How to Repair the Ice Maker in Your Refrigerator

     While the main function of a refrigerator is to keep all its contents cool and prevent food from being spoiled, it also has another important feature, making ice. Most refrigerator have some kind of ice maker and it is extremely helpful in certain situation and we have become very reliant on them. It can save you a trip to the gas station or grocery store to grab a bag of ice, as well as cool off your drink quickly rather than wait for your refrigerator itself to cool it off. And just like other parts of your refrigerator, the ice maker will not work properly at times and it needs to be fixed. This doesn’t mean you have to quickly call a refrigerator repair service to come out and check on it and see if they can fix it. Many times, the fix is very simple and can be done in a matter of minutes even for those who are not very familiar with how ice maker’s work. The parts of an ice maker are not complicated at all, with it only involving a water line, ice mold, a container with a couple parts. That is all that is needed to make ice. In this post, we will go through some common problems with ice makers and why they might not make ice and how to quickly fix them without the help of a professional repair service.

Ice Maker is Turned Off

    This may seem a little obvious to most, but sometimes your ice maker can accidentally be turned off. This is very easy to do, especially when somebody open the refrigerator to manually grab ice from the bucket and flips a switch that turns it off. It happens more often than you would think. The most common way that an ice maker is turned off is with the fill bar. Once an ice maker fills up completely, it will lift the fill bar and automatically turn off, preventing more ice from being created. Sometimes this fill bar can get stuck once you start using ice and will never shift back down to turn the ice making process back on. Another way this fill bar can be turned off, as mentioned earlier, is when somebody goes to grab ice manually and accidentally flips the switch to the off position without knowing. So, before you do anything, make sure the fill bar is in the on position. Usually, you just have to flip it down. In newer models that control the ice maker digitally, somebody in the house could have accidentally turned it off electronically when they were switching to different types of ice or to the water setting. Make sure the ice maker is digitally turned on as well.

Clogged Water Fill Tubes

     The next common problem with an ice maker not working could be with your water fill tubes. These tubes transport the water from your inlet water line to your ice maker, so if these lines are leaking or clogged, then the ice maker will not be able to make ice. If the lines are clogged, then they will need to be removed and cleaned out. It is a good idea to use hot water and soap to clean them out as well to ensure better quality water. You can use anything small enough to clean out the tubes and push the debris out. If there isn’t anything in the lines preventing the flow of water, then you could have a leaky tube. The biggest evidence of this would be that the tubes may be iced over. If so, then these tubes will need to be replaced. While you are checking the tubes, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to check the water inlet valve as well. There is a filter screen in the valve that can sometimes get clogged. Remove the screen and run it through water to clear it out and place it back in the valve.

Old Water Filter

     Refrigerators come with a water filter that needs to be changed out at least every 6 months to a year.  If not, these filters will become dirty and clogged and prevent water from flowing to the ice machine. If you notice that your refrigerator has low water pressure, then it is most likely time to replace that filter. Many refrigerators have an indicator light that will blink or turn red when it is time to replace the filter. Check your appliance’s manual for how to replace a filter. For some, the filter is located on the inside of the refrigerator and others are located at the bottom.

Ice Ejector Issues

     The ice ejector is the portion of the ice maker where the ice is produced and ejected into the bucket. This ejector includes the gear that turns to eject the ice, the motor that turns the gear, and the flap that prevents ice from releasing too early. The most common issue with this assembly is that overtime chips of ice start to build up and causes an ice dam that prevents new ice from being created or from it being released at all. Just take the entire ice bucket and ejector out so that it has a chance to melt everything and clear any ice build up or clogs. Make sure to carefully dry the assembly once melted because you don’t want leftover water to refreeze once you put it back in the refrigerator because it will just ice up again. If there isn’t an ice buildup, then there is a problem with the motor and gears, which then will most likely need to be replaced. Look for the replacement parts in your refrigerators manual and order them and replace it. If you aren’t comfortable with replacing it yourself, then call your local appliance repair service and they can easily do this for you.

Conclusion

    When it comes to refrigerator repair, a broken ice maker is a very common issue. Many potential issues with your ice maker are extremely easy to fix if you take the time to look at it and diagnose it. Much of it involves clogged lines or extra ice buildup, while others are just a simple replacement or clearing of filters. If you are not the handyman type and you don’t want to run the change of messing something else up with the ice maker or refrigerator itself, then call your favorite appliance repair company. Ice maker issues are an extremely common problem that they can easily fix the same day that you call.