Why is My Refrigerator Ice Maker Not Working?

United Appliance Repair is experienced in refrigerator repair in Fullerton, including professional services to fix ice makers that aren’t working. Learn about some common ice maker problems below:

Refrigerator ice makers are perhaps one of the greatest inventions ever. This is a little luxury many people take for granted. Ice makers are simple machines that don’t feature a lot of complicated components that could have problems.

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

If your ice maker is making ice but it isn’t ejecting the ice cubes it is usually a mechanical failure versus an electrical problem. This occurs when reorganizing things around in the freezer, you could shift the control arm up or down. Often the ice maker will be jammed with something else, even another piece of ice. So, look to see if there is something blocking this part from operating correctly.

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

Check the Control Arm

When the control is down and there is ice but it is not ejecting it, there could be an electrical or mechanical issue. This will need some more troubleshooting. Ready to proceed? First, we have to check the electrical connection. This can become unplugged from behind the freezer when shifting or moving the freezer contents.

To inspect this, first unplug the freezer and move it out away from the kitchen wall. 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. Ensure that it’s actually plugged in properly.

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

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

Check for Frozen Lines

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

First, unplug the refrigerator and find the water shut off valve. Turn the water off and then grab a hair dryer to warm the water line or let the fridge sit shut off for a couple of hours and wait until the water line is thawed.

There are some brands and models that feature a water filter that can clog or ice over. In these situations, finding the water filter is the first step. Then repeat the same process that was done for the frozen water line.

When an ice maker isn’t making large enough cubes of ice, there’s an issue with the ice maker settings. To adjust the settings, take the top part of the cover off and find a basic control that has 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?