Ice makers
Viking Ice Maker Not Making Ice
A bin that has stayed empty for days while the cabinet itself is still cold.
Viking Repair Service Los Angeleson site 8am to 8pm, every day of the weekcalls picked up 24/7
| What you see | Likely cause | Safe check | When to call |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bin empty, and no sound of water arriving | The supply never reaches the machine: a closed shut-off, a pinched line, a scaled inlet | Find the shut-off serving this cabinet and see that it stands open | If it is open and nothing changes overnight |
| It fills, but nothing ever drops | The harvest side is not letting go of the batch it has already frozen | Listen for a fill, then look in again several hours later | This week, once you have seen it happen twice |
| Bin empty and frozen food has gone soft | The compartment is not cold enough to freeze a tray in the time it is allowed | Press something frozen and see whether it gives | Today. The cooling matters more than the ice |
| Everything looks right and it simply sits idle | Something is telling it the bin is full, or holding it switched off | Empty the bin right out and reseat it squarely | If a clear bin brings nothing in a day |
The table above starts at the supply and works inwards, because an empty bin is far more often about water than about cold. Row one settles most of them. If the machine fills and still drops nothing, read row two, then call Viking Repair Service Los Angeles at (213) 799-7879.
Water first, nearly always
Row one ends most of these visits, and none of it is dramatic. A shut-off closed during other plumbing, a line pinched behind a cabinet pushed too far back, an inlet silted up by years of hard water: none announce themselves, and each leaves a bin exactly as empty as it was.
When water is not the answer
Rows two and three look alike from the kitchen and are nothing alike on the bench. A machine that fills and will not let go has a fault in the harvest, which is contained. A machine sitting in a compartment that has gone soft has a refrigeration fault, and the ice was only the first thing anybody noticed; that one is treated as a cooling call. Row four is the cheap one worth ruling out before either: a full-bin signal held on by a stray bag, or a switch somebody moved.
Normal, not normal, and the line between them
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Normal
A bin that refills slowly and takes most of a day to look full again.
Not normal
A bin exactly as you left it from one morning to the next.
Time to call
After a full day with nothing new in it.
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Normal
A short rush of water a few times a day, then quiet.
Not normal
No water sound at any hour, for days together.
Time to call
Once the shut-off is open and it stays silent.
-
Normal
Loose cubes with a little frost welding the oldest ones together.
Not normal
A frozen tray sitting in place that never tips.
Time to call
This week.
Ice making is slow by nature, so judge it by the day and not by the hour. Call Viking Repair Service Los Angeles at (213) 799-7879 and describe the row you are on — that sentence is worth more than a guess at the part.
Safe checks before the visit
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Find the shut-off that feeds this cabinet, in the cupboard beside it or under a nearby sink, and see that the handle stands fully open. It gets closed during other work more often than anyone admits.
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Empty the bin right out and set it back squarely on its seat. A bin sitting proud, or a bag of shop ice wedged against the arm inside it, will hold a healthy machine off for weeks.
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Note when the water filter was last changed, if this cabinet takes one. A filter long past its life throttles the fill before it stops it, and that history shortens the visit.
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Stop there. Nothing further is an owner job on a built-in: the sealed circuit, the wiring behind the grille and anything that needs a panel off belong to the visit. Call Viking Repair Service Los Angeles at (213) 799-7879 and say which of the checks above changed anything.
Asked about this one
- How long should a restarted ice maker take to fill a bin?
- Give it a day before you decide. First cubes drop within a few hours, but a bin only looks full after many cycles. Empty that evening proves nothing. Still empty next morning is worth calling Viking Repair Service Los Angeles about.
- Written by
- Ambrose Fitzwilliam
- Role
- Service technician — refrigeration and sealed systems
- In the trade
- 25 years in the trade