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When you own a Samsung refrigerator with an ice maker, you want it to be cold. After all, you need to be cold to produce ice. But when the ice maker freezes over, that will prevent it from working. So why does that happen?
Generally, the Samsung refrigerator ice maker freezes up because warm air gets inside and causes condensation. That condensation freezes into ice in places it doesn’t belong. The warm air enters the ice maker through gaps in the ice maker housing, an ice chute that won’t close, or a cracked ice bucket. Alternatively, dirty condenser coils can lead to excessive cooling that freezes the ice maker.
Troubleshooting your Samsung refrigerator ice maker doesn’t necessarily require calling a technician. Instead, this guide will show you what you should check and how to fix the problem yourself.
Why Is My Samsung Refrigerator Ice Maker Freezing Up?
Unfortunately, the problem of a frozen ice maker is somewhat common with various Samsung refrigerator models.
Here are the reasons your ice maker is freezing up and what you can do to get it working again:
Warm Air From Fresh Food Section
About this part: The ice maker in your Samsung fridge sits within the refrigerator compartment. Despite that, the ice maker keeps itself at a much lower temperature than the rest of the compartment, so it can freeze water into ice.
What happens: Even though the ice maker shares the same space as the fresh food section of your appliance, it’s not entirely airtight. That means relatively warm air from the compartment can get into the freezing cold ice maker.
There, the warm air will cause condensation to happen. That will lead to a buildup of frost inside the ice maker that quickly turns into ice, freezing the entire section over.
Remember: the air in the refrigerator compartment is indeed cold. However, it’s relatively warm when you compare it to the air inside the ice maker. That’s why condensation happens when the air from both sections mixes together.
How to fix it: Firstly, you’ll have to remove the ice maker from the fridge to let it thaw out naturally. Still, you’ll need a way to prevent this problem from happening again.
You can do that by sealing the gaps around the ice maker. There are plenty of ways you can do that. The most effective solutions are to apply aluminium tape, epoxy, or silicone sealant along the ice maker’s gaps to make it airtight.
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That will stop the freezing air from mixing with relatively warm air and prevent the ice maker from freezing again.
Read: How To Reset Samsung Refrigerator Control Panel? 3 Easy Steps
Dirty Or Damaged Ice Chute
About this part: Whenever you want ice in your cup, the fridge will send it from the ice maker and the dispenser.
More specifically, the ice will travel through an ice chute which leads directly from the ice maker inside the appliance to the dispenser on the outside.
The ice chute has a flap that lets the ice fall out and closes to keep the cold air in.
What happens: The ice chute is another section where warm surrounding air can find its way into your ice maker. That happens when the ice chute’s flap fails to close and form a tight seal.
As you saw earlier, warm air will cause condensation when it mixes with the freezing cold air inside the ice maker. As a result, it won’t take long to cause the ice maker to freeze over.
How to fix it: You can prevent this problem by regularly cleaning your ice chute. Pay special attention to the flap area and wipe away anything that prevents the flap from closing firmly and forming a tight seal.
Read: Why Samsung Refrigerator Control Panel Not Responding?
Cracked Ice Bucket
About this part: The ice maker continuously produces ice throughout the day. Once it completes a batch of ice, it ejects them into the ice bucket for storage. So that’s where the ice will come from when you try to get some through the fridge’s front panel dispenser.
What happens: Despite sealing your ice maker and keeping the ice flap clean, warm air can also enter the ice maker through a crack in the ice bucket.
The ice bucket is made of durable plastic, like most other parts inside your Samsung refrigerator. However, despite how strong that material is, it can form cracks when experiencing a strong impact of some kind.
Over an extended period, a small crack could let warmer air into the ice bucket. The condensation resulting from that will then cause the ice maker to freeze.
How to fix it: Firstly, you’ll want to remove the ice bucket from the fridge altogether. That will allow you to thaw any frost or ice away so you can visually inspect the ice bucket.
Ideally, you should replace the ice bucket with a new one.
In the meantime, you can seal the crack to prevent air from passing through. Just remember that sealing any cracks only works as a short-term fix.
Read: Samsung Refrigerator Error Code 22c – Troubleshooting Guide
Dirty Condenser Coils and Fan
About this part: The condenser coils are a part of the cooling system in your fridge. You’ll find it behind the appliance close to the bottom, typically concealed behind a metal panel.
As the refrigerant flows through the colder parts of the appliance, it will absorb and remove any heat in the compartments. However, once it reaches the condenser section, the refrigerant will be very hot and must dump that heat into the surrounding environment.
The condenser fan helps by blowing air through the coils to help air escape more efficiently.
What happens: The condenser coils and fan can get very dirty with dirt after a few months of using the fridge. However, it’s very easy to overlook that as the condenser section is out of sight at the back of the refrigerator.
When the condenser coils and fan gets dirty, the cooling system works harder and runs longer than it should. That excess cooling can cause the ice maker to become too cold and freeze quickly.
How to fix it: Thankfully, you can solve this problem quickly. Start by removing the access panel that conceals the condenser coils and fan.
Then, use a vacuum and brush to remove as much dirt as possible. The vacuum helps remove loose dirt, while the brush will help you with stubborn dirt that doesn’t come off so quickly.
Cleaning the condenser coils and fan allows the cooling system to work more efficiently. As a result, it won’t provide excessive cooling to the ice maker.
Read: All Known Samsung Refrigerator Problems
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Here are a few more things to consider when troubleshooting your freezing ice maker:
Why Is My Samsung Ice Maker Not Making Ice?
Your Samsung ice maker won’t make ice if it’s frozen over. When ice builds up around the ice maker’s moving parts, they won’t be able to freeze and eject ice cubes as they usually do.
How Do I Reset My Samsung Freezer Ice Maker?
You can reset the ice maker by turning it off and waiting for a minute. After that time passes, turn the ice maker back on and check that it’s working correctly.
How Do I Turn On My Samsung Ice Maker?
On Samsung refrigerators, the ice maker on/off switch is on the main control panel outside the fridge. Press and hold the ice maker button for 3 seconds to turn it off or on.
Why Is My Samsung Fridge Not Dispensing Ice?
When you call for dispensing ice, the auger inside the ice maker will start turning. It’ll then move the ice to the chute, falling through a flap and into your glass. The auger or chute flap is jammed if the fridge doesn’t dispense the ice.
Read: Samsung Refrigerator Error Code 21 V – Troubleshooting Guide
How Do You Reset A Samsung Fridge?
You can reset a Samsung fridge through power cycling. First, disconnect it from the wall socket and wait 5 minutes before plugging it back in.
