Avondale Appliance Repair Experts provides refrigerator repair in Avondale, including services to repair broken ice makers. Learn about some common ice maker failures below:
Ice makers are possibly one of the most convenient inventions of all time. An ice maker is a small luxury a lot of people certainly not appreciate. Refrigerator ice makers are relatively simple machines that don’t have a lot of parts that could cause problems.
As with any appliance repair, there are some basic things that should be looked at before thinking the worst. And, it’s nice to know, if necessary, you can replace your ice maker without replacing the entire fridge, dependent on the model. First, let’s review a few of the causes for an ice maker not working.
If the ice maker is making ice but it isn’t dispensing it it is usually means there is a mechanical issue vs. an electrical problem. This can happen when shifting food around in the freezer, you could push or pull the control lever up or down. Most of the time the ice maker might get jammed with something, including a piece of ice. First, look to see if there’s something blocking this part from operating properly.
Before beginning the steps of clearing out the freezer, check that the ice maker is turned on. This is done by pulling the control arm down. Sometimes, moving things around in the freezer might put the switch in the off position. If the the switch is free, then there may be something jammed inside of the ice maker or it is not getting a good connection.
Check the Control Arm
When the switch is down and there is ice but it is not ejecting it, this could be an electrical or mechanical issue. This is going to require a bit more diagnosing. Ready to begin? First, we must inspect the electrical connection. This can become unplugged from behind the freezer or refrigerator when moving or shifting the food in the freezer.
To inspect this, unplug the fridge and slide it out away from the wall. Turn off the water supply valve. Locate the valve on the rear of the inside of the freezer unit. Basically this is what connects the ice maker into the freezer. Ensure that it is plugged in correctly.
Then, remove all of the ice that’s in the ice maker itself. This can be completed by pouring in a small amount of water to help get ice that is inside of there out.
Once this is done, restore power to the refrigerator and turn on the ice maker. It might take the solenoid component a couple of seconds to engage and fill the mold. After the mold is completely full, wait around 4-5 hours to see if you’ve cleared the problem.
Check for Frozen Lines
More ice maker failures that may 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 fix.
Unplug the refrigerator and find the shut off valve. Turn the water off and get a hair dryer to heat up the water line or let the freezer sit turned off for a few hours and wait until the line is thawed.
There are some models that feature a water filter that can clog or ice over. For these cases, finding the filter is the first step. Then repeat the same process that was done for the iced line.
When your ice maker is not making large enough cubes of ice, there’s 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 locate a simple dial that has plus and a minus signs. For this process, 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?