How to Troubleshoot a Whirlpool Refrigerator Ice Dispenser Lever

Side-By-Side

• Whirlpool puts the ice maker for side-by-side refrigerators on the outside of the freezer-compartment door. The maker will not dispense ice if the door is open, so press firmly on the outside to make sure it is securely shut. When you are switching from "cubed" to "crushed" options, expect a delay and wait for the crushing mechanism to process the ice. Also, avoid tampering with the "wire shutoff arm" atop the ice storage bin inside the freezer, because it is designed to automatically lift up and down as ice cubes fill and leave the bin. If this arm is stuck and remains in the "up" position, the ice maker is off. Lower the arm to restore automatic ice making functions.

French Door

• Whirlpool's French door models have three doors, two on the top, which make up the refrigerator compartment, and one on the bottom for the freezer compartment. The ice maker and storage bin are built into the refrigerator compartment door, and not in the freezer area like on side-by-side models. When switching between "cubed" and "crushed" ice, French door models also experience a delay. Don't jiggle or shake the lever if the ice maker continues to dispense ice after you have removed the glass from the lever. This can last for up to 10 seconds and it is normal, along with the internal noise. Let the spill tray catch the excess and then let the ice cubes melt in the kitchen sink.

Top Freezer

• Traditional top-freezer refrigerators don't typically feature ice makers on the outside of the door. Some modern Whirlpool models do offer "water" dispensing on the outside of the refrigerator-compartment door. The ice maker on these high-tech models is inside the freezer compartment, where the cubes fall into a storage bin, waiting to be scooped out and put into a glass. There is no "ice dispenser lever," per say, but here again is the presence of a "wire shutoff arm" that starts and then stops ice production when the storage bin is full. You shouldn't have to manually adjust this arm, but if there is an uneven buildup of a tower of ice that is prematurely stopping ice production, you may have to spread the cubes out in the bin.

Bottom Freezer

• Bottom-freezer fridges are just top-freezers turned upside down. Whirlpool's "Refrigeration Overview" website does not feature any external door-based ice and water dispensing models at the time of publication. Nonetheless, some of the company's bottom-freezer models do have an internal "ice maker" and "water dispenser." The ice is produced and deposited into a storage bin. Use a spatula to spread out a tower of ice buildup if the "wire shutoff arm" is stuck in the "up" (Off) position. Also, you can increase ice production rates by lowering the freezer and refrigerator temperatures.