Why is My Refrigerator Ice Maker Not Working?

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

Refrigerator ice makers are possibly one of the best inventions of all time. This is a little luxury many people take for granted. Ice makers are relatively simple machines that do not have a lot of components that could have issues.

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

When an ice maker is making ice but it is not dispensing the ice it is usually a mechanical problem versus an electrical failure. This can occur when shifting things around in the freezer, you might push or pull the control switch up or down. Most of the time the ice maker will be jammed with something else, including a piece of ice. So, check to see if there’s ice or food blocking this from working correctly.

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

Check the Control Arm

If the control is down and there’s ice but it’s not ejecting it, this might be a mechanical or electrical failure. This is going to need a bit more diagnosing. Ready to begin? First, we must inspect the electrical connection. This could become unplugged from behind the freezer or refrigerator when shifting or moving the freezer contents.

To check this, first unplug the refrigerator and move away from the wall. Then, turn off the freezer’s water supply valve. Locate the connection on the back of the inside of the freezer unit. Basically this is what plugs the ice maker into the freezer unit. Be sure that it is actually plugged in properly.

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 get ice that is in there out.

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

Check for Frozen Lines

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

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

There are some models that feature 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.

When your 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 basic 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?