Frigidaire Side by Side Ice Maker Troubleshooting Guide

Quick Answer

Most Frigidaire ice maker failures come down to a frozen fill tube, a clogged water filter, or a freezer that is just too warm. If your freezer is above 10 degrees, the ice maker will not even try to cycle. Always start by checking the temperature and looking for ice blockages in the small tube at the back.

Frigidaire side by side units are workhorses, but their ice makers are usually the first thing to act up. Most of the time I find these systems suffering from air leaks around the fill tube or a weak solenoid that can't quite push water through a clogged filter. It's rarely a total loss situation. Most components are modular and you can swap them out yourself without calling anyone.

FrigidaireRefrigeratorSeverity: moderate

Time to Fix

15–60 min

Difficulty

beginner

Parts Cost

$0 (no parts needed)

Tools Needed

1/4 inch nut driver, Phillips #2 screwdriver

Frigidaire Side by Side Ice Maker Troubleshooting Guide

When I walk into a kitchen with a broken Frigidaire ice maker, I go straight to the back of the freezer. The big question is: is this thing trying to work but has no water, or did something mechanical die? It's all about following the water path from the wall to the tray. Usually takes me about 10 minutes to figure out which problem I'm dealing with.

Common Causes

The fill tube at the back of the freezer freezes solid, usually because the door seal is letting in warm humid air right at that spot
Water filter is past the 6-month mark and the flow rate has dropped so low the ice maker tray can't fill completely, giving you hollow or tiny cubes
The secondary solenoid on the water inlet valve has failed, so the dispenser still works fine but the ice maker port gets nothing at all
Freezer is running above 10 degrees, which is usually a sign of dirty condenser coils or a door gasket that's not sealing right
The ice maker thermostat or harvest heater inside the mold has gone open, so the unit never detects that the ice is ready to release
Bail arm got knocked up by a bag of frozen veggies and the machine thinks the bin is full when it's actually bone empty

Symptoms You May Notice

You open the freezer and the ice bin is completely empty even though it was full two days ago
Cubes coming out are tiny, hollow, or shaped like little slivers instead of full solid pieces
There's a solid frozen block sitting at the bottom of the bin because water leaked in and refroze overnight
You hear a clicking or buzzing from the top left corner of the freezer every hour or so but nothing ever drops
Ice production has gone from a full bin every day to maybe a sad handful of cubes

Can you reset a Frigidaire refrigerator to clear the TROUBLESHOOTING code?

There's no dedicated reset button, but here's what works. Flip the ice maker power switch to OFF and unplug the fridge for 5 full minutes. Plug it back in, flip the switch back ON, then manually turn the harvest gear on the front of the ice maker clockwise until it clicks past the start position. You should hear the motor try to engage. Give it 24 hours and check back before you decide the reset didn't work.

Tools Required for Diagnosis

1/4 inch nut driverPhillips #2 screwdriverHair dryerDigital multimeterNeedle nose pliersFlashlight or headlampGlass of water and a kitchen thermometer (to verify actual freezer temp)Filter bypass plug (for the bypass test, usually $5 online)

Diagnostic Checklist

Follow these steps in order. We start with the easiest external fixes before opening up the machine.

ComponentComponent Under Test

Expected Range200–500 ohms

ConditionIf Open (OL) or infinite, replace component.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long should it take for my Frigidaire ice maker to start making ice after a repair?

Give it a full 24 hours. I know that's annoying to hear but the freezer needs to stabilize at the right temp before the thermostat will trigger a harvest cycle. Once it kicks off, you're looking at a new batch every 90 to 120 minutes. Don't panic after 3 hours and assume the repair failed. Come back the next morning. If there's still nothing after 24 hours, then yeah, something's still wrong and you need to keep digging.

Why are my ice cubes small or hollow?

Nine times out of ten that's a water flow issue. Either your filter is clogged and restricting flow, or the inlet valve solenoid isn't opening all the way so the tray only gets a partial fill. Try bypassing the filter first since that's free and takes 2 minutes. If the cubes are still small after that, check your house water pressure at the fridge line. You want at least 20 PSI and ideally between 40 and 120 PSI for these valves to work right. Anything under 20 and the valve physically can't push enough water through.

Can I manually force a Frigidaire ice maker to cycle?

Yeah, on most of these models there's a big plastic gear on the front face of the ice maker. Rotate it clockwise, slowly, until it clicks into the next position. Don't force it. If it won't budge, the motor might be seized or burned out and that's probably your actual problem right there. If it moves fine, watch the tray tilt and the fingers sweep through. If it does all that mechanically but still won't start on its own automatically, you're probably looking at a thermostat issue inside the module.

Why is there a green light blinking on my ice maker?

Blinking green on a Frigidaire ice maker usually means the harvest motor or the infrared bin sensor is throwing a fault. First thing to try: flip the power switch off, wait 30 seconds, flip it back on. That resets the control. If it keeps blinking, check if there are any ice crystals sitting right on the IR sensor window at the bottom of the ice maker. Those sensors freak out when they get iced over. Wipe it clean, reset again. Still blinking after all that? You're probably looking at a new ice maker assembly, which runs $50 to $120 and pops in pretty easily.

Is it worth repairing the ice maker or should I replace the whole unit?

If it's just a frozen fill tube, a clogged filter, or the bail arm being knocked up, fix it yourself, costs basically nothing. If the motor module or the mold heater is dead, I almost always just swap the whole ice maker assembly. They're modular, pop in and out in about 20 minutes, and a complete assembly runs $50 to $120. Way cheaper than hunting down individual internal parts and hoping you diagnosed it right. I replaced three of these assemblies just last Tuesday. Honestly the hardest part is finding a good aftermarket unit that isn't junk.

How do I know if my water inlet valve is the problem and not the ice maker itself?

Easy test. Try the water dispenser on the door. If that works fine and dispenses normally, you know water is getting to the valve. The issue is then specifically with the secondary solenoid port that feeds the ice maker, not the main line. Grab a multimeter and test the resistance across those ice maker solenoid terminals on the back of the valve. Should read 200 to 500 ohms. Open circuit means bad solenoid. If your dispenser also isn't working, the problem is upstream, probably a kinked line, a shutoff valve, or water pressure in the house.

Models Known to Experience TROUBLESHOOTING Errors

This repair applies to most Frigidaire refrigerators with this error code. Common model numbers include:

FRS6LF7JSB, FGHS2655PF, FFSS2615TS, FFSS2614QS7, GRSS2652AF, FFHS2611PF, FGSS2335TF, LGHK2336TF

Written by

Mike Sullivan

Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 20 years experience

Last verified for technical accuracy on March 17, 2026