Why is My Refrigerator Ice Maker Not Working?

Express Centreville Appliance Repair offers refrigerator repair in Centreville, including services to fix ice makers that aren’t working. Learn about some common ice maker problems below:

Refrigerator ice makers are possibly one of the best inventions of all time. An ice maker is a little luxury many people might take for granted. Refrigerator ice makers are relatively simple machines that don’t feature a lot of complicated components that might go wrong with them.

Like with any appliance repair, there are some basic things that need to be looked at before assuming the worst. And, remember, if necessary, you are able to replace an ice maker without replacing the entire fridge, depending on the model. First, let’s take a look at some of the reasons for an ice maker failure.

When your ice maker is making ice but it is not ejecting it it is usually means there is a mechanical failure versus an electrical issue. This can happen when reorganizing food around in the freezer, you could push or pull the control arm up or down. Most of the time the ice maker can be blocked with something else, possibly a piece of ice. First, check to see if there’s ice or food blocking this part from operating the right way.

Before beginning the steps of clearing out the freezer, check that the ice maker is on. This can be done by flipping the metal control arm in the down position. Sometimes, moving things around in the freezer unit may put it in the off position. If the control arm is free, then there could be ice stuck inside of the ice maker or it’s not receiving a good connection.

Check the Control Arm

When the switch is down and there’s ice but it’s not ejecting it, this might be an electrical or mechanical problem. This will require some more troubleshooting. Ready to get started? First, we need to check the electrical connection. This could be unplugged from behind the freezer or refrigerator when moving or shifting the freezer contents.

To check this, first unplug the freezer and slide it out 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. Essentially this is what connects the ice maker into the freezer unit. Be sure that it is plugged in properly.

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

Once 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. Once the mold is 100% full, wait 4-5 hours to see if you’ve cleared the problem.

Check for Frozen Lines

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

Unplug the freezer and find the water shut off valve. Turn the water off and grab a hair dryer to warm the water line or just let the fridge sit turned off for a few hours and wait until the water line is thawed.

Some models that feature a water filter that can freeze or ice up. For these situations, finding the filter is the first step. Then repeat the same process that was done for the iced water line.

If an ice maker is not making big enough cubes of ice, there’s a problem with the ice maker settings. To adjust the settings, take the top part of the cover of the ice maker off and locate a simple control that has plus and a minus symbols. For this process, you could need a flat head screwdriver.

ADDITIONAL REFRIGERATOR RESOURCES

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