Why is My Refrigerator Ice Maker Not Working?

Marion Appliance Repair is experienced in refrigerator repair service in Louisiana, including services to fix ice makers that aren’t working. Learn about some common ice maker issues below:

Ice makers are perhaps one of the greatest inventions of all time. An ice maker is a little luxury a lot of people certainly take for granted. Ice makers are relatively simple machines that do not feature a lot of components that could cause problems.

As with any repair, there are some basic things that should be looked at before thinking the worst. And, remember, if necessary, you can replace your ice maker without replacing the entire fridge, depending on the model. First, let’s take a look at a few of the causes for an ice maker breaking.

If your ice maker is making ice but it isn’t dispensing the ice it is usually means there’s a mechanical issue vs. an electrical failure. This can happen when reorganizing things around in the freezer unit, you could accidentally shift the control arm up or down. Often the ice maker might be blocked with something else, including a chunk of ice. First, check to see if there is something blocking this part from operating correctly.

Before beginning the process of clearing out the freezer, check that the ice maker is turned on. This can be done by flipping the metal control arm down. From time to time, moving things around in the freezer unit may put the switch in the off position. If the the switch is free, then there could be food jammed inside of the ice maker or it is not getting a good connection.

Check the Control Arm

If the control is down and there is ice but it’s not dispensing it, there might be a mechanical or electrical problem. This will require a bit more troubleshooting. Ready to begin? First, we need to inspect the electrical connection. This could be unplugged from behind the freezer or refrigerator when shifting or moving the freezer contents.

To check this, unplug the freezer and slide away from the kitchen wall. Then, turn off the water supply. Locate the valve on the rear of the inside of the freezer. Essentially this is what connects the ice maker into the freezer unit. Be sure that it’s actually plugged in the right way.

After that, remove any ice that is inside of the ice maker. This can be accomplished by adding a small amount of water to help to get the ice that’s inside of there out.

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

Check for Frozen Lines

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

Unplug the fridge and find the shut off valve. Shut the water off and get a hair dryer to warm the line or just let the refrigerator sit shut off for a few hours and wait until the line is thawed.

There are some brands and models that feature a water filter that can clog or ice over. For these situations, locating the water filter is the first step. Then repeat what was done for the iced line.

When an ice maker isn’t making large enough pieces of ice, there is a problem with the ice maker settings. To adjust the the ice maker settings, take the top part of the cover off and find a simple dial that displays plus and a minus signs. For this process, 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?