Fixed a ice maker with a paperclip yesterday

Got a call from a lady in Burbank about her fridge ice maker not dropping cubes. I checked the usual stuff, water line was fine, filter was new. But the auger motor just wouldnt kick on. I was about to tell her it needed a $200 board replacement. Then I noticed a tiny piece of plastic wedged in the ice chute door hinge. Used a paperclip to pop it out and bam, ice maker started working again. Charged her just the service call fee of $75. Felt like a wizard for a minute there. Anyone else ever fix something major with something stupid simple?

2 comments

2 Comments

jamies451mo ago

...that's honestly the kind of fix that makes you feel like a genius for about five minutes until you realize it was just luck and a steady hand. I read somewhere that most ice maker issues are actually just little things like that, frozen bits or a tiny piece of debris blocking the mechanism. People always go straight to replacing boards or calling for a new fridge, but half the time it's just a stuck part. I had a similar thing happen with a buddy's dryer once, a sock had wedged in the blower wheel and it sounded like the end of the world. Popped it out with a screwdriver and it ran quiet as a mouse after that. It's wild how one little paperclip can save someone a couple hundred bucks and a headache.

elizabeth_gonzalez1mo ago

Hmm, I kinda disagree - sometimes those little fixes actually are the real deal!