Reliable Redding Appliance Repair performs refrigerator repair in Redding, including services to repair broken ice makers. Learn about some common ice maker failures below:
Ice makers are perhaps one of the best inventions of all time. An ice maker is a little luxury most people not appreciate. Ice makers are simple machines that do not feature a lot of components that might have problems.
Like with any repair, there are a few basic things that need to be reviewed before thinking the worst. And, it’s good to know, if needed, you can replace your ice maker without replacing the entire fridge, dependent on the model. First, let’s review a couple of the causes for an ice maker breaking.
When your ice maker is making ice but it is not dispensing the ice cubes it is usually means there’s a mechanical issue opposed to an electrical issue. This occurs when shifting food around in the freezer, you could accidentally push or pull the control switch up or down. Most of the time the ice maker will get jammed with something, possibly a chunk of ice. So, check to see if there is ice or food blocking this from working the right way.
Before beginning the process of clearing out the freezer, be sure your ice maker is on. This can be done by pulling the metal control arm down. From time to time, moving things around in the freezer unit may put the switch in the off position. If the control arm is free, then there could be food jammed inside of the ice maker or it is not getting a good connection.
Check the Control Arm
When the control is down and there’s ice but it is not dispensing it, this could be a mechanical or electrical issue. This will need some more troubleshooting. Ready to get started? 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 inspect this, first unplug the freezer and slide from the wall. Then, turn off the freezer’s water supply valve. Locate the connection on the rear of the inside of the freezer. Essentially this is what connects the ice maker into the freezer. Ensure that it’s actually plugged in the right way.
Next, remove all of the ice that’s inside of the ice maker. This can be done by pouring in a bit of water to help get ice that’s in there out.
Once this is done, restore power to the refrigerator and then turn on the ice maker. It could take the solenoid component a couple of seconds to engage and fill the mold. When the mold is completely full, wait around 4-5 hours or so to see if you’ve solved the problem.
Check for Frozen Lines
More ice maker problems that might cause your ice maker to not produce any ice are frozen water lines. The water lines might be clogged with frost. This is a pretty simple problem to fix.
Unplug the fridge and locate the water shut off valve. Turn the water off and then get a hair dryer to warm the water line or just let the fridge sit without being on for a few hours and wait until the water line is thawed.
Some models that feature a water filter that can clog or ice up. For these situations, finding the water filter is the first step. Then repeat what was done for the frozen water line.
If an ice maker isn’t making large enough pieces of ice, there is a problem with the settings. To adjust the settings, take the top part of the cover of the ice maker off and locate a standard knob that displays plus and a minus symbols. To do this, you might need a flat head screwdriver.
ADDITIONAL REFRIGERATOR RESOURCES
- Refrigerator Noisy
- Refrigerator Water Dispenser Not Working
- Refrigerator Not Cooling
- How Does a Refrigerator Work?