Nashua Appliance Repair performs refrigerator repair in Nashua, including services to repair broken ice makers. Learn about common ice maker failures below:
Refrigerator ice makers are perhaps one of the greatest inventions ever. An ice maker is a little luxury most people certainly take for granted. Ice makers are relatively simple machines that do not have a lot of parts that could cause problems.
As with any repair, there are a few basic things that should be reviewed before assuming the worst. And, remember, if necessary, you can replace your ice maker without replacing the entire refrigerator, dependent on the brand and model. First, let’s discuss a few of the reasons for an ice maker not working.
When an ice maker is making ice but it is not ejecting it it is usually a mechanical failure vs. an electrical problem. This occurs when moving food around in the freezer, you could shift the control lever up or down. Most of the time the ice maker can be blocked with something, possibly a chunk of ice. First, look to see if there is anything blocking this from working the right way.
Before starting the steps of clearing out the freezer, ensure the ice maker is on. This can be done by pulling the metal control arm down. From time to time, moving food around in the freezer unit can put the control into the off position. If the the switch is free, then there might be food or ice jammed inside of the ice maker or it is not receiving a good connection.
Check the Control Arm
When the switch is down and there is ice but it’s not dispensing it, there might be an electrical or mechanical problem. This will require some more diagnosing. Ready to proceed? First, we must inspect the electrical connection. This can be unplugged from behind the freezer when moving or shifting the food in the freezer.
To check this, first unplug the fridge and pull away from the wall. Then, turn off the water supply valve. Locate the valve on the back of the inside of the freezer. Basically this is what connects the ice maker into the freezer unit. Ensure that it is plugged in correctly.
Next, remove all of the ice that is in the ice maker. This can be done by adding a small amount of water to help to get ice that’s inside of there out.
Once done, turn on the power to the refrigerator and turn on the ice maker. It might take the solenoid a couple of seconds to react and fill the mold. When the mold is full, wait around 4-5 hours to see if you’ve cleared the problem.
Check for Frozen Lines
More ice maker issues that might cause your ice maker to not produce any ice are frozen lines. The water lines could be clogged with frost. This is an easy fix.
First, unplug the fridge and locate the shut off valve. Shut the water off and grab a hair dryer to warm the line or just let the refrigerator sit turned off for a few hours and wait until the water line is thawed.
Some brands and models that feature a water filter that can freeze or ice over. For these cases, 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 an issue with the ice maker settings. To adjust the settings, take the upper part of the cover off and locate a standard knob 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?