Why is My Refrigerator Ice Maker Not Working?

Lee Appliance Repair is experienced in refrigerator repair service in Sioux City, including professional services to repair ice makers that aren’t working. Learn about some common ice maker issues below:

Refrigerator ice makers are possibly one of the greatest inventions ever. An ice maker is a small luxury many people might take for granted. Refrigerator ice makers are simple machines that do not have a lot of parts that might go wrong with them.

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

When an ice maker is making ice but it is not ejecting it it is usually means there is a mechanical failure versus an electrical failure. This happens when moving food around in the freezer unit, you could accidentally shift the control lever up or down. Often the ice maker will get jammed with something, including a chunk of ice. First, check to see if there’s something blocking this part from working correctly.

Before starting the steps of clearing out the freezer, be sure your ice maker is on. This can be done by moving the metal control arm in the down position. Sometimes, moving things around in the freezer can put it in the off position. If the control arm is clear, then there may be ice jammed inside of the ice maker or it is not getting a good connection.

Check the Control Arm

When the control arm is down and there is ice but it is not dispensing it, there might be an electrical or mechanical problem. This will require a bit more diagnosing. Ready to get started? First, we must inspect the electrical connection. This could be unplugged from the back of the freezer or refrigerator when moving or shifting the food in the freezer.

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

Then, remove all of the ice that’s in the ice maker itself. This can be completed by adding a bit of water to help get ice that’s inside of there out.

Once this is done, turn on the power to the fridge and then turn on the ice maker. It could 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 can cause your ice maker to not produce ice are frozen lines. The water lines have been blocked with frost. This is an easy problem to fix.

Unplug the refrigerator and find the water shut off valve. Turn the water off and grab a hair dryer to heat up the water line or just let the fridge sit without being on for a few hours until the line is thawed.

Some brands and models that have a water filter that can clog or ice over. For these cases, finding the water filter is the first step. Then repeat what was done for the iced water line.

When an ice maker is not making large enough cubes of ice, there’s a problem with the ice maker settings. To adjust the settings, take the top part of the cover off and find a simple control that displays plus and a minus symbols. 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?