Trouble With Refrigerator Ice Maker?

When the refrigerator ice cube maker doesn't dispense ice, it could be a calcium buildup problem in the ~ 16 ice cube chambers of the unit. Vinegar is the answer! Even though you have a water filter in the refrigerator, the filter doesnt remove calcium.

The normal operation of the ice maker is: Once the ice cubes are made, the heater element heats the ice cubes enough to allow them to drop down into the ice storage area in the refrigerator.

Any calcium buildup in any one of the 18 chambers prevents ice from dropping in that chamber, and when the ice tray goes back to normal position it drops more water onto the ice cubes left, along with filling up the other empty ice chambers. There is now excess water filling into the ice maker chambers which will either overflow or add ice onto ice in all the chambers.

A day or two will make a chunk of the whole tray.

Even if only one ice cube fails to drop, there will be excess water put into the tray and will end up messing up the normal tray operation.

In my Kenmore, there is only one front screw and one electrical connector. The ice maker will then pull out of the two channels. It takes about one minute to remove the one screw and pull the connector apart, removing the ice maker. You can feel the calcium in the bottom of the ice cube maker. A tiny roughness tells you theres a buildup. I've done this twice and it lasts a couple of years until another calcium buildup. Put the empty ice cube maker on the counter and fill the EMPTY 18 little ice cube containers with white vinegar and let sit overnight. Rinse in the morning and put back into refrigerator.

The repair places wont tell you this little thing to do and want to charge you $120 or so for a new ice cube maker because of a little calcium in the maker.