Why is My Refrigerator Ice Maker Not Working?

CRT Appliance Repair offers refrigerator repair in Middletown, including services to fix ice makers that aren’t working. Learn about common ice maker failures below:

Refrigerator ice makers are one of the best inventions ever. This is a little luxury many people not appreciate. Refrigerator ice makers are relatively simple machines that don’t have a lot of complex parts that might have issues.

As with any appliance repair, there are basic things that need to be looked at before assuming the worst. And, remember, if necessary, you are able to replace the ice maker without replacing an entire fridge, depending on the brand and model. First, let’s take a look at a few of the causes for an ice maker failure.

When the ice maker is making ice but it is not ejecting the ice it is usually a mechanical problem versus an electrical failure. This can occur when moving food around in the freezer unit, you might push or pull the control lever up or down. Most of the time the ice maker might be jammed with something, possibly a chunk of ice. So, check to see if there’s ice or food blocking this from operating 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. Sometimes, moving food around in the freezer might put it in the off position. If the the switch is free, then there may be food or ice jammed inside of the ice maker or it’s not getting a good connection.

Check the Control Arm

When the control arm is down and there’s ice but it is not ejecting it, this might be an electrical or mechanical issue. This will need a bit more troubleshooting. Ready to get started? First, we must inspect the electrical connection. This could be unplugged from the back of the freezer when shifting or moving the food in the freezer.

To inspect this, first unplug the refrigerator and pull it out from the kitchen wall. Then, turn off the freezer’s water supply. Locate the connection on the rear of the inside of the freezer unit. Basically this is what plugs the ice maker into the freezer unit. Be sure that it is actually plugged in correctly.

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

Once done, restore power to the fridge and turn on the ice maker. It might take the solenoid component a few seconds to react and fill the mold. Once the mold is completely full, wait around 4-5 hours to see if you have cleared the issue.

Check for Frozen Lines

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

Unplug the freezer and find the water shut off valve. Shut the water off and then grab a hair dryer to warm the water line or just let the refrigerator sit shut off for a couple of hours until the water line is thawed.

Some models that have a water filter that can freeze or ice up. In these situations, 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 big enough pieces of ice, there is an issue with the ice maker settings. To adjust the settings, take the upper 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?