Repair guide
Ice maker not working? What to check
By Deven Alcantara, EPA 608 certified technician ·
Most ice makers that stop are switched off, blocked or short on water. Check that the ice maker is on and its arm or sensor can move, that the freezer is at 0°F, that the water filter isn't overdue and that the water supply valve is open. A new refrigerator usually takes about 24 hours to make its first ice.
Safety first
Unplug the refrigerator before you clean or repair anything on the ice maker. If the ice maker isn’t connected to water, turn it off: left on, it can buzz and over-cool the refrigerator. Don’t chip at a frozen fill tube. Thawing it means removing the ice maker, and that’s a job for a technician.
What to check first
- Make sure it's turned on. Whirlpool says the most common cause is an ice maker turned off by accident. On models with a wire shutoff arm, the arm down means on and up means off, and a full bin lifts the arm and stops production on its own. Other models have an on/off switch or a setting in the display menu.
- Free the arm and clear the bin. If ice or anything else stops the arm or paddle from moving, the ice maker pauses. Clumped ice can do it, so break up or empty the bin. Samsung adds that only ice belongs in the bucket. A scoop or food in it can make the ice maker think the bucket is full.
- Give a new refrigerator time. Whirlpool says to expect first ice about 24 hours after installation and full production in three days, and LG says 12 hours to two days for the first batch. The ice maker won’t call for water until the freezer is well below freezing.
- Check the freezer temperature. Samsung says the freezer must be at 0°F or colder to make ice, and GE recommends 0°F for best production. If yours is set warmer, turn it one step colder and give it 24 hours.
- Check the water filter. A clogged filter cuts the water going to the ice maker. Replace it every 6 months or when the indicator comes on. GE notes that a partly clogged filter may still trickle water at the dispenser but not fill the ice maker. If you just changed the filter, Whirlpool suggests taking it out and dispensing water. If water flows without it, the filter wasn’t installed correctly. After a new filter, run about two gallons through the dispenser to purge the air.
- Check the water supply. Make sure the shut-off valve feeding the refrigerator is fully open. It’s usually behind the refrigerator or under the kitchen sink. Look for a kinked line behind the refrigerator, and don’t push the refrigerator so far back that it pinches the line. Samsung says water pressure needs to be at least 20 psi, and a reverse osmosis system can drop it lower than that.
- Reset it. Press the reset button if your ice maker has one, or unplug the refrigerator for 1 minute, then check again after a couple of hours. Samsung says normal ice should come back within about 3 hours of a reset.
A quick test: is it the ice maker or the water?
GE suggests pouring about 4 ounces of cold water into the empty ice mold and waiting 2 to 3 hours. If the water freezes and the ice maker dumps the cubes, the ice maker works and the problem is the water getting to it: the filter, the valve, the line or a frozen fill tube. If it freezes but never dumps, the ice maker itself is the likely cause.
East Valley hard water and your ice maker
Our water is hard. Chandler reports 5 to 20 grains per gallon, averaging 16.5, and Mesa’s water averages about 12 to 16 grains per gallon depending on the zone. The white flakes you sometimes see in ice are those minerals, usually calcium carbonate, and Whirlpool and GE both say they’re harmless.
Hard water can still slow an ice maker down. Whirlpool says filters may need changing more often depending on water quality, and Samsung says small, cloudy or clumped ice can come from a dirty filter, low water pressure or high mineral content. If you have a water softener, Whirlpool strongly recommends not connecting the ice maker to softened water, because the salt can damage ice maker parts.
When to call a technician
Call me if the ice maker is on, the freezer is at 0°F, the filter and water supply check out and there’s still no ice after 24 hours. Most of the time that points to the water inlet valve, a frozen fill tube or the ice maker module. Those are usually worth repairing: an ice maker module or inlet valve costs a fraction of a new refrigerator.
Upfront pricing
$65
Service call, waived when you approve the repair. You get an exact price before any work starts.
Stacked washer and dryer units have a $125 service call, also waived with the repair.
Refrigerator Error Codes
Sources for This Guide
The checks and numbers in this guide come from the manufacturers’ own support pages and manuals, plus the public sources listed. Your owner’s manual has the final word for your model.
Sources
- Not Making Ice, Refrigerator (Whirlpool)
- How to Turn the Ice Maker On and Off (Whirlpool)
- Not Making Ice, New Installation (Whirlpool)
- Particles in Water, Cloudy Water (Whirlpool)
- Icemaker Not Making Ice (GE Appliances)
- Icemaker Low Ice Production (GE Appliances)
- White Particles in Ice (GE Appliances)
- Ice maker not making ice (Samsung)
- If your LG refrigerator is not making ice (LG)
- Water quality FAQs (City of Chandler)
- 2024 Water Quality Report (City of Mesa)
Ready when you are
Still no ice? Book your ice maker repair.
Call or text (480) 292-4746, Monday to Saturday, 9am to 6pm. Same-day and next-day appointments are often available.