Spring Appliance Repair NOW is experienced in refrigerator repair in Spring, including professional services to repair ice makers that aren’t working. Learn about common ice maker failures below:
Refrigerator ice makers are perhaps one of the greatest inventions of all time. This is a little luxury many people certainly take for granted. Refrigerator ice makers are simple machines that don’t feature a lot of complex parts that could go wrong with them.
Like with any appliance repair, there are some basic things that need to be looked at before thinking the worst. And, it’s nice to know, if necessary, you are able to replace an ice maker without replacing an entire refrigerator, depending on the brand and model. First, let’s review a couple of the reasons for an ice maker failure.
If the ice maker is making ice but it isn’t ejecting it it is usually means there’s a mechanical issue opposed to an electrical issue. This can happen when moving food around in the freezer unit, you could push or pull the control arm up or down. A lot of the time the ice maker might be blocked with something, even another piece of ice. So, look to see if there’s ice or food blocking this part from working properly.
Before starting the process of clearing out the freezer, ensure the ice maker is on. This can be done by moving the control arm down. Sometimes, moving food around in the freezer may put it in the off position. If the the switch is free, then there might be food or ice stuck inside of the ice maker or it is not getting a good connection.
Check the Control Arm
When the control arm is down and there’s ice but it is not dispensing it, this might be a mechanical or electrical problem. This will require some more troubleshooting. Ready to begin? First, we must check the electrical connection. This could become unplugged from behind the freezer or refrigerator when moving or shifting the food in the freezer.
To check this, unplug the freezer and pull it out away from the wall. Then, turn off the water supply. Locate the valve on the rear of the inside of the freezer. Basically this is what connects the ice maker into the freezer. Ensure that it is plugged in properly.
Next, remove all of the ice that’s inside of the ice maker. This can be done by pouring in a small amount of water to help get the ice that’s inside of there out.
Once done, turn on the power to the fridge and then turn on the ice maker. It might take the solenoid component a couple of seconds to react and fill the mold. When the mold is full, wait around 4-5 hours to see if you have solved the problem.
Check for Frozen Lines
More ice maker problems that may cause your ice maker to not produce any ice are frozen water lines. The water lines have been blocked with frost. This is a pretty simple issue to fix.
Unplug the freezer and find the water shut off valve. Turn the water off and then grab a hair dryer to warm the water line or just let the freezer sit shut off for a couple of hours and wait until the water line is thawed.
Some brands and models that feature a water filter that can freeze or ice up. For these cases, locating the filter is the first step. Then repeat the same process that was done for the frozen line.
When your ice maker is not making big enough pieces of ice, there is a problem with the ice maker settings. To adjust the settings, take the top part of the cover off and find a simple 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?