The short answer
The honest ranking for ice failure on BUFK models puts the water path first and the ice maker itself last. That inverts the brand-generic order, and the reason is the build: this platform freezes a small quantity in a small compartment, so a marginal cabinet temperature is a real cause here rather than a theoretical one.
What you observe
- 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.
- You can hear the mechanism cycle but nothing drops — A harvest that runs without delivering points at a jam in the mould or at ice bridging in the bin rather than at the water path.
- 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.
- 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.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- The shut-off arm or level sensor held up — The mechanism stops when it believes the bin is full. A bagged block of ice, a stored item leaning on the arm, or a sensor reading through frost will all produce a mechanism that has simply switched itself off.
Check in this order
- Check nothing is packed against the compartment vents — On a small compartment this is a frequent cause and it needs no tool at all.
- Empty the bin completely and look for a fused block at the bottom — Bridged ice both blocks the harvest and holds the arm up, so it can mimic two different faults at once.
- 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. Shut the water supply off as well before disturbing any part of the fill line, because the valve holds pressure when the unit is dead.
Models in the BUFK family — The models this page covers, as the product spine lists them. This family is a single model, so there is no variant to rule out before you start.
Reference| Model number | Family key |
|---|---|
| BUFK12W | black-decker:refrigerator:bufk |
| BUFK12W | black-decker:refrigerator:bufk |
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.
