Why is My Refrigerator Ice Maker Not Working?

Prime Pasadena Appliance Repair is experienced in refrigerator repair in Pasadena, including professional services to fix broken ice makers. Learn about common ice maker failures below:

Ice makers are possibly one of the greatest inventions of all time. An ice maker is a little luxury many people certainly take for granted. Refrigerator ice makers are relatively simple machines that don’t have a lot of components that will cause problems.

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

If an ice maker is making ice but it is not ejecting it it is usually a mechanical problem opposed to an electrical issue. This can occur when reorganizing food around in the freezer, you accidentally push or pull the control arm up or down. A lot of the time the ice maker might be jammed with something else, even another piece of ice. So, check to see if there’s anything blocking this part from operating properly.

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

Check the Control Arm

When the control arm is down and there’s ice but it is not dispensing it, there could be a mechanical or electrical problem. This is going to need some more diagnosing. Ready to proceed? First, we need to check the electrical connection. This could be unplugged from behind the freezer or refrigerator when shifting or moving the food in the freezer.

To inspect this, unplug the fridge and move away from the kitchen wall. Then, turn off the water supply valve. Locate the connection on the rear 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.

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

Once done, restore power to the fridge and turn on the ice maker. It might take the solenoid a couple of seconds to react and fill the mold. When the mold is 100% full, wait 4-5 hours to see if you’ve solved the issue.

Check for Frozen Lines

Other ice maker issues that could cause your ice maker to not produce ice are frozen water lines. The water lines might 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 line or let the refrigerator sit shut off for a couple of hours until the line is thawed.

Some models that feature a water filter that can freeze or ice over. For 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 big enough pieces of ice, there’s an issue with the settings. To adjust the the ice maker settings, take the top part of the cover off and locate a standard control that has plus and a minus signs. For this process, 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?