Why is My Refrigerator Ice Maker Not Working?

ARC Appliance Repair provides refrigerator repair in Woodland Hills, including professional services to repair ice makers that aren’t working. Learn about some common ice maker failures below:

Ice makers are possibly one of the best inventions ever. This is a little luxury most people certainly take for granted. Refrigerator ice makers are relatively simple machines that don’t feature a lot of complex components that might go wrong with them.

As with any repair, there are a few basic things that should be reviewed before assuming the worst. And, remember, if needed, you can replace your ice maker without replacing the entire fridge, depending on the model. First, let’s take a look at some of the causes for an ice maker not working.

When the ice maker is making ice but it is not dispensing it it is usually a mechanical problem vs. an electrical issue. This happens when moving food around in the freezer, you might shift the control arm up or down. Often the ice maker might be blocked with something, including a piece of ice. First, check to see if there’s something blocking this part from operating properly.

Before beginning the process of clearing out the freezer, ensure your ice maker is turned on. This is done by pulling the control arm down. Sometimes, moving things around in the freezer may put the switch in the off position. If the the switch is clear, then there may be something stuck inside of the ice maker or it is not getting a good connection.

Check the Control Arm

If the control is down and there is ice but it is not ejecting it, this could be an electrical or mechanical issue. This is going to require some more diagnosing. Ready to get started? First, we have to inspect the electrical connection. This could be unplugged from the rear of the freezer when moving or shifting the food in the freezer.

To check this, first unplug the refrigerator and pull away from the wall. 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 unit. Ensure that it is actually plugged in correctly.

After that, remove any ice that is in the ice maker itself. This can be accomplished by adding a bit of water to help get the ice that is in there out.

Once complete, turn on the power to the fridge and then turn on the ice maker. It could take the solenoid a few seconds to react and fill the mold. Once the mold is full, wait around 4-5 hours to see if you have solved the problem.

Check for Frozen Lines

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

First, unplug the freezer and find the shut off valve. Shut the water off and then get a hair dryer to warm the line or let the refrigerator sit turned off for a few hours and wait until the water line is thawed.

Some models that have a water filter that can freeze or ice over. For these situations, finding the filter is the first step. Then repeat what was done for the iced water line.

When your ice maker isn’t making big enough pieces of ice, there’s a problem with the settings. To adjust the settings, take the top part of the cover of the ice maker off and find a standard knob that displays plus and a minus signs. To do this, 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?