Why is My Refrigerator Ice Maker Not Working?

Jet City Appliance Repair performs refrigerator repair in Seattle, including services to fix ice makers that are not working. Learn about common ice maker failures below:

Ice makers are perhaps 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 parts that can go wrong with them.

As with any repair, there are basic things that should be looked at before thinking the worst. And, it’s good to know, if necessary, you are able to replace the ice maker without replacing an entire refrigerator, depending on the brand and model. First, let’s discuss a couple of the causes for an ice maker failure.

When an ice maker is making ice but it isn’t ejecting the ice it is usually means there is a mechanical issue vs. an electrical failure. This can occur when shifting things around in the freezer unit, you accidentally jam the control arm up or down. Most of the time the ice maker will be jammed with something, even another piece of ice. First, look to see if there is something blocking this from working correctly.

Before starting the process of clearing out the freezer, ensure your ice maker is turned on. This can be done by flipping the control arm down. Sometimes, moving things around in the freezer might put it in the off position. If the the switch is clear, then there might be food or ice jammed inside the ice maker or it is not receiving a good connection.

Check the Control Arm

When the control is down and there’s ice but it’s not dispensing it, this might be a mechanical or electrical failure. This will need a bit more diagnosing. Ready to begin? First, we must check the electrical connection. This can become unplugged from the rear of the freezer when moving or shifting the freezer contents.

To inspect this, first unplug the fridge and move away from the wall. Then, turn off the freezer’s water supply. Locate the connection on the back of the inside of the freezer. Essentially this is what connects the ice maker into the freezer unit. Be sure that it’s plugged in correctly.

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

Once this is done, turn on the power to the fridge and then turn on the ice maker. It might take the solenoid component a couple of seconds to react and fill the mold. When the mold is completely full, wait 4-5 hours or so to see if you have solved the issue.

Check for Frozen Lines

More ice maker issues that will cause your ice maker to not make any ice are frozen water lines. The water lines have been 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 let the freezer sit turned off for a few hours until the water line is thawed.

There are some models that have a water filter that can clog or ice up. In these situations, finding the filter is the first step. Then repeat the same process that was done for the frozen line.

When your ice maker is not making large enough cubes of ice, there’s an issue with the settings. To adjust the settings, take the top part of the cover off and locate a standard dial that displays plus and a minus signs. 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?