Why is My Refrigerator Ice Maker Not Working?

HOF Highland Appliance Repair provides refrigerator repair in Highland, including services to repair ice makers that aren’t working. Learn about common ice maker failures below:

Ice makers are perhaps one of the most convenient inventions of all time. This is a little luxury most people not appreciate. Refrigerator ice makers are simple machines that don’t have a lot of complex components that can go wrong with them.

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

When an ice maker is making ice but it isn’t dispensing the ice it is usually means there’s a mechanical issue vs. an electrical problem. This can occur when moving things around in the freezer, you push or pull the control lever up or down. Often the ice maker will be blocked with something else, possibly a chunk of ice. So, look to see if there is anything blocking this from operating properly.

Before starting the process of clearing out the freezer, check that your ice maker is turned on. This can be done by pulling the metal control arm in the down position. From time to time, moving things around in the freezer might put the control into the off position. If the the switch is free, then there could be food or ice stuck inside of the ice maker or it’s not getting a good connection.

Check the Control Arm

When the switch is down and there is ice but it is not dispensing it, there could be an electrical or mechanical issue. This is going to require some more troubleshooting. Ready to begin? First, we need 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 inspect this, first unplug the refrigerator and move it out from the wall. Then, turn off the water supply. Locate the valve on the rear of the inside of the freezer. Basically this is what plugs the ice maker into the freezer. Ensure that it’s actually plugged in properly.

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

Once this is done, turn on the power to the refrigerator and then turn on the ice maker. It could take the solenoid a couple of seconds to engage and fill the mold. When the mold is full, wait around 4-5 hours to see if you have solved the issue.

Check for Frozen Lines

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

First, unplug the freezer and locate the water shut off valve. Turn the water off and grab a hair dryer to warm the water line or just let the freezer sit shut off for a couple of hours until the water line is thawed.

There are some brands and models that have a water filter that can clog or ice up. In these cases, locating the filter is the first step. Then repeat what was done for the frozen water line.

If an ice maker isn’t making big enough pieces of ice, there is a problem with the settings. To adjust the settings, take the upper part of the cover of the ice maker off and find a basic dial that has plus and a minus symbols. 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?