Why is My Refrigerator Ice Maker Not Working?

Hawk Appliance Repair offers refrigerator repair in California, including professional services to repair broken ice makers. Learn about some common ice maker failures below:

Refrigerator ice makers are perhaps one of the best inventions of all time. This is a little luxury many people certainly take for granted. Refrigerator ice makers are simple machines that don’t feature a lot of complicated parts that might go wrong with them.

Like with any appliance repair, there are basic things that need to be reviewed before thinking the worst. And, remember, if necessary, you are able to replace the ice maker without replacing an entire refrigerator, depending on the model. First, let’s discuss a few of the reasons for an ice maker failure.

When the ice maker is making ice but it is not ejecting the ice cubes it is usually means there is a mechanical problem vs. an electrical issue. This happens when shifting things around in the freezer, you could accidentally jam the control lever up or down. Most of the time the ice maker can be blocked with something else, even another piece of ice. First, check to see if there’s anything blocking this part from working the right way.

Before starting the steps of clearing out the freezer, ensure the ice maker is on. This is done by flipping the control arm down. Sometimes, moving food around in the freezer may put the switch in the off position. If the the switch is free, then there could be food jammed inside the ice maker or it is not receiving a good connection.

Check the Control Arm

When the control is down and there is ice but it’s not dispensing it, this might be a mechanical or electrical problem. This is going to need a bit more troubleshooting. Ready to get started? First, we must inspect the electrical connection. This can become unplugged from the rear of the freezer when shifting or moving the food in the freezer.

To inspect this, first unplug the refrigerator and slide from the kitchen wall. Then, turn off the freezer’s water supply. 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 the right way.

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

Once complete, turn on the power to the fridge and then turn on the ice maker. It might take the solenoid component a few seconds to engage and fill the mold. After the mold is 100% full, wait 4-5 hours to see if you’ve solved the problem.

Check for Frozen Lines

More ice maker issues that might cause your ice maker to not make ice are frozen lines. The water lines have been blocked with frost. This is a pretty simple problem to fix.

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

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

If your ice maker is not making big 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 off and locate a basic control 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?