Whirlpool Fridge Not Making Ice

It’s not the end of the world if you find that there’s no ice in your Whirlpool Fridge. You are simply one of the many who have this unfortunate problem. In this article, I’ll discuss Whirlpool Fridge not making ice –causes and how to fix it.

There’s a very simple reason why your Whirlpool fridge is not making ice: perhaps its water supply is not sufficient. Your fridge will not also make ice if there’s a kink in its waterline hose, or if its water filter is clogged, or its water inlet valve is defective. All these things can restrict water flow inside your Whirlpool fridge, making it hard to make ice.

These are not, by all means, the only reasons for this problem. But don’t you worry. Since this is a common problem of homeowners, many fixes have been devised to solve it. Some of these fixes you can do. Even if you can’t fix the problem, you can always ask the help of a qualified technician.

Read on to learn more about the different reasons why your Whirlpool fridge cannot make ice and their respective fixes.

There are many reasons why your Whirlpool fridge will not make ice. Some of the causes are easy to fix, while others need the knowledge and skill of a qualified refrigerator technician. One of the most common reasons is the insufficient supply of water. If there’s not enough water supply, your fridge could not produce enough ice.

Other reasons are a bit more complicated such as a defective water inlet valve. In this case, you may need a professional to fix said issue. Other causes, such as a kink on the water line hose or a clogged water filter, are not as difficult to fix. In fact, you can even fix these issues yourself.

At any rate, a Whirlpool fridge not making ice is not such a difficult problem to solve. If you can’t fix it, you can always ask a professional refrigerator technician to do the job.

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Common Causes Why Your Whirlpool Fridge Is Not Making Ice

If your Whirlpool fridge does not make ice, here are the possible reasons and how you can fix them:

1. Jammed Ice Maker

There are times when water will not completely freeze and come out half-frozen from the ice maker. In this slushy state, water will remain on the ejector arm of the fridge. Over time, water will accumulate and cause the ice maker’s jamming.

This will prevent fresh ice from falling. So, if your Whirlpool fridge is not dumping ice, it may be due to a jammed icemaker.

How to Fix a Jammed Ice Maker

You need to clear the slushy water deposit from the ejector’s arm. Just use a plastic utensil to chip away the deposits. Do it carefully, and don’t use metal utensils to destroy the ice maker.

2. Insufficient Water Supply

Your Whirlpool fridge needs a sufficient water supply so that it can make the right amount of ice. But, if its water supply is insufficient, it simply cannot make ice. Perhaps it can but only in small amounts.

Insufficient supply of water can be due to many reasons. One of them is a defective water inlet. If there is no water coming in, how can you make ice? Perhaps the water line hose has a kink in one section, or the water filter is clogged. If you have these conditions, water cannot enter the refrigerating system.

How to Fix Insufficient Water Supply

If you are experiencing this problem, you can do one of the following:

Inspect the water line hose regularly. Look especially for kinks anywhere in the line. If you see kinks, straighten them out carefully. To prevent kinks from forming, don’t push the fridge too close to a wall.
Check the water filter of the fridge. If it is clogged, clean it. But if it’s already too clogged, just replace it. The best practice is to change it every six months.
Check the water inlet valve. If it is defective, ask a ref tech to change it.

3. Incorrect Freezer Temperature

Maybe the reason why your Whirlpool ref can’t make ice is the incorrect temperature setting of the freezer. This is so simple that you may have overlooked it. If a refrigerator produces ice, it has to operate at a certain temperature range in the right amount.

The freezer temperature should always be set between 0°F and 5°F. If it is set above 5°F, it will be too warm and not freeze water adequately. Even if it does, the ice formed will be small and deformed.

A temperature setting that is lower than 0°F is not good either. There will be frost and ice buildup inside the icemaker to prevent ice from ejecting in this condition.

4. Defective Ice Maker

The ice maker itself could be the problem why your Whirlpool fridge can’t make ice. An ice maker is composed of many parts. Just one of its components going bad will make the whole ice maker unit inoperable.

If that’s the case, you have to replace the whole ice-making assembly. There is no way you can buy its parts separately. Ice makers are always sold as a complete assembly. Additionally, you can’t fix this job yourself. You can if you are a professional refrigeration mechanic.

Again, why is your Whirlpool fridge not making ice? Some of the common reasons your Whirlpool fridge is not making ice include insufficient water supply, clogged water filter, and damaged water inlet valve, all of which restrict water flow. So, your Whirlpool fridge is having difficulty making ice.

5. Whirlpool Ref Not Turned on

Maybe you forgot to turn on your Whirlpool ref; that is why it’s not making ice. This is a common problem for homeowners. They assume a complicated reason why the ice maker is not running. But they didn’t know that they had not turned on the machine.

So, the first thing you need to check when there’s no ice coming out of the ice maker of your fridge is to check if it is turned on.

6. Shut-Off Arm Is Up

A switch in your Whirlpool ref is mounted to a swing arm. This switch prevents the ice maker from continuously making ice if the ice bin is already full. The icemaker will operate normally if this swing arm is down.

So, if there’s something that prevents this shut-off arm from falling, the ice-making cycle of the machine will not continue. This swing arm could get pushed to the up position in full and stay there.

If necessary, you can stop the ice-making cycle in this position. This swing arm can stay accidentally engaged in the top of the position. So, see to it that this swing arm of the ice maker is down in its normal operation.

7. Frozen Water Line

There will be times when the temperature in the freezer compartment gets too low. The water line that supplies water to the ice maker may freeze in this condition. So, check the thermostat setting of the freezer. If it is too low, set it at a warmer temperature. Hopefully, this will thaw the water in the supply line and enable your icemaker to produce ice again.

8. Door Safety Switch Is Open

There’s a door safety switch on your Whirlpool fridge that stops the operation of the ice dispenser when the door is open. It is easy to check if this switch is working. Get a pan or dish and hold it under the ice dispenser chute to check if it is working.

Now, press the door safety switch. Ask someone to push the ice dispensing switch. The ice maker should start dispensing ice. If it does not, the door safety switch is faulty. You need to ask a qualified Whirlpool ref technician to ensure that this switch is the problem. And if it is, they’d be the best person to fix it.

9. Ice Jamming the Dispenser Chute

There are certain situations when the ice inside the storage bin will thaw a little and freeze again. If this cycle repeats, again and again, there will be large chunks of ice that will form inside the dispenser chute.

When one large chunk gets jammed inside the delivery chute, you will have an ice maker that will not dispense ice. You should remove this large chunk of ice if you want the ice maker to work normally again. What you can do is to use a long-handed spoon made of wood, not metal.

Try to dislodge the large ice chunk carefully using the spoon. Also, try to break it into small pieces. Be careful as you do this because the dispenser uses a powered auger to transfer the ice from the bin to the dispensing chute. It might hurt you if you are careless.

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Additional Fixes for Whirlpool Fridge Not Making Ice

The Whirlpool brand produces dependable and long-lasting refrigerators. However, even with careful use, there will be times when your fridge will encounter issues. The ice maker not dispensing ice is one of the most common issues.

Hopefully, the fixes I have enumerated above will help you solve your particular problem. With that said, here are some additional fixes for certain specific issues that you will encounter with the ice maker of your Whirlpool fridge:

1. Check the Freezer Temperature

If the issue persists after checking the switch of the icemaker, the problem could be caused by the fridge temperature. Remember, the fridge has its temperature control, which is different from the temperature control of the ice maker.

If you are not getting ice from the ice maker, you also need to check the freezer temperature of your Whirlpool fridge. It might not be at its correct setting, so it is affecting the ability of the ice maker to dispense ice.

2. Check the Water Supply

The ice maker needs water to make ice. As long as there is a constant water supply, the ice maker will provide ice anytime you need it. However, if the water supply is intermittent, there is no way the ice maker can give you ice the minute you want it.

So, checking the uninterrupted water supply should be one of the first things you need to do when your Whirlpool fridge is not making ice. Perhaps the pipe leading to the ice maker connected to the mainline from the city’s water supply is clogged, damaged, or leaking.

A qualified plumber is the best person that can trace the root of the problem and determine the right solution so you can have your ice maker working normally again.

Conclusion: Whirlpool Fridge Not Making Ice

Your Whirlpool fridge is not making ice may be due to insufficient water supply. There are other reasons for this problem. Perhaps your fridge can’t make ice because its water hose line is kinked, or there’s a clog in its water filter. Or maybe the water inlet valve is damaged.

These are only some reasons why your fridge cannot make ice. Whatever the reason is, there is a fix for that particular problem. You can perform some of these fixes. But it doesn’t matter if you can’t because you can always ask for the professional help from a qualified Whirlpool fridge technician.