Ice maker not making ice

Hi everyone, looking to see if anyone has any ideas. We have a typical Kenmore side-by-side refrigerator (model 106.51123211) with water and ice available from the freezer door. The fridge and freezer are working fine and keeping food cold. The water dispenser works fine, but the ice maker stopped making ice. When you push the dispenser to get ice, you can hear the gears moving to push out ice, but the problem is there is no ice. It just stopped making the ice. I looked at the tube behind the fridge that leads to the ice maker and it doesn’t appear to be frozen. There’s a water inlet valve at the bottom and just “looks” ok, but I’m wondering if that could be the culprit. Does the water inlet valve control water going to the ice maker? What actually “calls” for more water to enter the ice maker section to make ice?

thanks!

 

I am not familiar with that particular unit but in general any freezing of the water line to the ice maker would take place there, not at the solenoid near the connection. Look inside the ice maker to see if there is an ice or frost build up near the back or where the water comes in to make the cubes. Also has the filter been changed on schedule?

If the ice maker has a test button you could try that to see where in the cycle the problem occurs. Also turning the ice maker off for a while (it might take days) could allow the problem to resolve and make ice again when you turn it back on.

 

Basic stuff first. Generic to all refrigerators not specifically yours.
Make sure someone didn't accidentally (or on purpose) raise the wire bail in the ice tray. If so, flip it back down.

2nd, change the water/ice filter. If its dirty or stopped up, it wont make ice. Should be a filter housing... usually round like a soda pop can. Normally, the bottom canister unscrews. There's a filter in there. Normally, its round to fit the canister. It'll probably just pull out & push back in.

 

Thanks for the replies.

1. The filter was replaced recently, within the past month. Also, since the water dispenser is working ok, would that rule out the filter?

2. The ice maker is in the “on” position 😊

3. As far as I can tell, there’s nothing frozen that I can see. The water tube goes from the water inlet, runs up the back of the fridge, and then into the freezer to the ice maker. I can’t really see anything frozen in there.

I wonder if there’s a way to “test” the water inlet valve?