Why is My Refrigerator Ice Maker Not Working?

Crown Pomona Appliance Repair provides refrigerator repair in Pomona, including services to fix broken ice makers. Learn about some common ice maker issues below:

Ice makers are perhaps one of the most convenient inventions ever. This is a small luxury most people might take for granted. Ice makers are simple machines that don’t have a lot of parts that will go wrong with them.

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

If the ice maker is making ice but it isn’t dispensing it it is usually a mechanical failure opposed to an electrical problem. This can happen when moving food around in the freezer unit, you could jam the control switch up or down. Often the ice maker will be jammed with something, even another chunk of ice. First, look to see if there is anything blocking this from working the right way.

Before starting the steps of clearing out the freezer, be sure your ice maker is turned on. This can be done by moving the metal control arm down. Sometimes, moving food around in the freezer unit may put the switch in the off position. If the control arm is free, then there could be food or ice jammed inside of the ice maker or it’s not receiving a good connection.

Check the Control Arm

When the control arm is down and there is ice but it is not dispensing it, there might be a mechanical or electrical problem. This is going to require a bit more diagnosing. Ready to begin? First, we need to check the electrical connection. This can become unplugged from behind the freezer when shifting or moving the freezer contents.

To check this, first unplug the freezer and move from the kitchen wall. Then, turn off the water supply. Locate the connection on the rear of the inside of the freezer unit. Essentially this is what connects the ice maker into the freezer. Be sure that it is actually plugged in properly.

Next, remove all of the ice that’s 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 react and fill the mold. When the mold is full, wait around 4-5 hours or so to see if you have solved the issue.

Check for Frozen Lines

More ice maker issues that will cause your ice maker to not make any ice are frozen lines. The water lines have been blocked with frost. This is a pretty simple fix.

First, unplug the refrigerator and locate the shut off valve. Turn the water off and get a hair dryer to warm the 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 feature a water filter that can freeze or ice over. For these cases, finding the water filter is the first step. Then repeat what was done for the iced water line.

When your ice maker is not making big enough cubes of ice, there’s an issue with the ice maker settings. To adjust the the ice maker settings, take the top part of the cover of the ice maker off and find a basic knob that displays plus and a minus signs. For this process, you could need a flat head screwdriver.

ADDITIONAL REFRIGERATOR RESOURCES

• Refrigerator Noisy
• Refrigerator Water Dispenser Not Working
• Refrigerator Not Cooling
• How Does a Refrigerator Work?