If you’ve ruled out simpler problems like a frozen fill tube or a kink in the water line, you may need to replace your refrigerator ice maker parts. This video and step-by-step guide will show you how to do it yourself.
This DIY repair guide focuses on the electronic control board, which activates components such as the water inlet valve and ejector assembly. However, other components can also break down and may need replacing.
Water Inlet Valve
An ice maker that’s not producing or isn’t ejecting ice cubes can have a mechanical or electrical issue. The problem could be a simple clog or a defective water inlet valve solenoid.
Test the water inlet valve by removing it from the valve case and holding it over a bucket. A weak water flow indicates a problem with your home’s water pressure. If the flow is strong, the inlet valve solenoid will likely fail. Before replacing this part, unplug the refrigerator and shut off the home circuit breaker to disconnect the electrical power, find ice maker parts here.
Electronic Control Board
The electronic control board is the brain of your ice maker. Its microcontroller(s) and FPGA(s) implement digital control logic, sensor fusion, actuation waveform generation, and communications protocols. They should also provide sufficient processing power, storage, and redundancy.
If your ice maker has stopped making ice and produces crescents or smaller cubes than usual, it may be time to replace the control board.
Cutter Grid
The cutter grid has thin, heated wires that slice the ice slab on the evaporator plate into cubes that fall into the ice bin. If the grid fails, ice will pile up, and ice production will stop.
Unlike earlier electromechanical machines that used low-voltage circuits, today’s electric icemakers use 120 VAC. The grid can fail even if the transformer that powers it burns out.
Ejector Assembly
If you notice poor ice quality or higher energy bills, it could be a sign that the ice maker isn’t working correctly. If your refrigerator has an ice maker, check that the ejector assembly is functioning correctly.
It takes a lot of force to push molded parts out of a mold, and if the ejector pins are too small in diameter, they can break. To prevent this, design the ejector pins to distribute the force over a larger area.
Also, ensure the ejector plate isn’t tilted or worn by chips in production runs. These issues can affect the ejector pin height and cause a change in the ejection strength.
Motor
When the dispenser paddle or lever is activated, the ice maker motor rotates to push ice into the dispenser. If this motor doesn’t turn, ice won’t drop from the trays and won’t be available for dispensing.
To fix this problem, replace the ice dispenser motor with a manufacturer-approved replacement part.
To remove the old icemaker assembly, release the plastic locking tabs on both sides of the wire harness plug to detach it from its base mounting plate. Then, transfer the fill cup, ice level arm, and (if applicable) thermal fuse to the new icemaker assembly.
Filter
If your refrigerator ice maker makes crescent-shaped ice cubes or ice that’s too small, it could be a sign of a clog in the ice mold. To check, remove the cover of the ice machine and look for a screw with a plus or minus indicator to control the amount of water per dose.
Screw in (toward the minus indicator) to reduce the amount of water and out (toward the plus indicator) to increase the amount of water.
