Why is My Refrigerator Ice Maker Not Working?

Prime Nampa Appliance Repair provides refrigerator repair in Nampa, including professional services to repair ice makers that aren’t working. Learn about some common ice maker failures below:

Ice makers are possibly one of the greatest inventions ever. An ice maker is a small luxury a lot of people certainly not appreciate. Ice makers are relatively simple machines that do not feature a lot of components that might go wrong with them.

As with any repair, there are a few basic things that should be looked at before thinking the worst. And, it’s good to know, if needed, you are able to replace an ice maker without replacing the entire refrigerator, depending on the model. First, let’s review some of the reasons for an ice maker failure.

If your ice maker is making ice but it is not dispensing it it is usually a mechanical problem opposed to an electrical failure. This happens when moving food around in the freezer unit, you accidentally push or pull the control lever up or down. Often the ice maker can be jammed with something else, possibly a chunk of ice. So, check to see if there’s anything blocking this from operating the right way.

Before starting the process of clearing out the freezer, check that your ice maker is turned on. This is done by moving the metal control arm down. Sometimes, moving food around in the freezer may put the control in the off position. If the the switch is clear, then there could be ice stuck inside of the ice maker or it’s not getting a good connection.

Check the Control Arm

When the switch is down and there’s ice but it’s not dispensing it, there could be a mechanical or electrical issue. This will need some more troubleshooting. Ready to get started? First, we need to inspect the electrical connection. This could be unplugged from the rear of the freezer or refrigerator when moving or shifting the food in the freezer.

To inspect this, first unplug the fridge and pull it out away from the kitchen wall. Turn off the freezer’s water supply. Locate the valve on the back of the inside of the freezer. Basically this is what plugs the ice maker into the freezer unit. Be sure that it’s plugged in correctly.

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

Once complete, restore power to the refrigerator and turn on the ice maker. It might take the solenoid component a couple of seconds to react and fill the mold. When the mold is 100% full, wait 4-5 hours or so to see if you have cleared the problem.

Check for Frozen Lines

Other ice maker failures that may cause your ice maker to not make any ice are frozen lines. The water lines could be clogged with frost. This is an easy issue to fix.

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

Some brands and models that feature a water filter that can clog or ice up. For these cases, finding the water filter is the first step. Then repeat the same process that was done for the iced line.

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