Nifty Nashville Appliance Repair provides refrigerator repair in Nashville, including services to fix broken ice makers. Learn about some common ice maker issues below:
Refrigerator ice makers are possibly one of the best inventions ever. An ice maker is a little luxury most people take for granted. Refrigerator ice makers are simple machines that don’t have a lot of parts that can cause problems.
Like with any repair, there are a few basic things that need to be reviewed before assuming the worst. And, it’s nice to know, if necessary, you are able to replace the ice maker without replacing the entire refrigerator, dependent on the model. First, let’s discuss a few of the causes for an ice maker failure.
When the ice maker is making ice but it is not dispensing it it is usually a mechanical issue versus an electrical problem. This can occur when moving food around in the freezer, you shift the control arm up or down. Often the ice maker will get blocked with something, even another chunk of ice. First, look to see if there is anything blocking this part from working the right way.
Before starting the steps of clearing out the freezer, be sure the ice maker is on. This can be done by pulling the control arm down. Sometimes, moving food around in the freezer unit may put the switch into the off position. If the control arm is clear, then there might be food jammed inside the ice maker or it’s not getting a good connection.
Check the Control Arm
If the control arm is down and there’s ice but it is not dispensing it, there might be an electrical or mechanical failure. This will require some more troubleshooting. Ready to get started? First, we must check the electrical connection. This can be unplugged from the back of the freezer or refrigerator when moving or shifting the freezer contents.
To check this, first unplug the fridge and slide from the kitchen wall. Then, turn off the water supply. Locate the valve on the rear of the inside of the freezer unit. Essentially this is what plugs the ice maker into the freezer. Be sure that it’s plugged in the right way.
After that, remove all of the ice that’s in the ice maker. This can be accomplished by adding a little water to help to get ice that is in there out.
Once this is done, restore power to the fridge and then turn on the ice maker. It could take the solenoid a couple of seconds to engage and fill the mold. Once the mold is completely full, wait around 4-5 hours to see if you have cleared the problem.
Check for Frozen Lines
More ice maker problems that could cause your ice maker to not make any ice are frozen lines. The water lines might be blocked with frost. This is a pretty simple problem to fix.
First, unplug the refrigerator and locate the shut off valve. Shut the water off and get a hair dryer to heat up the water line or let the fridge sit turned off for a couple of hours until the line is thawed.
There are some brands and models that have a water filter that can freeze or ice up. In these situations, locating the filter is the first step. Then repeat what was done for the iced line.
When an ice maker isn’t making large enough pieces of ice, there’s a problem with the ice maker settings. To adjust the settings, take the upper part of the cover off and find a standard control that has plus and a minus signs. 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?