Why is My Refrigerator Ice Maker Not Working?

Triumph Thornton Appliance Repair performs refrigerator repair in Thornton, including 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. An ice maker is a small luxury a lot of people take for granted. Refrigerator ice makers are relatively simple machines that do not feature a lot of components that can have issues.

As with any repair, there are some basic things that need to be looked at before thinking the worst. And, remember, if needed, you can replace your ice maker without replacing an entire fridge, depending on the model. First, let’s discuss a few of the causes for an ice maker not working.

If your ice maker is making ice but it is not ejecting it it is usually a mechanical failure opposed to an electrical problem. This happens when moving food around in the freezer, you shift the control lever up or down. Most of the time the ice maker can be blocked with something, even another chunk of ice. So, check to see if there’s something blocking this from operating properly.

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

Check the Control Arm

If the control is down and there’s ice but it’s not ejecting it, there might be an electrical or mechanical problem. This will require a bit more diagnosing. Ready to get started? First, we must check the electrical connection. This can become unplugged from behind the freezer or refrigerator when moving or shifting the freezer contents.

To check this, unplug the freezer and move it out away from the wall. Turn off the water supply. Locate the connection on the rear of the inside of the freezer. Essentially this is what plugs the ice maker into the freezer unit. Be sure that it is plugged in the right way.

Then, remove all of the ice that is inside of the ice maker itself. This can be accomplished by adding a little water to help to get ice that’s in there out.

Once complete, turn on the 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 100% full, wait around 4-5 hours to see if you have cleared the issue.

Check for Frozen Lines

Other ice maker failures that can cause your ice maker to not make ice are frozen water lines. The water lines have been blocked with frost. This is a pretty simple problem to fix.

First, unplug the freezer and locate the shut off valve. Turn the water off and grab a hair dryer to warm the water line or let the refrigerator sit turned off for a few hours and wait until the line is thawed.

Some models that have a water filter that can freeze or ice up. For these cases, finding the water filter is the first step. Then repeat what was done for the frozen line.

If an ice maker isn’t making big enough cubes of ice, there’s a problem with the ice maker settings. To adjust the settings, take the top part of the cover of the ice maker off and find a standard control that displays plus and a minus signs. To do this, 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?