Why is My Refrigerator Ice Maker Not Working?

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

Ice makers are possibly one of the best inventions ever. An ice maker is a small luxury a lot of people might not appreciate. Refrigerator ice makers are relatively simple machines that don’t have a lot of components that will go wrong with them.

Like with any appliance repair, there are basic things that need to be reviewed before assuming the worst. And, remember, if needed, you can replace your ice maker without replacing the entire fridge, dependent on the brand and model. First, let’s take a look at a few of the reasons for an ice maker not working.

If the ice maker is making ice but it isn’t ejecting it it is usually a mechanical failure opposed to an electrical problem. This can occur when reorganizing things around in the freezer unit, you might accidentally shift the control arm up or down. Often the ice maker will be jammed with something else, possibly a piece of ice. First, check to see if there is something blocking this part from working the right way.

Before beginning the steps of clearing out the freezer, check that your ice maker is on. This can be done by moving the control arm down. Sometimes, moving things around in the freezer unit might put it into the off position. If the the switch is free, then there may be something jammed inside of the ice maker or it is not receiving a good connection.

Check the Control Arm

If the control arm is down and there is ice but it is not dispensing it, there might be an electrical or mechanical problem. This is going to require some more diagnosing. 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 food in the freezer.

To check this, unplug the freezer and move it out away from the kitchen wall. Turn off the freezer’s water supply valve. Locate the connection on the rear of the inside of the freezer. Basically this is what plugs the ice maker into the freezer unit. Ensure that it’s plugged in properly.

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

Once this is done, turn on the power to the refrigerator and turn on the ice maker. It might take the solenoid component a couple of seconds to react and fill the mold. After the mold is completely full, wait around 4-5 hours to see if you’ve solved the issue.

Check for Frozen Lines

Other ice maker failures that will cause your ice maker to not make ice are frozen water lines. The water lines might be blocked with frost. This is an easy problem to fix.

Unplug the fridge and locate the water shut off valve. Shut the water off and get a hair dryer to heat up the line or just let the freezer sit turned off for a few hours and wait until the line is thawed.

There are some models that feature a water filter that can clog or ice over. In these cases, finding the filter is the first step. Then repeat what was done for the frozen line.

If an ice maker isn’t making big enough pieces of ice, there is a problem with the settings. To adjust the settings, take the upper part of the cover off and locate a standard dial that has plus and a minus symbols. To do this, 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?