Why is My Refrigerator Ice Maker Not Working?

Gibson Appliance Repair is experienced in refrigerator repair service in CITY, including services to repair broken ice makers. Learn about some common ice maker issues below:

Ice makers are one of the best inventions ever. This is a small luxury many people take for granted. Refrigerator ice makers are simple machines that do not feature a lot of parts that could go wrong with them.

As with any appliance repair, there are basic things that need to be looked at before thinking the worst. And, it’s good to know, if needed, you are able to replace the ice maker without replacing an entire refrigerator, dependent on the model. First, let’s take a look at some of the causes for an ice maker breaking.

When your ice maker is making ice but it isn’t dispensing the ice it is usually means there’s a mechanical failure opposed to an electrical issue. This occurs when reorganizing things around in the freezer, you could accidentally push or pull the control lever up or down. Often the ice maker can be blocked with something, including a chunk of ice. So, check to see if there’s ice or food blocking this from operating properly.

Before starting the steps of clearing out the freezer, ensure the ice maker is on. This is done by moving the control arm in the down position. Sometimes, moving food around in the freezer might put the switch in the off position. If the control arm is clear, then there might be food or ice jammed inside of the ice maker or it is not receiving a good connection.

Check the Control Arm

When the control arm is down and there is ice but it is not ejecting it, this might be an electrical or mechanical failure. This will need a bit more diagnosing. Ready to get started? First, we must check the electrical connection. This can be unplugged from the back of the freezer when shifting or moving the freezer contents.

To inspect this, unplug the fridge and pull it out away from the kitchen wall. Then, turn off the freezer’s water supply. Locate the valve on the back of the inside of the freezer unit. Basically this is what connects the ice maker into the freezer unit. Ensure that it’s actually plugged in the right way.

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

Once this is done, restore power to the fridge and then 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 completely full, wait around 4-5 hours or so to see if you have cleared the issue.

Check for Frozen Lines

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

Unplug the refrigerator and locate the shut off valve. Shut the water off and then get a hair dryer to heat up the water line or let the fridge sit shut off for a few hours until the water line is thawed.

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

If your ice maker is not making large enough cubes of ice, there’s an issue with the settings. To adjust the the ice maker settings, take the upper part of the cover of the ice maker off and locate a simple knob that displays plus and a minus signs. To do this, you may need a flat head screwdriver.

ADDITIONAL REFRIGERATOR RESOURCES

• Refrigerator Noisy
• Refrigerator Water Dispenser Not Working
• Refrigerator Not Cooling
• How Does a Refrigerator Work?