The short answer
No ice on Black+Decker BCRDK models splits cleanly in two: either the water is not getting in, or the cold is not deep enough to release a cube. Which half you are in is settled by two things you can read from the front of the cabinet — whether the dispenser still gives water, and whether the freezer is holding a safe temperature. The BCRDK key covers more than one build, and for this fault the difference shows in whether your unit has a fan behind the freezer back wall.
What you observe on these models
- The bin is empty and stays empty — A total stop points at water or at the arm rather than at a slow fault.
- Production has halved rather than stopped — Slow is more often the filter than the module.
- Cubes that are half the size they should be — The mould is being filled short, which is a water-supply or pressure reading rather than a cold one.
- Cubes fused into one block in the bin — Cubes melting and refreezing, which points at the freezer temperature or at warm air reaching the bin.
- The dispenser still gives water but no ice — It is the single most useful thing to check before anything else.
- NEAR MISS — a leak that appeared at the same time — Deal with water on the floor before chasing ice in the bin.
Causes, ranked for the BCRDK build
- The shut-off arm or the bin sensor is being held — Common enough to check in the first minute, because a bag of frozen food against the arm stops production with nothing broken at all. Clear the bin area and cycle the arm before suspecting anything else.
- The water filter is past its life or was fitted badly — It moves up when the cubes are small rather than absent.
- The freezer is not cold enough to complete a harvest — It sits in the middle of the list — common enough to check, cheap enough that finding it early is worth the minute it takes.
- The ice maker module, ejector or heater has failed — It is ranked last on purpose — most calls booked for a dead ice maker turn out to be one of the four above.
The order that finds it fastest
- Confirm the freezer is holding a safe temperature — A freezer holds food safely at 0 °F (−18 °C) or below; a mould above harvest temperature will not release.
- Inspect where the water enters the mould — A visible plug explains hollow cubes and no cubes equally well, and it clears with warm water.
- Check the filter age and that it is seated — A restricted filter starves the mould; a badly seated one leaks as well.
Power off first
Safety
Unplug the appliance or switch off its breaker before removing any panel — a capacitor can hold a charge after the power is off. Leave the door switch and its wiring exactly as they are: it cuts the fan for a reason, and a unit that runs with the door open ices the evaporator faster than it cools the food.
When to call a technician
The condition is whether anything remains that you can prove from the front of the cabinet. While the dispenser gives water, the arm is free and the freezer is cold, the remaining causes are all behind the mounting plate, and that is a call. If water is not arriving at all and the shut-off valve is not obviously closed, that is also a call rather than a plumbing experiment.
Other faults covered for the BCRDK models
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