Why is My Refrigerator Ice Maker Not Working?

Township Appliance Repair provides refrigerator repair in Toms River, including services to fix ice makers that aren’t working. Learn about common ice maker issues below:

Ice makers are one of the best inventions of all time. This is a small luxury many people not appreciate. Ice makers are simple machines that do not have a lot of complicated components that might cause problems.

As with any appliance repair, there are basic things that should be looked at before thinking the worst. And, remember, if needed, you can replace your ice maker without replacing an entire fridge, dependent on the brand and model. First, let’s discuss a few of the reasons for an ice maker not working.

If an ice maker is making ice but it is not dispensing it it is usually means there’s a mechanical problem versus an electrical failure. This can happen when shifting things around in the freezer unit, you might push or pull the control lever up or down. A lot of the time the ice maker will be jammed with something, including a piece of ice. First, look to see if there’s something blocking this from operating correctly.

Before starting the steps of clearing out the freezer, ensure your ice maker is on. This can be done by pulling the control arm down. From time to time, moving things around in the freezer might put the control in the off position. If the control arm is free, then there might be ice jammed 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 is not ejecting it, there could be a mechanical or electrical failure. This is going to need some more troubleshooting. Ready to get started? First, we have to inspect the electrical connection. This could be unplugged from the rear of the freezer when shifting or moving the food in the freezer.

To check this, unplug the fridge and move it out from the wall. Turn off the freezer’s water supply. Locate the connection on the rear of the inside of the freezer unit. Basically this is what connects the ice maker into the freezer. Be sure that it is actually plugged in the right way.

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

Once this is done, turn on the power to the refrigerator and then turn on the ice maker. It might take the solenoid a couple of seconds to react and fill the mold. After the mold is full, wait 4-5 hours to see if you’ve solved the problem.

Check for Frozen Lines

More ice maker issues that can cause your ice maker to not make ice are frozen water lines. The water lines might be blocked with frost. This is a pretty simple problem to fix.

Unplug the fridge and locate the shut off valve. Turn the water off and get a hair dryer to warm the water line or just let the fridge sit without being on for a couple of hours until the line is thawed.

Some brands and models that have a water filter that can clog or ice over. In these situations, locating 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 settings. To adjust the the ice maker settings, take the top part of the cover of the ice maker off and locate a standard dial that displays plus and a minus symbols. 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?