Why is My Refrigerator Ice Maker Not Working?

Five Star Appliance Repair is experienced in refrigerator repair in Yucaipa, including professional services to fix ice makers that are not working. Learn about common ice maker problems below:

Ice makers are one of the greatest inventions of all time. This is a small luxury most people not appreciate. Ice makers are simple machines that do not have a lot of complex components that can go wrong with them.

Like with any repair, there are basic things that need to be reviewed before thinking the worst. And, it’s nice to know, if necessary, you are able to replace the ice maker without replacing the entire refrigerator, dependent on the brand and model. First, let’s discuss some of the causes for an ice maker not working.

When the ice maker is making ice but it is not dispensing the ice it is usually a mechanical failure vs. an electrical failure. This can happen when reorganizing things around in the freezer unit, you accidentally jam the control switch up or down. Often the ice maker will get blocked with something, possibly a chunk of ice. First, look to see if there is something blocking this part from working properly.

Before beginning the process of clearing out the freezer, ensure the 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 can put the switch in the off position. If the the switch is free, then there might be ice jammed inside the ice maker or it’s not receiving a good connection.

Check the Control Arm

If the switch is down and there’s ice but it is not ejecting it, this might be a mechanical or electrical failure. This will require some more troubleshooting. Ready to begin? First, we need to check the electrical connection. This can be unplugged from the rear of the freezer or refrigerator when moving or shifting the food in the freezer.

To inspect this, unplug the fridge and slide from the wall. Then, turn off the 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 unit. Ensure that it’s plugged in correctly.

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

Once complete, restore power to the fridge and then turn on the ice maker. It could take the solenoid component a few seconds to engage and fill the mold. Once the mold is full, wait around 4-5 hours to see if you’ve cleared the issue.

Check for Frozen Lines

Other ice maker problems that may cause your ice maker to not make any ice are frozen water lines. The water lines have been blocked with frost. This is a pretty simple problem to fix.

First, unplug the freezer and find the water shut off valve. Shut the water off and grab a hair dryer to heat up the water line or let the freezer sit turned off for a couple of hours until the line is thawed.

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

If an ice maker is not making big enough cubes of ice, there is a problem with the settings. To adjust the the ice maker settings, take the upper part of the cover off and find a basic knob that has plus and a minus signs. To do this, you might need a flat head screwdriver.

ADDITIONAL REFRIGERATOR RESOURCES

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