The short answer
When a BUF unit stops producing ice, start at the supply and the temperature, not at the mechanism. On a compact platform the freezing compartment is small and shares its cold with the rest of the cabinet, so anything that costs the cabinet cold shows up here first.
What you observe
- The ice has fused into one block in the bin — Cubes that melt and refreeze together mean the compartment is riding warm between cycles, or the bin is being opened often in a warm room.
- The cubes are small, hollow or misshapen — A partial fill. The water is arriving but not in the quantity the mould expects, which points at the supply pressure or a partly closed valve.
- Ice is made, but far more slowly than it used to be — Slow rather than absent almost always means the compartment is a little warmer than it was, not that the mechanism is failing.
- The bin is empty and stays empty — Nothing is being made at all. That is a different fault from slow production and it points at supply or at power to the mechanism.
Causes, most likely first
- Water not reaching the mould — Ranked first on this family. A closed or partly closed supply, a kinked line behind the cabinet, or a valve that no longer opens fully will empty the bin without any other symptom.
- The compartment riding a little warm — Second, and the cause that most often hides. This platform freezes a small quantity in a small space, so a cabinet running a few degrees above where it should be will keep food cold and still not freeze ice at a useful rate.
- A restricted filter or inline screen — A restriction reduces the fill rather than stopping it, so this cause shows as small hollow cubes rather than an empty bin. It is worth checking before anything is taken apart.
- Airflow into the compartment blocked — Packing the compartment full closes the path cold takes to the mould. On a small compartment this is a real and frequent cause rather than a technicality.
Check in this order
- Check the shut-off arm or sensor is free and nothing is leaning on it — It costs nothing and it explains a mechanism that is not even trying.
- Check nothing is packed against the compartment vents — On a small compartment this is a frequent cause and it needs no tool at all.
- Put a thermometer in the ice compartment and read it after some hours — A freezer holds food safely at 0 degrees Fahrenheit or below.
Before you open anything
Safety
Unplug the appliance or switch off its breaker before removing any panel. A capacitor can hold a charge after the power is off. Turn the supply off before pulling the cabinet out, and allow for the line being short - on a compact unit there is rarely enough slack to walk the cabinet far from the wall.
Models in the BUF family — The models this page covers, as the product spine lists them. The table resolves to more than one model stem, so confirm yours in it before assuming a neighbour fix applies.
Reference| Model number | Family key |
|---|---|
| BUF1000LB | black-decker:refrigerator:buf |
| BUF1000LS | black-decker:refrigerator:buf |
| BUF1000LW | black-decker:refrigerator:buf |
| BUF850LB | black-decker:refrigerator:buf |
| BUF850LS | black-decker:refrigerator:buf |
| BUF850LW | black-decker:refrigerator:buf |
When to call
Call if ice stopped at the same time the cabinet started running warm: that is a cooling fault wearing an ice-maker costume, and it needs the cabinet diagnosed rather than the mechanism. Call also when a fill overshoots and freezes outside the mould, because that ends as water somewhere it should not be.
Other faults on 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.
