Ice maker problems

Just lift the wire thing on the side of the ice maker. It will click and stay up. It won't stop it mid-cycle. So if it's ready to drop ice wait till it finishes. When you're done just flip it back down.

Hi - there are several problems that can cause this - but ultimately, if your freezer is keeping frozen foods frozen, the problem is lack of water flow.

Most automatic ice makers work on a timer. At a regular interval, if the ice maker arm is down to signal a "not full" ice bin, the heater on the bottom of the ice form turns on to break the bond between the ice and the mold. After a short time, the wiper linkage turns to allow the wipers push the individual cubes out of the mold and fall into the bin. After that, the solenoid on the water line is energized that will allow the water to flow to the ice maker to fill the mold, and then shuts off.

The water may pass through the filter inside your fridge (if equipped) and the filter may be clogged (if you can dispense water from your fridge and it works - this not likely to be the problem). Some fridges require a filter to be present - other will work without a filter - but none will work with a clogged (or frozen) filter. Make sure the fresh food compartment of the fridge is not freezing the filter.

Most of the ice maker functions are silent - except for the sounds of the ice dropping into the bin, and in some cases, the "snapping" or "clicking" of the water solenoid turning on and off (coupled with the sound of water running).

See if you can hear this happening. If you do, the problem could the either the flexible water line or the point of the water line attachment to the cold water pipe in the house. If you moved the fridge out for any reason, it is possible that the water line has been kinked or crushed when the fridge was moved back into position. If it has been undisturbed, it may be related to the valve that supplies water to the fridge. Sometimes, a clamp-on pipe piercing valve is used to connect the smaller fridge water line to the cold water pipe in the house. It is not unusual for these to give trouble after several years - particularly in areas with "hard" water. It may be worthwhile to replace this if it has been installed for some time.

Lastly, it may be the ice maker itself. It has heaters, switches and motors - any of which can fail and cause trouble. You could pour water into the the maker with a watering can or similar and let it make ice as normal. If ice is never dropped into the bin, then something on or cabling to the maker itself has failed and will likely require professional service or replacement as an assembly.

These should get you going and may pinpoint the issue - good luck!

Your water control has two sides. One side is for the ice maker and other is the water disapenser. If the ice maker valve becomes mechanically defective the water valve can allow water to continue to flow or not flow at all. Replace the water control valve and I believe this will solve this porblem, Thanks Sea Breeze

Check / replace the filter. Many fridges have a filter readily accessible from the fresh food compartment. The filter should be changed at regular intervals for best performance. A filter that is never changed will reduce and eventually stop water flow through it.

Check the temperature of the fresh food compartment near the filter. It may be "flirting" with the 32 degree mark. If it is this low, water has turned to ice - and will stop water from flowing. Bump the temperature up a tad to see if it solves the problem.

Lastly, the water supply solenoid may have failed. You didn't provide the model fridge - so I can't give specific info about it - but many fridges have one or two solenoids at the rear of the fridge for water supply and ice makers. You should hear a clicking sound from the rear of the fridge on many models when dispensing water or when the ice maker cycles on. If one has failed, you may expect to pay about $15 to $50 for a replacement - depending model.


Typical GE Refrigerator Single Solenoid Water Inlet Valve "WR57X10033"

Solenoid valve replacement is pretty straight forward. Usually all the is needed are some simple hand tools and a rag to pick up spilled water. Make sure the water supply is shut off and unplug the fridge before attempting.

If my answer was helpful - please rate it. Thanks & good luck!

1. It may be turned off. Check the Ice maker shutoff arm located at the top of the ice bin. Look for the wire along the right side of the ice maker that looks a bit like a coat hanger. If the wire is in the raised position, the ice maker is turned off. If so, simply lower the wire.
2. Is there water in the ice cube tray? If not check for water to the water valve. If you have water then it could be either a failed fill valve or ice maker control module is not activating the water valve.
3. Check for pinched water supply line (behind the fridge)
4. Do you have an inline water filter? If so, when was it changed last? To test if it is plugged, check for water both before and after the filter system.
5. Sometimes the water inlet tube that directs water into the ice cube tray freezes over; this can often be thawed out by simply using a hair blow dryer and warming the area (be careful not to overheat the plastics as they can warp or crack). Then adjust the freezer to a slightly warmer setting and make sure water is not constantly dripping from the inlet tube, as it will only freeze over again.
6. If it continues to drip we may need to replace the water control valve.
7. The ice maker head assembly may have broken parts. Look to see if the gears are broken.
8. Check to see if the small plastic arms that rest against the ice rake are broken.
9. If the ice maker head assembly is modular and you've found broken parts,

what filter? drying filter? Water filter? Dust Filter?

This is just anecdotal here, but one repair guy who came out and thawed a frozen line into the icemaker told us the fridge required near-full line pressure 90- or 70- or whatever that is, in order for the ice maker to work. This was a licensed repair guy. We were feeding it with an RO, which only pumped it in at 17 or 20 psi (or whatever the unit is) which he informed us was inadequate. However, after he thawed things out and we changed out the inline carbon filter in the fridge, everything was hunky dory for a couple of years. About a year back, the icemaking stopped, and changing out the carbon filters in the fridge AND in the RO system did the trick.

Now we have a different problem. Things aren't getting or staying cold, especially the fridge. I opened the housing in the back of the fridge, defrosted the extensive ice accumulated around the refridgerant coils, and everything ran great for a couple of days. Now we're back in the global warming pattern: steadily rising temperatures and thawing. I'm not feeling too happy about Jenn-Air these days.

The ice maker has stopped working. The red led light blinks when the freezer door is opened. Any thoughts?

So your not getting water from the dispenser either??? Yes the water filter can be the source of your problem. Let me know if the water is coming from the dispenser.

Use a cup of water and just fill the ice cube maker with enough water for the first batch and the sensor will then begin making ice again.
My ice cube maker stopped working after I changed the filter. After reading countless posts about wiring and defrosting and using a blowdryer into the fill line I emptied my freezer and fridge, then unplugged it. I got no results after two days. I finally just put some water in the ice cube maker (the metal ice cube tray below the white plastic fingers that forms the cubes) plugged it back in and closed the door for a few hours and it worked. I wonder if I needed to defrost the unit at all. It was working before I changed the filter, then the filter was full and stopped water from flowing (or decreased the flow dramatically anyway).
Good Luck
Barry Eager