Excel Kent Appliance Repair provides refrigerator repair in Kent, including professional services to repair broken ice makers. Learn about some common ice maker problems below:
Refrigerator ice makers are one of the greatest inventions ever. An ice maker is a small luxury many people take for granted. Refrigerator ice makers are simple machines that don’t have a lot of complicated components that will go wrong with them.
Like with any repair, there are some 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 fridge, depending on the brand and model. First, let’s discuss a couple of the reasons for an ice maker breaking.
If your ice maker is making ice but it isn’t ejecting it it is usually a mechanical failure opposed to an electrical problem. This can happen when moving things around in the freezer, you could accidentally jam the control lever up or down. A lot of the time the ice maker can be jammed with something else, including a piece of ice. First, look to see if there’s ice or food blocking this from working correctly.
Before starting the steps of clearing out the freezer, ensure the ice maker is turned on. This is done by flipping the control arm in the down position. From time to time, moving things around in the freezer may put the switch in the off position. If the the switch is clear, then there could be something jammed inside of the ice maker or it is not receiving a good connection.
Check the Control Arm
If the switch is down and there’s ice but it’s not dispensing it, this could be an electrical or mechanical issue. This will need some more troubleshooting. Ready to proceed? First, we must check the electrical connection. This could be unplugged from the back of the freezer when moving or shifting the food in the freezer.
To check this, first unplug the freezer and pull it out away from the wall. Then, turn off the freezer’s water supply valve. Locate the valve on the back of the inside of the freezer unit. Essentially this is what connects the ice maker into the freezer unit. Be sure that it is actually plugged in the right way.
Next, remove any ice that’s in the ice maker itself. This can be completed by pouring in a small amount of water to help get any ice that’s inside of there out.
Once done, turn on the power to the fridge and turn on the ice maker. It may take the solenoid a couple of seconds to react and fill the mold. When the mold is 100% full, wait around 4-5 hours to see if you have solved the issue.
Check for Frozen Lines
Other ice maker issues that could cause your ice maker to not produce any ice are frozen water lines. The water lines could be clogged with frost. This is a pretty simple fix.
Unplug the refrigerator and locate the water shut off valve. Turn the water off and grab a hair dryer to heat up the line or just let the freezer sit turned off for a couple of hours until the line is thawed.
There are some models that have a water filter that can freeze or ice up. In these situations, finding the water filter is the first step. Then repeat the same process that was done for the iced line.
If your ice maker is not making large enough cubes of ice, there is an issue with the ice maker settings. To adjust the settings, take the upper part of the cover of the ice maker off and locate a basic knob that has plus and a minus symbols. 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?