Why is My Refrigerator Ice Maker Not Working?

Hi-Tech Midlothian Appliance Repair offers refrigerator repair in Midlothian, including services to repair broken ice makers. Learn about some common ice maker issues below:

Refrigerator ice makers are perhaps one of the best inventions ever. An ice maker is a little luxury most people take for granted. Refrigerator ice makers are simple machines that don’t feature a lot of complicated parts that can go wrong with them.

Like with any repair, there are basic things that need to be looked at before assuming the worst. And, remember, if necessary, you can replace your ice maker without replacing an entire fridge, depending on the brand and model. First, let’s take a look at a couple of the reasons for an ice maker breaking.

If an ice maker is making ice but it is not ejecting it it is usually means there is a mechanical failure versus an electrical issue. This occurs when reorganizing things around in the freezer, you could shift the control lever up or down. Most of the time the ice maker will get jammed with something else, possibly a piece of ice. First, look to see if there’s ice or food blocking this part from working the right way.

Before beginning the steps of clearing out the freezer, ensure the ice maker is turned on. This is done by flipping the control arm in the down position. Sometimes, moving food around in the freezer unit may put it into the off position. If the the switch is free, then there may be food jammed inside of the ice maker or it’s not getting a good connection.

Check the Control Arm

If the switch is down and there is ice but it is not ejecting it, this could be a mechanical or electrical problem. This will need a bit more troubleshooting. Ready to begin? First, we must check the electrical connection. This can become unplugged from behind the freezer when moving or shifting the freezer contents.

To inspect this, unplug the refrigerator 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 unit. Essentially this is what plugs the ice maker into the freezer. Be sure that it’s plugged in properly.

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

Once complete, restore power to the refrigerator and then turn on the ice maker. It may take the solenoid component a couple of seconds to react and fill the mold. When the mold is full, wait 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 clogged with frost. This is a pretty simple fix.

First, unplug the refrigerator and locate the shut off valve. Turn the water off and grab a hair dryer to heat up the water line or just let the freezer sit turned off for a couple of hours until the line is thawed.

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

When an ice maker is not making big enough cubes of ice, there’s a problem with the ice maker settings. To adjust the the ice maker settings, take the top part of the cover of the ice maker off and locate a standard dial that displays 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?