icemaker froze up

[gator67]

In our Amana residential side-by-side, our icemaker seems to be frozen up. We had the same problem last year and someone suggested blowing a hairdryer on it in the freezer and that might free it up. It did. Well, it froze up again, but the hairdryer trick didn't work this time. You can hear the buzz in the lower bottom periodically, like it's trying to fill the icemaker with water, but no water is getting into the icemaker. The water dispenser works fine. Any suggestions?

[Wayne R]

I had a similar issue. I finally removed it and let it completely thaw out. It has worked good now for 2 years. I had even bought a replacement but have never had to use it yet.

[Theberrys]

That happened to us a few years back and it was the feed tube to the ice maker. Our tube was a white color and about 1/2" dia. I removed it from the back of the fridg. it was covered by a fomed piece of plastic near the top right behind the ice maker. I took it to the sink and ran warm water through it until clear of ice, reinstalled it and it worked fine from then on.

Dick

[EngineerMike]

The fill solenoid should "click" open rather than buzz. Could be solenoid fritzing out. They are easy to replace other than R&R'ing the fridge for access, and should be available at appliance parts stores near you including the internet (do a google search on Appliance Parts, most sites use model # of the appliance for access to a detailed parts list).
You can bench-test the solenoid valve by hooking up 110V to the two spades then blowing thru it; use carefully insulated female spade terminals so you don't accidentally electrocute your lips when blowing. Hot lips are not always the best thing

[Dale777]

IF the fill tube is frozen, which happens even on residential refrigerators in a home, then you can likely un-freeze it without taking anything apart. One way I've seen a Sears technician do that is take something like a squirt bottle or turkey baster or the likes filled with hot water, then squirt the hot water into the fill tube area or up the fill tube if you can reach it. Of course, you will need a plentiful supply of towels to absorb all the water that is dispersed.