The short answer
An ice maker on the AQF refrigerators stops for one of two reasons: water is not arriving, or the harvest is never triggered. On these models a parked shut-off arm is the first thing this page would have you rule out. The list below ends with the one cause on it that is not owner work.
What you observe on these models
- The bin is empty and the maker looks untouched — Nothing has been attempted, which points at the trigger rather than the mechanism.
- The maker buzzes at intervals and nothing follows — The valve is being asked for water and none is arriving.
- A grinding noise at the same point in every cycle — The ejector is turning against ice that has not released.
- NEAR MISS — the water dispenser has stopped as well — Then the fault is on the supply side of both, not inside the maker.
Causes, most likely first on this family
- Ice maker module stalled or the shut-off arm parked — The shut-off arm gets knocked into the off position by a bag of frozen food far more often than the module actually fails. It leads because it is the likeliest of the set on these cabinets. One design carries every cabinet size in this family, so it holds across the line.
- Supply line kinked or the shut-off barely open — A saddle valve that was only ever cracked open passes enough water for a glass and not enough for a fill cycle. Second: common enough on these models to come before anything below it.
- Water filter restricted or not seated — Cube size is the useful signal: a partial restriction gives hollow or half-filled cubes rather than none at all. Third on the list, where the likelihoods start to fall away.
- Mould thermostat or thermistor not sensing — The sensor that reports the cubes are frozen is what starts the harvest; if it never reports, the cycle never begins. Last of the set listed here, and the least likely of them on this family.
- Body: Against the brand-wide order, airflow causes move up and installation causes down: the ladder spans cabinet sizes, and the largest cabinets in it load the airflow path hardest, which is where this fault shows first.
Check in this order, and why
- Check the shut-off arm is down and that the ejector fingers are parked rather than standing mid-sweep. — It comes first because it matches the cause ranked first above.
- Pull the appliance out, follow the line for a kink and check the shut-off is fully open. — Next in order, following the ranking rather than convenience.
- Watch the cube size over a few harvests: shrinking cubes point at flow, absent cubes at the valve or the harvest side. — Last of the set, and only worth doing once the others are clean.
Power down first, then work
Safety
Unplug the appliance or switch off its breaker before removing any panel, because a capacitor can hold a charge after the power is off. Nothing on the sealed system is owner work; those lines are under pressure. Shut the water supply off before disturbing the valve or the fill line, and never thaw a fill tube with a flame or a heat gun.
Models in the AQF family
Reference| Model number | Family key |
|---|---|
| AQF1201TRW | amana:refrigerator:aqf |
| AQF1613TEW | amana:refrigerator:aqf |
| AQF1613TEW* | amana:refrigerator:aqf |
| AQF2013TEW | amana:refrigerator:aqf |
| AQF2013TEW* | amana:refrigerator:aqf |
| AQF2023TEW | amana:refrigerator:aqf |
When to call a technician
Stop when the checks put the fault on the harvest side rather than the fill side: solid ice that is never ejected is a module, a heater or a sensor, and all three sit behind the maker body.
The other faults covered for this family
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
