Why is My Refrigerator Ice Maker Not Working?

Palmer Appliance Repair performs refrigerator repair service, including professional services to repair broken ice makers. Learn about common ice maker problems below:

Refrigerator ice makers are perhaps one of the greatest inventions ever. An ice maker is a small luxury most people might take for granted. Ice makers are relatively simple machines that don’t have a lot of parts that can go wrong with them.

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

When your ice maker is making ice but it is not dispensing the ice cubes it is usually a mechanical problem versus an electrical failure. This happens when moving food around in the freezer, you might accidentally push or pull the control switch up or down. Often the ice maker will get blocked with something, including a piece of ice. So, check to see if there is ice or food blocking this from working correctly.

Before beginning the steps of clearing out the freezer, ensure your ice maker is turned on. This is done by moving the metal control arm in the down position. From time to time, moving food around in the freezer might put it in the off position. If the the switch is free, then there could be food or ice jammed inside the ice maker or it’s not receiving a good connection.

Check the Control Arm

If the control is down and there is ice but it is not ejecting it, there might be a mechanical or electrical failure. This will require a bit more troubleshooting. Ready to begin? First, we have 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 freezer and move it out away from the wall. Then, turn off the water supply. Locate the connection on the back of the inside of the freezer unit. Essentially this is what connects the ice maker into the freezer unit. Be sure that it is plugged in properly.

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

Once done, turn on the power to the refrigerator and then turn on the ice maker. It may take the solenoid component a few seconds to react and fill the mold. Once the mold is full, wait around 4-5 hours or so to see if you have solved the issue.

Check for Frozen Lines

Other ice maker problems that will cause your ice maker to not make any ice are frozen lines. The water lines might be blocked with frost. This is an easy problem to fix.

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

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

If an ice maker is not making large enough pieces of ice, there’s an issue with the ice maker settings. To adjust the settings, take the top part of the cover off and locate a simple knob that displays plus and a minus signs. To do this, 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?