Speedy Chino Appliance Repair offers refrigerator repair in Chino, including services to repair broken ice makers. Learn about common ice maker failures below:
Refrigerator ice makers are possibly one of the best inventions ever. This is a little luxury a lot of people take for granted. Refrigerator ice makers are relatively simple machines that don’t feature a lot of complex parts that might go wrong with them.
Like with any appliance repair, there are some basic things that need to be reviewed before thinking the worst. And, remember, if needed, you can replace the ice maker without replacing an entire fridge, depending on the brand and model. First, let’s discuss a few of the causes for an ice maker breaking.
If your ice maker is making ice but it is not ejecting the ice it is usually a mechanical problem vs. an electrical issue. This occurs when moving things around in the freezer, you could push or pull the control lever up or down. A lot of the time the ice maker might get blocked with something, possibly a chunk of ice. First, look to see if there’s ice or food blocking this from operating the right way.
Before beginning the steps of clearing out the freezer, check that the ice maker is turned on. This is done by flipping the metal control arm down. From time to time, moving food around in the freezer might put the switch into the off position. If the the switch is clear, then there might be ice stuck inside of the ice maker or it’s not receiving a good connection.
Check the Control Arm
If the control arm is down and there’s ice but it is not ejecting it, there could be a mechanical or electrical failure. This will require some more diagnosing. Ready to proceed? First, we must inspect the electrical connection. This can become unplugged from behind the freezer or refrigerator when shifting or moving the food in the freezer.
To inspect this, unplug the refrigerator and move from the wall. Turn off the freezer’s water supply valve. Locate the valve on the rear of the inside of the freezer unit. Basically this is what connects the ice maker into the freezer. Ensure that it’s actually plugged in properly.
Then, remove all of the ice that is in the ice maker. This can be accomplished by pouring in a bit of water to help get any ice that’s in there out.
Once complete, restore power to the fridge and then turn on the ice maker. It may take the solenoid a couple of seconds to engage and fill the mold. When the mold is 100% full, wait 4-5 hours to see if you’ve solved the issue.
Check for Frozen Lines
Other ice maker problems that may cause your ice maker to not make ice are frozen lines. The water lines have been blocked with frost. This is a pretty simple problem to fix.
First, unplug the freezer and find the water shut off valve. Shut the water off and then grab a hair dryer to heat up the water line or just let the refrigerator sit without being on 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, finding the water filter is the first step. Then repeat what was done for the frozen line.
If an ice maker isn’t making large enough pieces of ice, there’s a problem with the settings. To adjust the the ice maker settings, take the upper part of the cover off and locate a basic dial that displays 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?