Why is My Refrigerator Ice Maker Not Working?

Astra Appliance Repair offers refrigerator repair service in Wichita, including professional services to fix broken ice makers. Learn about common ice maker issues below:

Ice makers are possibly one of the greatest inventions of all time. An ice maker is a little luxury many people certainly take for granted. Refrigerator ice makers are simple machines that don’t have a lot of complex parts that could go wrong with them.

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

If an ice maker is making ice but it isn’t ejecting it it is usually means there is a mechanical issue versus an electrical problem. This can occur when moving food around in the freezer unit, you could accidentally shift the control switch up or down. A lot of the time the ice maker will get blocked with something, possibly a piece of ice. First, check to see if there’s anything blocking this part from operating correctly.

Before starting the process of clearing out the freezer, check that the ice maker is on. This is done by moving the metal control arm in the down position. From time to time, moving things around in the freezer unit might put the switch into the off position. If the the switch is free, then there might be something stuck inside of the ice maker or it is not receiving a good connection.

Check the Control Arm

When the switch is down and there’s ice but it is not dispensing it, this could be a mechanical or electrical failure. This is going to require a bit more troubleshooting. Ready to proceed? First, we must inspect the electrical connection. This could be unplugged from behind the freezer when shifting or moving the food in the freezer.

To inspect this, unplug the fridge and pull from the kitchen wall. Then, turn off the water supply. Locate the connection on the rear of the inside of the freezer unit. Essentially this is what connects the ice maker into the freezer unit. Be sure that it is actually plugged in the right way.

Next, remove any ice that’s in the ice maker itself. This can be completed by adding a little water to help to get any ice that is inside of 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 engage and fill the mold. After the mold is completely full, wait 4-5 hours or so to see if you’ve cleared the problem.

Check for Frozen Lines

More ice maker problems that will cause your ice maker to not make ice are frozen lines. The water lines could be blocked with frost. This is a pretty simple problem to fix.

First, unplug the fridge and locate the water shut off valve. Turn the water off and grab a hair dryer to heat up the line or just let the fridge sit without being on for a few hours and wait until the line is thawed.

Some models that feature a water filter that can freeze or ice over. In these cases, finding the water filter is the first step. Then repeat the same process that was done for the iced line.

If your ice maker isn’t making large enough pieces of ice, there is a problem with the ice maker settings. To adjust the settings, take the upper part of the cover off and find a basic knob that displays plus and a minus symbols. 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?