Why is My Refrigerator Ice Maker Not Working?

ASAP Appliance Repair performs refrigerator repair in Simi Valley, including services to repair ice makers that aren’t working. Learn about common ice maker issues below:

Refrigerator ice makers are perhaps one of the greatest inventions ever. An ice maker is a small luxury a lot of people not appreciate. Ice makers are simple machines that do not feature a lot of complicated components that can have problems.

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

If the ice maker is making ice but it isn’t dispensing it it is usually a mechanical issue versus an electrical failure. This happens when shifting food around in the freezer, you might accidentally shift the control switch up or down. A lot of the time the ice maker can get blocked with something else, possibly a chunk of ice. First, check to see if there is something blocking this from operating the right way.

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

Check the Control Arm

If the control is down and there’s ice but it’s not ejecting it, there might be a mechanical or electrical issue. This will require a bit more troubleshooting. Ready to begin? First, we have to inspect the electrical connection. This can be unplugged from the rear of the freezer when moving or shifting the food in the freezer.

To inspect this, unplug the refrigerator and pull from the kitchen wall. Then, turn off the freezer’s water supply. Locate the valve on the rear of the inside of the freezer. Basically this is what connects the ice maker into the freezer unit. Be sure that it is plugged in the right way.

After that, remove any ice that is inside of the ice maker. This can be accomplished by adding a little water to help get any ice that is in there out.

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

Check for Frozen Lines

Other ice maker problems that may cause your ice maker to not produce ice are frozen lines. The water lines might be blocked with frost. This is an easy fix.

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

There are some brands and models that have a water filter that can freeze or ice up. In these cases, locating the filter is the first step. Then repeat the same process that was done for the iced line.

If your ice maker is not making large 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 basic dial that displays 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?