Why is My Refrigerator Ice Maker Not Working?

Integrity Augusta Appliance Repair provides refrigerator repair in Augusta, including professional services to fix broken ice makers. Learn about common ice maker problems below:

Refrigerator ice makers are one of the most convenient inventions of all time. An ice maker is a small luxury many people might take for granted. Ice makers are simple machines that don’t feature a lot of parts that might go wrong with them.

Like with any appliance repair, there are some basic things that should be reviewed before thinking the worst. And, it’s nice to know, if needed, you are able to replace your ice maker without replacing an entire refrigerator, dependent on the brand and model. First, let’s discuss a few of the causes for an ice maker failure.

When your ice maker is making ice but it isn’t ejecting it it is usually means there’s a mechanical failure vs. an electrical issue. This happens when shifting things around in the freezer unit, you might accidentally shift the control lever up or down. Often the ice maker will get jammed with something, even another chunk of ice. So, check to see if there is anything blocking this part from operating the right way.

Before starting the process of clearing out the freezer, ensure the ice maker is turned on. This is done by pulling the control arm in the down position. Sometimes, moving food around in the freezer unit can put it into the off position. If the the switch is free, then there might be something jammed inside the ice maker or it is not getting a good connection.

Check the Control Arm

When the control is down and there’s ice but it is not ejecting it, this could be an electrical or mechanical problem. This is going to require some more troubleshooting. Ready to begin? First, we must check the electrical connection. This can become unplugged from the back of the freezer when shifting or moving the freezer contents.

To check this, first unplug the refrigerator and slide it out away from the wall. Then, turn off the water supply valve. Locate the connection on the back of the inside of the freezer unit. Basically this is what plugs the ice maker into the freezer unit. Be sure that it is plugged in correctly.

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

Once this is done, turn on the 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 around 4-5 hours or so to see if you’ve cleared the issue.

Check for Frozen Lines

More ice maker problems that can cause your ice maker to not produce any ice are frozen lines. The water lines might be clogged with frost. This is an easy problem to fix.

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

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

When an ice maker isn’t making big enough cubes of ice, there is a problem with the ice maker settings. To adjust the the ice maker settings, take the upper part of the cover off and locate a simple 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?