Ice maker not making ice

Ice maker wire signal arm is being held down by some item in the freezer. Move item and release wire signal arm. Any ice cubes that are frozen together over the wire signal arm. the ice rises in the ice bucket and pushes the wire signal arm up and this is what stops ice production as ice is used then arm comes down and starts ice production all over again. if there is nothing holding arm down then you will need to replace ice maker.

Hi - Is the wire signal arm in a stuck position or has any ice cubes stuck? If so, try turning it off and remove any ice cubes stuck to the wire signal arm or body of the ice maker and wait approximately 8 hrs. Should these suggestions prove to be ineffective and ice maker continues to freezer up, I recommend contacting a professional to properly diagnose and repair the unit.

Make sure that there are no kinks in the water line.
Next, inspect the feeler arm of the ice maker and make sure that it is down and not blocked by any ice cubes. If it's raised, it has turned the ice maker off. This arm needs to be in the lowered position to activate the ice maker An over-abundance of ice in the bin will make the arm stay up as a safety feature to keep the ice maker from making more ice than the bin can hold.

Hello the arm should be in the down position in order for the ice maker to try and start makeing ice cubes. when you stated you can hear it tripping what can you hear tripping can you see the icemaker arms spining. Sometimes i find it is best to remove the icemaker from the unit 2 1/4' screws located on top and one located on the bottom and then take the hole icemaker and run it under hot water for a couple minutes this causes any parts on the icemaker that are froozen up to become defrosted and sometimes it will go back into proper functioning order as well. If you have any further questions message me back Thanks
Rick
p.s if arm was in up position this would shut the icemaker off and it would not attempt to make ice any further

two common problems are the spring comes off the feeler arm or the ice cubes jam on the sweeper the plastic arm with fingers on the edge of the ice maker

There are three common problems with icemakers:

There's no ice
Small or too few ice cubes
Specks in the cubes
Note: If your repair problem isn't listed, click here to email the RepairGuru. He will give you the help you need.


There's no ice If your ice maker has stopped producing ice completely, check these, in this order:

• It may be turned off. 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, try one of these:



• If your ice maker has a small red plastic lever, lower it to lower the wire.



• If there's no plastic lever, simply lower the wire.



In either case, the ice maker should begin producing ice again. Also make sure that the temperature is 8 degrees Fahrenheit or lower. If the freezer is too warm, the ice maker won't cycle properly.


• The ice maker fill tube may be blocked with ice. If so, melt the blockage using a hair dryer-but be careful to not melt any plastic parts! Also replace the water shut-off valve or water-inlet valve, or both, if necessary.



• The ice maker head assembly may have broken parts. Look to see if the gears are broken. Check to see if the small plastic arms that rest against the ice rake are broken. If the ice maker head assembly is modular and you've found broken parts, you can just replace it.

Small or too few ice cubes If the ice maker is producing ice poorly--making small cubes or too few cubes--you probably have a clogged water line, a defective water-inlet valve, or a defective ice maker mold thermostat that isn't cycling properly. Check these:

• The water line that's attached to the back of the refrigerator. Make sure you have good water flow. If the flow is poor, repair, clean, or replace the tubing or the shut-off valve that supplies the water.



• The water-inlet valve. Replace it if it has failed.



• Check the freezer temperature. If should be 8 degrees Fahrenheit or lower. If the freezer is too warm, the ice maker won't cycle properly.



• The ice maker mold thermostat. Make sure that it's cycling properly.

Specks in the cubes If you find black or gray specks in your ice cubes, have a look at the ice cube tray. If the protective coating is peeling away, the most economical solution is to completely replace the ice maker.

check the Shutoff Arm:

An arm extends away from the ice maker over the ice cube bin. During each ice making cycle, the arm rises up and then drops back down after the new ice is dumped into the ice cube bin. As ice accumulates in the bin it prevents the arm from dropping back down. When the arm is high enough, the ice maker shuts off and no more ice is made until the ice level in the bin drops.
The ice maker can also be turned off manually by lifting the arm all the way up into a locked position (shown below

The arm is supported at one or both ends. One end extends into the back of the front support (see photo above). If it is not securely in place, it could cause the ice maker to malfunction. Confirm that the arm is securely in place.
For proper operation, confirm that arm is in the lowered position and that nothing is blocking it from normal movement.
To test the shutoff function, lift the arm up into the manual shutoff position. Recheck the unit later to confirm that no ice is being made.
If unit continues making ice even when the shutoff arm is in the up (off) position, refer to the diagnostic table or for a modular ice maker, replace the control module.

check the Shutoff Switch:

Before testing the shutoff switch, unplug the refrigerator to avoid an electrical shock hazard.
There are two types of ice makers, those in which all of the parts can be individually replaced and those in which some of the parts are clustered together into a control module. To determine which model you have remove the outer face plate. If there is knob, pull it off first, then pry off the face plate with a small screwdriver.

Modular units have holes in the module's face plate for test probes. If you see several holes, each marked with a letter, it is a modular unit. Component units (like the one shown below) usually have exposed gears and don't have holes for test probes.
Modular units do not use a separate shutoff switch. Instead follow this link to view instructions for checking the shut off arm.

Hello chitwnchk1
Welcome to Fixya,

You said,It chops ice when dispensing but won't just dispense whole cubes.
Any suggestions on how to fix it?

1. If the cubes dispense, but not whole cubes, there is not a enough water pressure.
2. r there is a restriction in the water line to the ice maker.
3. OR the fridge may not be level.
4. Is there a water filter and has it been Changed in the past 6 months?


Here are 4 reasons mentioned in the repair manual.

Shutoff arm in the off position
Ensure the shutoff arm is down and not in the raised position. If in the raised the position, the ice maker is in the off position and will not cycle.

Faulty Harvest Thermostat
There is a thermostat inside the ice maker that will close when the ice maker mold reaches the proper temperature. If the thermostat is not closing, the ice maker will not cycle.

Freezer To Warm
The ice maker will not cycle if the temperature in the freezer in not below 12 degrees. Ensure proper temperature in freezer.


No water getting to ice maker
The water inlet valve is the control device that allows water to enter the ice maker. It is energized during the last 5-8 seconds of the harvest cycle. During this 5 to 8 second period, there should be 110v across the two wires connected to the valve . If there is power supplied to the valve and the valve does not open to allow water to flow, the valve is defective.

However, if power is being supplied to the valve and water is flowing through it freely, it could be that you water supply line or inlet tube have frozen solid. These can be thawed with warm water or a hair dryer.

Let me know how it goes and what you found!
Thank You , Huuuum
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is there a filter on the water line? if so check and replace as neccesary-usually all water going into a fridge ice maker is filtered if it was installed properly for fresh tasting ice......if not there usually is a valve where the water line connects to one of your houses water line ....be careful with that but make sure it is all the way open......maybe try cleaning or replacing the lines if it comes down to it. let me know what happens.

sounds more like the heater in the ice maker is bad. The cycles of the ice maker are: 1. water comes in to fill ice maker. 2. water freezes in ice maker making. 3. heater comes on to help ice release. 4. motor comes on to eject the ice and start all over again. if the heater doesn't come on the ice will not eject. replacing the icemaker is typically what needs to be done in this case.