Why is My Refrigerator Ice Maker Not Working?

Tuscaloosa Appliance Repair provides refrigerator repair in Tuscaloosa, including professional services to repair ice makers that are not working. Learn about common ice maker failures below:

Refrigerator ice makers are one of the greatest inventions ever. This is a little luxury a lot of people might take for granted. Refrigerator ice makers are simple machines that do not feature a lot of complicated components that can go wrong with them.

As with any appliance repair, there are basic things that need to be reviewed before thinking the worst. And, it’s good to know, if necessary, you can replace an ice maker without replacing the entire fridge, dependent on the brand and model. First, let’s review a couple of the causes for an ice maker not working.

When your ice maker is making ice but it is not dispensing it it is usually means there’s a mechanical issue opposed to an electrical issue. This occurs when shifting food around in the freezer unit, you accidentally shift the control lever up or down. Most of the time the ice maker can get jammed with something else, even another piece of ice. First, look to see if there’s ice or food blocking this part from operating the right way.

Before beginning the process of clearing out the freezer, ensure the ice maker is turned on. This is done by moving the control arm down. From time to time, moving things around in the freezer unit can put it into the off position. If the control arm is clear, then there may be ice stuck inside of the ice maker or it’s not receiving a good connection.

Check the Control Arm

When the switch is down and there’s ice but it’s not ejecting it, there might be an electrical or mechanical failure. This is going to need some more troubleshooting. Ready to get started? First, we need to check the electrical connection. This could be unplugged from the back of the freezer when moving or shifting the food in the freezer.

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

Then, remove all of the ice that is inside of the ice maker. This can be done by pouring in a bit of water to help to get the ice that is inside of there out.

Once done, turn on the power to the refrigerator and then turn on the ice maker. It could take the solenoid component a few seconds to engage and fill the mold. Once the mold is 100% full, wait 4-5 hours to see if you have cleared the issue.

Check for Frozen Lines

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

Unplug the refrigerator and locate the water shut off valve. Shut the water off and grab a hair dryer to heat up the water line or just let the fridge sit without being on for a couple of hours until the water line is thawed.

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

When your ice maker isn’t making large enough pieces of ice, there’s a problem with the ice maker settings. To adjust the the ice maker settings, take the upper part of the cover off and find a standard control that has 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?