Why is My Refrigerator Ice Maker Not Working?

Ignite Miami Beach Appliance Repair offers refrigerator repair in Miami Beach, including services to repair broken ice makers. Learn about common ice maker failures below:

Refrigerator ice makers are perhaps one of the most convenient inventions ever. An ice maker is a little luxury a lot of people might take for granted. Refrigerator ice makers are simple machines that do not have a lot of complex parts that will go wrong with them.

Like with any repair, there are basic things that should be looked at before thinking the worst. And, it’s nice to know, if necessary, you can replace an ice maker without replacing the entire fridge, depending on the brand and model. First, let’s review some of the causes for an ice maker breaking.

When the ice maker is making ice but it is not ejecting it it is usually a mechanical failure versus an electrical issue. This can happen when shifting food around in the freezer, you might accidentally push or pull the control arm up or down. Often the ice maker can be jammed with something else, possibly a chunk of ice. First, check to see if there is ice or food blocking this from working correctly.

Before beginning the steps of clearing out the freezer, be sure the ice maker is turned on. This can be done by flipping the metal control arm in the down position. Sometimes, moving food around in the freezer can put it in the off position. If the control arm is free, then there could be ice stuck inside of the ice maker or it’s 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 a mechanical or electrical failure. This will need some more diagnosing. Ready to proceed? First, we must check the electrical connection. This could become unplugged from behind the freezer when moving or shifting the food in the freezer.

To check this, unplug the freezer and move from the kitchen wall. Then, turn off the freezer’s water supply. Locate the connection on the back of the inside of the freezer. Essentially this is what plugs the ice maker into the freezer. Be sure that it is actually plugged in the right way.

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

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

Check for Frozen Lines

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

Unplug the fridge and find the water shut off valve. Turn the water off and then get a hair dryer to heat up the water line or just let the refrigerator sit shut off for a few hours until the water line is thawed.

Some models that feature 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 is not making big enough pieces of ice, there’s an issue with the settings. To adjust the the ice maker settings, take the top part of the cover off and locate a simple knob that displays plus and a minus signs. For this process, you may need a flat head screwdriver.

ADDITIONAL REFRIGERATOR RESOURCES

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