Chosen Solution

I have a Whirlpool Side-by-Side (exact model in Title) and the ice maker stopped working but the water pressure appears to be adequate. I have tried a couple things already…

  1. checked the on/off switch (it was on, still not working)
  2. checked water pressure - appears to be okay
  3. filter was changed about 1 month and half ago
  4. took out the ice that was in the tray (no blockages that would be causing it not to drop ice in the bin)
  5. took the bin and ice maker out completely and checked for any frozen components (none found)
  6. minimal ice build up on water tube that dispenses into the maker (cleared out)
  7. removed water filter (recommended elsewhere to see if the filter was clogged, not sure if this will help or not) That is pretty much all I have been able to do so far. I do not hear any noises or anything coming from the maker at all. I don’t want to condemn the ice maker yet, especially if it may be something else. Any ideas? Thanks!

I have the exact Whirlpool refrigerator and am having the same problem with the ice maker. What is happening is that the water tube that feeds into the ice tray gets frozen shut. To fix it, first remove the ice cube container, next turn the ice maker switch to off, then remove the 4 screws that hold the cover on, then gently pull the cover partially off (there will be some wires that are connected, so be careful). Then blow a hair dryer on high heat into the black water tube until the ice melts (you will not see the ice chunk since it is up inside the black tube). Re assemble the ice maker and turn back on. It may take a couple of hours for the ice maker to cycle through before it starts filling the ice cube tray again. This has happened multiple times to my ice maker. I will be contacting Whirlpool about this issue.

I definitely wouldn’t use a hair dryer, if it’s going to be a constant problem and a simple fix to thaw the ice in the tube get a small steamer, that won’t melt or warp the plastic. Not sure it’s worth spending $1000 to replace the door due to poor engineering when you can just thaw it every now and then. I have been repairing appliances for 12 years, the small steamer is definitely the way to go and very quick.

I had the same issue and tried the same corrective actions with no success. I emptied the ice bin, shut the ice maker off and unplugged the refrigerator. After 10 minutes I plugged it back in and turned the ice maker and within 4 hours it was making ice again. It is working fine now. I think somehow the ice maker gets out of sequence and by unplugging it you are resetting it and is restarts the sequence.

Hi I’m not a fridge freezer technician but we had a similar problem with our Kenwood fridge freezer where we had accidentally put it in holiday mode where it won’t make ice Maybe this is useful to you but it’s just a though on my end Thanks

Check to see if you have wires broke Look on the freezer door on the bottom left side o door If there broke they say that you have to replace the whole door Ihad the same problem

@sclendenin did you ever find out the problem? I have a brand new fridge of this model and it’s not making ice and the arm is in the up position. I also don’t dare move it manually as it feels like it will break.

To prevent the problem from happening again set your freezer temp to 1. It will still keep everything very well frozen, but it will keep the temp warm enough to keep the ice from freezing in the filler tube. Read further down for more precise ways to take the unit out. Aslo you need to keep the hair dryer on it long enough to make sure the clog is freed.

You can reset your Whirlpool ice maker after forced defrost. I followed the above steps and it worked for me.

Didn’t take anything apart …. removed the Ice bin …. turn off ice maker switch … used hair dryer and heated directly at tray and around it for 5 or 10 minutes …. heat flow can be felt at vent above tray …. hot … turned switch back on and put bin back in ….. turn freezer down to 2 notches ….. done ….. ice in the morning …… turn the freezer temp down!

I’ve had 6 of these fridges with fill lines freezing. The heating element burns out. See pic. It’s wrapped around the water line. You pretty much have to destroy the door and foam to get to it. If you’re careful, you can cut this out so that it doesn’t show if you put icemaker cover back on. From there, if you can find the same heating element? I couldn’t. I was thinking remove the foam against the outer steel skin, so that the outside temp heats up the water line. Then put new foam to cover hole. Just haven’t tackled this yet.

UPDATED! Circa January 2022: Our Whirlpool Model WRS555SIHZ03 refrigerator was new in August 2020, purchased at Lowe’s, with 5-year extended warranty. I’d say within a year ago, the icemaker stopped making ice the first time. I noticed that someone in the house fat-fingered the front Control Panel, causing the freezer compartment temperature to be DECREASED to the COLDEST setting!? What I did to fix this problem: 1) Set the freezer temp on the Control Panel to the WARMEST setting (one bar). 2) Cleared the frost from the Shut Off Arm. 3) Cycled the On/Off Switch, and the Storage Bin Sensor Switch. This apparently was enough, after 15-30 minutes, to thaw an apparent blockage in the Supply Line, according to other reports here. I heard the water supply begin to flow again to the ice maker. Soon the first batch of ice was dumped into the empty Storage Bin. By late, late evening, the Storage Bin had an ample supply. By the morning, the Bin was full and the Shut Off Arm was again regulating the cycling of the icemaker. I then reset the freezer temp to the “checked value” (3 bars). Victory! March 27th, 2002: This week of March 23rd, 2022, the ice Storage Bin was empty once again! Once again, the freezer compartment temp had somehow been decreased to a value lower then the “checked value” on the Control Panel. There is no build-up of frost or icing around the Shut Off Arm this time. I am currently in the midst of shooting this recurring trouble, and will attempt: 1) Resetting the ice maker using the On/Off Switch (Off for at least 10 minutes), and 2) CAREFULLY thawing the area with a hair dryer. I don’t see a Black Supply Line anywhere, but I’ll still try it. Wish me luck! June 18th, 2022: It’s taken me several weeks to catch up to write this, but Circa April 2022, for a couple of weeks after setting the freezer to the proper temp as above, I tried resetting the icemaker power as suggested by the article on The Ice Making Hub (How To Reset Whirlpool Ice Maker), but without success. I could NOT hear the flow of water into the icemaker, and did not restore the flow of ice cubes into the Storage Bin. I then determined to use my wife’s hair dryer ON LOW HEAT SETTING to gently warm things up around the icemaker and behind the fascia covering it. With the Storage Bin removed and Power Button (rocker switch) turned off, I directed warm air upwards over the icemaker assembly itself, until no more frost or water droplets remained. I also directed warm air through the louver in the fascia into which chilled air flows over the icemaker assembly to make ice. I guess I did this for 10-15 minutes. Afterwards, I again cycled the power button. Then, I waited. LO, AND BEHOLD, within 20 or 30 minutes, the flow of ice cubes into the Storage Bin began again. Slowly at first, but then a regular avalanche of cubes, filling the Bin within a few hours. This icemaker, when on its game, sounds like river stones being thrown against a metal barn! I started the resetting process with the freezer temp on 1 bar, and have raised it to 2 bars for several weeks. I’m shy of raising it to the checked value of 3 bars, but may do so since, at this time of year, the temperature in the house is warm enough to perhaps warrant doing so. Leaving it at 2 bars may not slow down the rate of making ice, even with a warm house, but we’ll see. We use a lot of ice at our house. Again, Victory!

Try taking out the ice bucket and running a blow dryer through the chute just for a couple of moments. I know it sounds archaic, but it seems to work. Seems like the line freezes up. The icemaker still wants to try to make ice and the motor goes but nothing comes out. Good luck.

I have found success keeping the freezer setting one setting below recommended. Water line does not freeze leaving it on this setting at least not for the week since I last had to use the hair dryer method.

The black part is the fill tube that you can see. The green is the water line, and the foil looking thing is the heating element that is supposed to keep the water line warm. That fails, and that is why the line freezes. And everything is encased in foam, so you have to destroy the door to get to it.

I have had my Whirlpool refrigerator for a couple of years. I have had problems on and off with the ice maker stop working. Sometimes unplugging the power and waiting a minute to plug the power back in would work, but this last time nothing seemed to work. I read the posts above about the hair dryer (3 minutes on medium heat). Works perfectly. I did move the temperature setting more toward “cold”. Great posts. Thank you. Side note, I agree the steamer would be better, but hair dryer is more handy.