Why is My Refrigerator Ice Maker Not Working?

Action Missouri City Appliance Repair provides refrigerator repair in Missouri City, including services to fix broken ice makers. Learn about some common ice maker failures below:

Refrigerator ice makers are one of the most convenient inventions ever. An ice maker is a small luxury many people certainly take for granted. Refrigerator ice makers are relatively simple machines that don’t feature a lot of parts that can go wrong with them.

As with any appliance repair, there are basic things that need to be looked at before assuming the worst. And, it’s good to know, if needed, you are able to replace an ice maker without replacing an entire refrigerator, dependent on the model. First, let’s review a few of the reasons for an ice maker breaking.

When an ice maker is making ice but it isn’t dispensing the ice it is usually a mechanical problem vs. an electrical failure. This can happen when reorganizing things around in the freezer, you could jam the control arm up or down. Most of the time the ice maker might be jammed with something, including a piece of ice. First, check to see if there is anything blocking this from working correctly.

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

Check the Control Arm

If the control is down and there is ice but it’s not dispensing it, there could be an electrical or mechanical failure. This will require a bit more troubleshooting. Ready to proceed? First, we must inspect the electrical connection. This could be unplugged from behind the freezer or refrigerator when shifting or moving the food in the freezer.

To check this, unplug the refrigerator and move it out from the kitchen wall. Then, turn off the water supply valve. Locate the connection on the back of the inside of the freezer unit. Essentially this is what plugs the ice maker into the freezer unit. Be sure that it is plugged in the right way.

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

Once done, turn on the power to the fridge and turn on the ice maker. It might take the solenoid a couple of seconds to engage and fill the mold. Once the mold is full, wait 4-5 hours to see if you have cleared the issue.

Check for Frozen Lines

Other ice maker issues that might cause your ice maker to not produce ice are frozen water lines. The water lines have been blocked with frost. This is a pretty simple fix.

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 let the fridge sit shut off for a couple of hours until the line is thawed.

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

If your ice maker isn’t making large enough pieces of ice, there’s an issue with the settings. To adjust the settings, take the upper part of the cover of the ice maker off and locate a simple dial that displays plus and a minus signs. To do this, 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?