, let’s review a couple of the causes for an ice maker failure.

When an ice maker is making ice but it isn’t dispensing it it is usually a mechanical failure vs. an electrical problem. This can happen when reorganizing things around in the freezer unit, you accidentally jam the control arm up or down. A lot of the time the ice maker can get jammed with something, including a chunk of ice. So, check to see if there’s anything blocking this from operating the right way.

Before starting the process of clearing out the freezer, be sure your ice maker is on. This is done by pulling the metal control arm down. Sometimes, moving things around in the freezer unit may put the switch in the off position. If the control arm is free, then there may be something jammed inside of the ice maker or it is not receiving a good connection.

Check the Control Arm

When the switch is down and there is ice but it’s not ejecting it, this might be a mechanical or electrical failure. This will require a bit more troubleshooting. Ready to get started? First, we must check the electrical connection. This could be unplugged from the back of the freezer or refrigerator when shifting or moving the food in the freezer.

To check this, unplug the refrigerator and move away from the kitchen wall. Turn off the freezer’s water supply valve. Locate the connection on the back of the inside of the freezer unit. Basically this is what connects the ice maker into the freezer unit. Be sure that it is plugged in properly.

Then, remove any ice that is inside of the ice maker itself. This can be accomplished by adding a small amount of water to help get ice that’s in there out.

Once complete, restore power to the fridge and turn on the ice maker. It may take the solenoid component a couple of seconds to react and fill the mold. Once the mold is full, wait 4-5 hours to see if you’ve cleared the issue.

Check for Frozen Lines

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

Unplug the fridge and find the shut off valve. Turn the water off and then get a hair dryer to heat up the line or let the fridge sit shut off for a couple of hours and wait until the water line is thawed.

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

If your ice maker is not making big enough pieces of ice, there’s a problem with the ice maker settings. To adjust the the ice maker settings, take the upper part of the cover of the ice maker off and find a standard knob that displays plus and a minus symbols. For this process, you may need a flat head screwdriver.

ADDITIONAL REFRIGERATOR RESOURCES

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