Why is My Refrigerator Ice Maker Not Working?

Cox Appliance Repair provides refrigerator repair service in Anaheim, including professional services to repair ice makers that aren’t working. Learn about some common ice maker problems below:

Refrigerator ice makers are perhaps one of the best inventions ever. This is a small luxury many people take for granted. Refrigerator ice makers are relatively simple machines that don’t feature a lot of components that might have problems.

Like with any repair, there are some basic things that should be looked at before thinking the worst. And, it’s nice to know, if needed, you can replace your ice maker without replacing the entire fridge, dependent on the model. First, let’s take a look at a few of the reasons for an ice maker failure.

If an ice maker is making ice but it is not dispensing the ice cubes it is usually means there is a mechanical problem versus an electrical failure. This occurs when moving food around in the freezer, you might jam the control arm up or down. A lot of the time the ice maker might get jammed with something else, even another chunk of ice. So, look to see if there’s ice or food blocking this part from working the right way.

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

Check the Control Arm

If the control arm is down and there’s ice but it is not dispensing it, there could be a mechanical or electrical issue. This is going to need some more troubleshooting. Ready to get started? First, we must inspect the electrical connection. This can become unplugged from the back of the freezer when moving or shifting the freezer contents.

To check this, unplug the fridge and slide it out from the wall. Then, turn off the freezer’s water supply. Locate the connection on the back of the inside of the freezer unit. Essentially this is what plugs the ice maker into the freezer. Be sure that it is plugged in properly.

Next, remove any ice that’s inside of the ice maker. This can be completed by adding a small amount of water to help get any ice that’s inside of there out.

Once complete, turn on the power to the fridge and turn on the ice maker. It may take the solenoid component a couple of seconds to react and fill the mold. Once the mold is completely full, wait 4-5 hours or so to see if you’ve solved the problem.

Check for Frozen Lines

More ice maker failures that may cause your ice maker to not make any ice are frozen water lines. The water lines might be clogged with frost. This is an easy problem to fix.

Unplug the refrigerator and find the water shut off valve. Shut the water off and then get a hair dryer to warm the water line or let the refrigerator sit without being on for a few hours until the line is thawed.

There are some brands and models that feature a water filter that can clog or ice up. In these situations, locating the filter is the first step. Then repeat what was done for the frozen water line.

If your ice maker isn’t making big enough pieces of ice, there’s an issue with the ice maker settings. To adjust the settings, take the upper part of the cover off and find a simple control 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?