Why is My Refrigerator Ice Maker Not Working?

Miller Appliance Repair offers refrigerator repair service in CITY, including professional services to repair ice makers that aren’t working. Learn about some common ice maker issues below:

Refrigerator ice makers are perhaps one of the greatest inventions ever. This is a little luxury many people might not appreciate. Ice makers are simple machines that do not feature a lot of complex parts that can cause issues.

As with any appliance repair, there are basic things that should be reviewed before assuming the worst. And, it’s nice to know, if needed, you can replace the ice maker without replacing the entire fridge, dependent on the brand and model. First, let’s discuss a couple of the causes for an ice maker failure.

If the ice maker is making ice but it isn’t ejecting it it is usually means there’s a mechanical problem opposed to an electrical failure. This can happen when moving food around in the freezer, you might accidentally shift the control arm up or down. Most of the time the ice maker can get blocked with something else, including a chunk of ice. First, look to see if there’s something blocking this from working the right way.

Before beginning the steps of clearing out the freezer, be sure the ice maker is turned on. This is done by flipping the control arm down. From time to time, moving food around in the freezer may put the control in the off position. If the control arm is free, then there may be ice stuck inside the ice maker or it’s not getting a good connection.

Check the Control Arm

When the switch is down and there is ice but it is not ejecting it, this might be an electrical or mechanical problem. This will require a bit more diagnosing. Ready to proceed? First, we have to inspect the electrical connection. This can be unplugged from behind the freezer when shifting or moving the food in the freezer.

To check this, first unplug the refrigerator and slide it out away from the wall. Turn off the freezer’s water supply. Locate the valve on the back of the inside of the freezer. Essentially this is what connects the ice maker into the freezer unit. Ensure that it’s plugged in properly.

After that, remove any ice that’s inside of the ice maker itself. This can be completed by pouring in a bit of water to help get ice that’s in there out.

Once done, 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. When the mold is 100% full, wait around 4-5 hours to see if you have cleared the problem.

Check for Frozen Lines

More ice maker problems that can cause your ice maker to not make any ice are frozen lines. The water lines might be clogged with frost. This is a pretty simple fix.

First, unplug the fridge and locate the shut off valve. Shut the water off and grab a hair dryer to warm the water line or let the freezer sit shut off for a few hours and wait until the line is thawed.

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

If your ice maker isn’t making large enough cubes of ice, there is an issue with the ice maker settings. To adjust the settings, take the top part of the cover off and locate a simple control that displays plus and a minus signs. 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?