Why is My Refrigerator Ice Maker Not Working?

Roy Appliance Repair offers refrigerator repair service in California, including services to fix ice makers that are not working. Learn about common ice maker failures below:

Ice makers are one of the most convenient inventions ever. This is a little luxury many people take for granted. Refrigerator ice makers are relatively simple machines that do not feature a lot of complex components that can go wrong with them.

Like with any repair, there are basic things that should be reviewed before assuming the worst. And, remember, if necessary, you can replace the ice maker without replacing an entire fridge, dependent on the brand and model. First, let’s review a few of the causes for an ice maker not working.

When your ice maker is making ice but it isn’t ejecting it it is usually a mechanical failure opposed to an electrical issue. This occurs when reorganizing things around in the freezer, you might shift the control arm up or down. Most of the time the ice maker will be jammed with something else, possibly a chunk of ice. So, look to see if there’s ice or food blocking this from working correctly.

Before starting the steps of clearing out the freezer, ensure your ice maker is on. This is done by pulling the control arm down. From time to time, moving things around in the freezer can put it in the off position. If the the switch is clear, then there might be ice jammed inside of the ice maker or it is not receiving a good connection.

Check the Control Arm

If the control arm is down and there is ice but it is not ejecting it, this might be a mechanical or electrical issue. This will need a bit more diagnosing. Ready to proceed? First, we must inspect the electrical connection. This can be unplugged from the rear of the freezer or refrigerator when shifting or moving the freezer contents.

To check this, unplug the fridge and pull it out away from the wall. Then, turn off the water supply valve. Locate the valve on the back of the inside of the freezer. Essentially this is what plugs the ice maker into the freezer unit. Ensure that it is plugged in correctly.

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

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

Check for Frozen Lines

More ice maker issues that will cause your ice maker to not make ice are frozen water lines. The water lines might be blocked with frost. This is a pretty simple problem to fix.

First, unplug the refrigerator and locate the water shut off valve. Shut the water off and grab a hair dryer to warm the line or let the refrigerator sit without being on for a few hours until the line is thawed.

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

When your ice maker is not making large enough cubes of ice, there is a problem with the settings. To adjust the the ice maker settings, take the upper part of the cover of the ice maker off and find a standard dial that has plus and a minus signs. For this process, 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?