Why is My Refrigerator Ice Maker Not Working?

A&L Tempe Appliance Repair is experienced in refrigerator repair in Tempe, including professional services to fix ice makers that aren’t working. Learn about common ice maker failures below:

Refrigerator ice makers are perhaps one of the best inventions of all time. This is a small luxury a lot of people not appreciate. Refrigerator ice makers are relatively simple machines that do not feature a lot of complex components that will go wrong with them.

Like with any appliance repair, there are some basic things that need to be reviewed before thinking the worst. And, it’s nice to know, if necessary, you are able to replace an 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 not working.

If an ice maker is making ice but it is not ejecting it it is usually means there’s a mechanical issue vs. an electrical failure. This happens when moving things around in the freezer unit, you might shift the control arm up or down. Most of the time the ice maker can be blocked with something, possibly a chunk of ice. First, check to see if there’s ice or food blocking this part from working correctly.

Before starting the process of clearing out the freezer, be sure your ice maker is turned on. This is done by moving the control arm down. From time to time, moving things around in the freezer unit might put it into the off position. If the control arm is free, then there may be food stuck inside 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, there could be a mechanical or electrical issue. This is going to require a bit more troubleshooting. Ready to proceed? First, we have to check the electrical connection. This could become unplugged from the back of the freezer or refrigerator when moving or shifting the freezer contents.

To inspect this, first unplug the freezer and pull it out away from the wall. Turn off the freezer’s water supply valve. Locate the valve on the back of the inside of the freezer unit. Basically this is what connects the ice maker into the freezer unit. Be sure that it’s actually plugged in properly.

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

Once complete, restore power to the refrigerator and then turn on the ice maker. It may take the solenoid a couple of seconds to engage and fill the mold. Once the mold is 100% full, wait 4-5 hours or so to see if you have solved the issue.

Check for Frozen Lines

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

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

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

If an 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 top part of the cover of the ice maker off and locate a basic knob that has plus and a minus symbols. To do this, 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?