College Station Appliance Repair is experienced in refrigerator repair in College Station, including professional services to repair ice makers that are not working. Learn about common ice maker issues below:
Ice makers are possibly one of the greatest inventions ever. This is a little luxury a lot of people take for granted. Ice makers are relatively simple machines that don’t feature a lot of parts that might cause problems.
Like with any appliance repair, there are basic things that need to be reviewed before thinking the worst. And, it’s nice to know, if needed, you are able to replace your ice maker without replacing an entire fridge, dependent on the brand and model. First, let’s discuss a few of the causes for an ice maker failure.
If the ice maker is making ice but it is not ejecting it it is usually means there’s a mechanical issue opposed to an electrical failure. This occurs when reorganizing things around in the freezer, you could accidentally push or pull the control switch up or down. Often the ice maker will be jammed with something, possibly a chunk of ice. So, check to see if there is something blocking this from operating correctly.
Before starting the process of clearing out the freezer, be sure your ice maker is on. This can be done by flipping the metal control arm down. Sometimes, moving food around in the freezer might put the switch into the off position. If the the switch is free, then there may be food stuck inside of the ice maker or it is not receiving a good connection.
Check the Control Arm
When the control is down and there’s ice but it is not ejecting it, there might be a mechanical or electrical failure. This is going to need a bit more diagnosing. Ready to proceed? First, we need to check the electrical connection. This can become unplugged from the back of the freezer when shifting or moving the food in the freezer.
To inspect this, first unplug the refrigerator and slide it out from the kitchen wall. Then, turn off the water supply valve. Locate the connection on the back of the inside of the freezer. Basically this is what connects the ice maker into the freezer unit. Be sure that it’s plugged in correctly.
Next, remove any ice that’s inside of the ice maker itself. This can be completed by adding a little water to help to get ice that is inside of there out.
Once done, turn on the power to the refrigerator and turn on the ice maker. It could take the solenoid component a few seconds to engage and fill the mold. When the mold is completely full, wait around 4-5 hours or so to see if you have cleared the problem.
Check for Frozen Lines
Other ice maker issues that may cause your ice maker to not make ice are frozen water lines. The water lines might be clogged with frost. This is a pretty simple fix.
First, unplug the fridge and locate the water shut off valve. Shut the water off and grab a hair dryer to warm the line or let the fridge sit turned off for a couple of hours until the water line is thawed.
Some models that have a water filter that can freeze or ice over. In these cases, locating the filter is the first step. Then repeat the same process that was done for the frozen line.
If an ice maker is not making large enough pieces of ice, there is an issue with the ice maker settings. To adjust the the ice maker settings, take the top part of the cover of the ice maker off and find a basic 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?