Why is My Refrigerator Ice Maker Not Working?

Triumph Appliance Repair provides refrigerator repair in Bryan, including professional services to repair broken ice makers. Learn about common ice maker issues below:

Ice makers are one of the most convenient inventions of all time. An ice maker is a little luxury a lot of people not appreciate. Refrigerator ice makers are simple machines that do not feature a lot of parts that could go wrong with them.

Like with any repair, there are some basic things that should be looked at before assuming the worst. And, it’s nice to know, if necessary, you are able to replace an ice maker without replacing the entire refrigerator, depending on the brand and model. First, let’s discuss some of the reasons for an ice maker not working.

If the ice maker is making ice but it isn’t dispensing it it is usually a mechanical failure vs. an electrical failure. This occurs when reorganizing food around in the freezer, you push or pull the control switch up or down. Most of the time the ice maker can be jammed with something, possibly a piece of ice. So, look to see if there is ice or food blocking this part from operating the right way.

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

Check the Control Arm

If the control is down and there is ice but it’s not ejecting it, this could be a mechanical or electrical problem. This will require some more diagnosing. Ready to begin? First, we must check the electrical connection. This can become unplugged from the rear of the freezer when shifting or moving the freezer contents.

To check this, unplug the fridge and pull it out away from the wall. Turn off the freezer’s water supply valve. Locate the valve on the rear 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 the right way.

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

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

Check for Frozen Lines

Other ice maker failures that may cause your ice maker to not make ice are frozen water lines. The water lines might be blocked with frost. This is a pretty simple fix.

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

Some brands and models that have a water filter that can clog or ice up. For these situations, locating the 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 is a problem with the settings. To adjust the the ice maker settings, take the upper part of the cover off and find a standard control that displays plus and a minus symbols. 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?