Imagine making your favorite drink for one and then realizing that your ice maker has made too much ice! You try to turn it off only to find that the control arm is stuck and is still making ice even if the bucket is full.
The ice maker control arm is designed to detect the level of ice in your Samsung refrigerator’s ice bucket. This helps manage the cycles.
When the ice maker arm seems to be stuck in the up position, then there is nothing stopping the ice maker from overproducing ice.
If you find that your Samsung ice maker’s arm is stuck in place, fear not because this article will help you solve that problem in just a few easy steps!
How does an ice maker arm work?
The control arm is linked to sensors in the ice maker head that detects the amount of ice in your refrigerator’s ice maker.
The arm acts as an on or off switch that prevents the ice maker from overflowing and producing too much ice.
If the arm cannot be reset to its neutral position, the ice maker’s sensors will shut off ice production.
What happens when your ice maker arm is stuck?
When your ice maker arm is stuck in the on position, your refrigerator will keep producing ice and end up overflowing the ice bucket.
On the other hand, when your ice maker arm is stuck in the off position, it will not make ice at all.
Your ice maker arm may be stuck in either the off or on position. Once you identify the position of the arm, you can go ahead and conduct the repairs.
What You’ll Need to Fix a Stuck Ice Maker Arm
The following are the tools you may need to help you fix your ice maker arm.
- Flathead screwdriver
- Philip’s screwdriver
- Needle nose pliers
| Safety Tips: • Before beginning any repairs, always unplug your refrigerator. • As you are going to thaw out your refrigerator for this, you will have to lay down some rags to catch any melted frost. |
Why is my ice maker arm stuck?
The Samsung ice maker arm can get stuck because of food items or loose springs causing it to jam. It could also be due to the ice maker freezing up, which can only be fixed if you defrost the device.
Other possible reasons are that the arm isn’t aligned or the arm is broken and needs to be replaced.
There are simple and easy ways to fix an arm jam. Let’s walk through these steps in the next section.
How to Fix a Stuck Ice Maker Arm
Before starting repairs, you first need to identify the possible causes of the jam. Perhaps you need to rearrange fridge items, reconnect a loose spring, or realign the ice maker arm.
It is also possible that you need to defrost your ice maker or give it time to rest once in a while.
| Causes | Solutions |
|---|---|
| There is overstocked food causing the arm to jam. | • Avoid overstocking the refrigerator to allow its parts to move around freely. |
| The ice maker arm is not aligned. | • Check which part of the ice maker arm has loosened by lifting the arm and reinserting its loose end back into its housing. • Your ice maker arm should freely move up and down with ease once the loose parts have been put back in place. |
| A loose spring is causing the jam. | • Push the loose spring back into alignment by moving your ice maker arm up and down manually. |
| The ice maker arm needs to be replaced. | • Replace the ice maker arm if it is crooked or damaged. • Prepare a replacement arm, unscrew the old one, remove it from the ice maker head, and insert it into the housing. • Check to see if it is working properly. |
| The ice maker needs to hard reset. | • Push down on the ice maker arm to return it to its original position, but don’t push too hard or you can shatter it. |
There is overstocked food causing the arm to jam.
One of the most common causes of an ice maker arm jam is food items leaning against it. This happens when you overstock your refrigerator and some food items get jammed into the important ice maker parts.
If your freezer is quite full, there’s a significant probability that something is preventing your ice maker arm from moving freely.
Solution: Check that nothing is inadvertently impeding the movement of your ice maker arm. Move food items around to free up space.
It is important that you only fill up your fridge ¾ of the way to prevent overstocking that could jam the ice maker’s parts and cause excessive frost buildup.
The ice maker arm is not aligned.
It’s a common occurrence for your ice maker arm to become misaligned. This happens if you accidentally knocked it out of alignment while loading your freezer with food. Luckily, the solution is very simple.
The arm is connected to the ice maker at two points. One of those points connects it to the ice maker’s body while the other point connects to the opposite side and acts as a pivot point for it to move up and down.
Solution: To start repairs, inspect your ice maker arm to see whether it has popped out on either side. If you discover it is loose on one side, raise the ice maker arm to its highest position.
Gently insert the ice maker arm’s loose end back into its housing.
Check that the ice maker feeler arm is properly placed by ensuring that it can easily move up and down.
Your ice maker arm should now be operational.
A loose spring is causing the jam.
There’s a small spring inside your ice maker head that keeps the ice maker arm up. Sometimes, this spring can pop off and loosen over time.
A loose spring can look like it is uncoiled and isn’t holding the arm securely in place.
Solution: Begin by softly moving the ice maker arm up and down. You might be able to push the spring back into alignment by moving your ice maker arm manually.
If manually moving it doesn’t work, you’ll have to disassemble a section of your ice machine.
Remove the ice maker arm by gently pushing it out of the ice maker head and then out of the housing. Next, take apart the ice maker housing’s cover plate.
Look at the ice maker arm assembly. Use this opportunity to correct the spring and check for any other issues.
The ice maker arm needs to be replaced.
If the ice maker arm seems to be crooked or damaged, you may need to replace it entirely.
Solution: First you need to prepare your replacement ice maker arm. You can purchase this from official Samsung appliance manufacturers or local hardware stores.
Using a flathead screwdriver, unscrew the arm from the ice maker body. Pull the broken ice maker arm out gently.
Then remove the other end of the ice maker arm housing. Place the replacement ice maker arm into the ice maker head.
Carefully insert the opposite end of your ice maker arm into the housing. Lastly, check to see if your new ice maker arm is operating properly.
The ice maker needs to hard reset.
Usually, when the ice maker has stuck parts, its functions could be overworked. This means that the ice maker could not function normally and it needs to reboot.
If the aforementioned steps still do not help with the ice maker arm jam, you need to perform a hard rest on the ice maker.
Solution: Push down on the ice maker arm to return it to its original position.
If the ice maker arm is in the upwards position, the ice maker is shut off.
Pushing it down, therefore, returns it to the “on” position.
Nevertheless, don’t push too hard or you can shatter your ice maker arm. This is an excellent remedy when it is just stuck in the upright position and only a little pressure is required to lower it back down.
One of the most prevalent issues in an ice maker is a blocked ice maker arm. But lucky for you, this is an easy fix!
There should be no need for you to call an appliance technician once you’ve thoroughly gone through the steps we provided.
If you follow our easy step-by-step instructions, you’ll be able to troubleshoot your jammed ice maker arm in no time!
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