Why is My Refrigerator Ice Maker Not Working?

Smithtown Appliance Repair provides refrigerator repair in Smithtown, including professional services to repair ice makers that are not working. Learn about common ice maker problems below:

Refrigerator ice makers are one of the greatest inventions of all time. An ice maker is a little luxury a lot of people take for granted. Ice makers are relatively simple machines that don’t have a lot of complicated parts that will cause issues.

Like with any appliance repair, there are basic things that need to be looked at before assuming the worst. And, remember, if necessary, you can replace an ice maker without replacing the entire refrigerator, depending on the model. First, let’s take a look at a couple of the causes for an ice maker not working.

If an ice maker is making ice but it is not ejecting it it is usually means there is a mechanical problem versus an electrical issue. This happens when moving things around in the freezer, you accidentally push or pull the control lever up or down. Most of the time the ice maker will get blocked with something else, even another piece of ice. So, check to see if there’s ice or food blocking this part from working properly.

Before starting the steps of clearing out the freezer, ensure the ice maker is turned on. This is done by moving the metal control arm down. From time to time, moving things around in the freezer unit may put the control into the off position. If the control arm is clear, then there could be something jammed 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 might be an electrical or mechanical problem. This is going to require a bit more troubleshooting. Ready to proceed? First, we must check the electrical connection. This can become unplugged from behind the freezer or refrigerator when moving or shifting the food in the freezer.

To inspect this, first unplug the fridge and pull it out away from the kitchen wall. Turn off the freezer’s water supply. Locate the connection on the back of the inside of the freezer. Essentially this is what connects the ice maker into the freezer. Be sure that it’s plugged in correctly.

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

Once this is done, restore power to the fridge and turn on the ice maker. It might take the solenoid a couple of seconds to engage and fill the mold. When the mold is 100% full, wait 4-5 hours to see if you have cleared the problem.

Check for Frozen Lines

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

Unplug the freezer and locate the water shut off valve. Shut the water off and then grab a hair dryer to warm the line or just let the freezer sit turned off for a few hours until the water line is thawed.

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

When an ice maker isn’t making large enough pieces of ice, there is an issue with the settings. To adjust the the ice maker settings, take the upper part of the cover off and locate a basic dial that has plus and a minus symbols. 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?