The short answer
The honest ranking for ice failure on ZPJ 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
- Water in the bin or frozen under it — The fill is overshooting or the mould is not releasing cleanly, and the overflow freezes where it lands.
- 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 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.
- 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.
- A jam in the mould or bridging in the bin — Ice that has partly melted and refrozen locks the mechanism, and the harvest then runs against a block it cannot shift. It is common after a power interruption or a spell with the door left ajar.
- 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 ice maker mechanism or its heater — Last. The mould heater that releases each harvest, the motor and the control are all real failures, but on this family they are less common than everything above and they are the part of the job that needs the compartment opened up.
Check in this order
- Check the supply tap and follow the line to the back of the cabinet — First because it is the most likely cause and the fastest to rule out.
- Put a thermometer in the ice compartment and read it after some hours — A freezer holds food safely at 0 degrees Fahrenheit or below.
- 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.
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 ZPJ family — The models this page covers, as the product spine lists them. With one model in the family, what you find on it is simply what the platform does.
Reference| Model number | Family key |
|---|---|
| ZPJ-170-E | black-decker:refrigerator:zpj |
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.
