Why is My Refrigerator Ice Maker Not Working?

Warwick Appliance Repair performs refrigerator repair in Warwick, including professional services to repair ice makers that are not working. Learn about common ice maker failures below:

Refrigerator ice makers are one of the most convenient inventions of all time. This is a small luxury a lot of people might take for granted. Refrigerator ice makers are relatively simple machines that don’t have a lot of complicated components that can cause problems.

Like with any repair, there are basic things that should be reviewed before thinking the worst. And, remember, if necessary, you are able to replace an ice maker without replacing the entire refrigerator, depending on the model. First, let’s review some of the causes for an ice maker failure.

If your ice maker is making ice but it is not dispensing the ice cubes it is usually a mechanical issue opposed to an electrical failure. This happens when reorganizing food around in the freezer, you accidentally jam the control arm up or down. A lot of the time the ice maker can be jammed with something else, including a chunk of ice. So, check to see if there is something blocking this from operating properly.

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

Check the Control Arm

If the control is down and there is ice but it is not dispensing it, this could be an electrical or mechanical problem. This is going to need a bit more diagnosing. Ready to get started? First, we have to inspect the electrical connection. This can become unplugged from behind the freezer or refrigerator when shifting or moving the freezer contents.

To check this, unplug the fridge and slide it out from the kitchen wall. Turn off the freezer’s water supply. Locate the connection on the rear of the inside of the freezer unit. Basically this is what plugs the ice maker into the freezer. Ensure that it’s actually plugged in the right way.

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

Once done, restore power to the refrigerator and turn on the ice maker. It might take the solenoid component a few seconds to engage and fill the mold. When the mold is full, wait around 4-5 hours or so to see if you’ve cleared the problem.

Check for Frozen Lines

Other ice maker issues that will cause your ice maker to not produce ice are frozen water lines. The water lines might be clogged with frost. This is an easy issue to fix.

First, unplug the freezer and find the shut off valve. Turn the water off and then grab a hair dryer to heat up the water line or let the freezer sit turned off for a few hours until the line is thawed.

There are some models that have a water filter that can freeze or ice up. For these situations, finding the water filter is the first step. Then repeat the same process that was done for the iced line.

If an ice maker isn’t making large enough cubes of ice, there is a problem with the ice maker settings. To adjust the settings, take the top part of the cover of the ice maker off and locate a standard dial that displays plus and a minus signs. To do this, 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?