Why is My Refrigerator Ice Maker Not Working?

Prince Appliance Repair performs refrigerator repair in Franklin, including professional services to repair broken ice makers. Learn about common ice maker failures below:

Refrigerator ice makers are perhaps one of the greatest inventions of all time. This is a little luxury most people might take for granted. Ice makers are simple machines that do not feature a lot of complicated components that could go wrong with them.

As with any appliance repair, there are a few basic things that should be reviewed before assuming the worst. And, it’s good to know, if needed, you can replace your ice maker without replacing an entire refrigerator, dependent on the model. First, let’s review a few of the causes for an ice maker not working.

When the ice maker is making ice but it is not ejecting it it is usually a mechanical failure vs. an electrical failure. This can happen when moving food around in the freezer, you accidentally push or pull the control lever up or down. A lot of the time the ice maker can get blocked with something else, possibly a chunk of ice. So, check to see if there’s ice or food blocking this from working correctly.

Before starting the steps of clearing out the freezer, check that the ice maker is turned on. This can be done by flipping the control arm down. From time to time, moving food around in the freezer may put the switch in the off position. If the control arm is free, then there might be something stuck inside the ice maker or it is not receiving 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 a mechanical or electrical issue. This will require some more troubleshooting. Ready to get started? First, we must inspect the electrical connection. This could become unplugged from the back of the freezer when moving or shifting the food in the freezer.

To check this, first unplug the fridge and pull away from the wall. Then, turn off the water supply valve. Locate the valve on the rear of the inside of the freezer. Essentially this is what connects the ice maker into the freezer. Be sure that it’s actually plugged in the right way.

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

Once done, turn on the power to the refrigerator and turn on the ice maker. It could take the solenoid component a couple of seconds to react and fill the mold. After the mold is 100% full, wait 4-5 hours or so to see if you have solved the issue.

Check for Frozen Lines

Other ice maker problems that will cause your ice maker to not make any ice are frozen water lines. The water lines might be blocked with frost. This is a pretty simple issue to fix.

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

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

If an ice maker isn’t making large enough cubes of ice, there’s an issue with the settings. To adjust the the ice maker settings, take the top part of the cover of the ice maker off and locate a standard control that displays plus and a minus symbols. 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?