Why is My Refrigerator Ice Maker Not Working?

F&D Huntington Beach Appliance Repair performs refrigerator repair in Huntington Beach, including services to repair broken ice makers. Learn about some common ice maker issues below:

Ice makers are one of the greatest inventions ever. An ice maker is a little luxury many people not appreciate. Ice makers are relatively simple machines that don’t feature a lot of complicated parts that can go wrong with them.

Like with any repair, there are some basic things that need to be looked at before assuming the worst. And, it’s nice to know, if needed, you can replace the ice maker without replacing an entire refrigerator, depending on the brand and model. First, let’s review a couple of the causes for an ice maker failure.

If the ice maker is making ice but it isn’t dispensing it it is usually means there’s a mechanical problem vs. an electrical failure. This occurs when reorganizing things around in the freezer unit, you could accidentally jam the control lever up or down. Most of the time the ice maker will get jammed with something else, including a piece of ice. First, look to see if there’s anything blocking this part from working properly.

Before beginning the steps of clearing out the freezer, check that the ice maker is on. This can be done by flipping the control arm down. Sometimes, moving things around in the freezer might put the switch into the off position. If the the switch is free, then there could be food or ice stuck inside the ice maker or it is not getting a good connection.

Check the Control Arm

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

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

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

Once done, turn on the power to the fridge and then turn on the ice maker. It may take the solenoid component a couple of seconds to engage and fill the mold. Once the mold is completely full, wait 4-5 hours or so to see if you’ve solved the problem.

Check for Frozen Lines

More ice maker problems that could cause your ice maker to not make ice are frozen lines. The water lines have been blocked with frost. This is an easy problem to fix.

Unplug the fridge and locate the water shut off valve. Turn the water off and then grab a hair dryer to heat up the line or just let the fridge 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 freeze or ice over. In these situations, locating the water filter is the first step. Then repeat what was done for the frozen water line.

When an ice maker isn’t making large enough pieces of ice, there’s an issue with the ice maker settings. To adjust the the ice maker settings, take the upper part of the cover of the ice maker off and locate a standard knob that has plus and a minus symbols. 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?