Why is My Refrigerator Ice Maker Not Working?

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

Refrigerator ice makers are perhaps one of the best inventions ever. An ice maker is a small luxury many people take for granted. Refrigerator ice makers are relatively simple machines that do not have a lot of parts that could go wrong with them.

Like with any appliance repair, there are basic things that need to be looked at before thinking the worst. And, it’s nice to know, if needed, you are able to replace the ice maker without replacing an entire fridge, depending on the model. First, let’s take a look at some of the causes for an ice maker breaking.

If the ice maker is making ice but it isn’t dispensing it it is usually means there is a mechanical problem opposed to an electrical problem. This can happen when reorganizing things around in the freezer unit, you jam the control arm up or down. Often the ice maker can be blocked with something else, possibly a piece of ice. First, check to see if there is something blocking this from working the right way.

Before starting the process of clearing out the freezer, be sure your ice maker is on. This is done by moving the control arm down. From time to time, moving things around in the freezer unit can put it in the off position. If the control arm is clear, then there may be food stuck inside of the ice maker or it’s not receiving a good connection.

Check the Control Arm

When the control arm is down and there is ice but it’s not ejecting it, this might be a mechanical or electrical failure. This is going to need a bit more diagnosing. Ready to proceed? First, we have to check the electrical connection. This could be unplugged from the rear of the freezer or refrigerator when moving or shifting the food in the freezer.

To inspect this, first unplug the refrigerator and slide away from the wall. Then, turn off the freezer’s water supply valve. Locate the connection on the back of the inside of the freezer. Basically this is what plugs the ice maker into the freezer. Be sure that it is actually plugged in correctly.

Next, remove all of the ice that is in the ice maker itself. This can be completed by adding a bit of water to help get any ice that’s in there out.

Once this is done, turn on the power to the refrigerator and then turn on the ice maker. It may take the solenoid component a few seconds to react and fill the mold. Once the mold is 100% full, wait around 4-5 hours to see if you have cleared the issue.

Check for Frozen Lines

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

First, unplug the freezer and locate the shut off valve. Turn the water off and then get a hair dryer to heat up the water line or let the fridge sit shut off for a couple of hours until the line is thawed.

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

If an ice maker is not making large enough cubes of ice, there is an issue with the settings. To adjust the the ice maker settings, take the top part of the cover off and find a simple knob that displays plus and a minus signs. To do this, you may need a flat head screwdriver.

ADDITIONAL REFRIGERATOR RESOURCES

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