You’re so eager for ice at home that you want a nugget countertop ice maker at once. In this way, you don’t have to drive to buy batches of ice in a chain store miles away from your home. Maybe you’ll be worried about how to use a new machine and common ice maker problems, so a user-friendly machine will be your first choice among many brands, such as frigidaire ice maker, igloo ice maker, or GEVI nugget countertop ice maker. In order to offer you a better user experience, GEVI designs a self-explanatory control panel, with clear buttons and indicator lights, very easy to use. You just power it on and wait, which saves you time a lot.

However, one day you found the indicator light “Full” is on when you would like to make a cup of iced coffee for your breakfast. The most confusing thing is that there is less ice in the ice basket. You probably will wonder why the light is on when the ice is not full. Why does it send the wrong information? Is the ice maker not making ice? The most important point is that the ice maker may have a smooth water line and normal water level in the water reservoir,

About this, our engineering team analyses the reason that probably it’s relevant to the blockage of the infrared sensor. So, what’s an infrared sensor? Follow us to explore this and how it works.

What Is The Infrared Sensor of a Portable Ice Machine?

Actually, the infrared sensor is an important part of giving out signals about whether ice is full and when it’s time to stop producing ice. Without it, your ice maker would continue to make and deposit ice, eventually filling the bin beyond its capacity.

An infrared (IR) sensor is an electronic device that measures and detects infrared light in its surrounding environment. Although infrared light is invisible to the human eye, it is transformed into an electric current and thus can give signals.

It consists of two parts or a pair- a light-emitting diode (LED) / emitter and receiver diodes/receiver, located on the left and right respectively. When an object comes close to the sensor, the infrared light from the LED reflects off of the object and is detected by the receiver. In this process, the emitter produces a current when they are subjected to infrared light.

（Left: emitter）

（Right: receiver）

The current plays an important role because it will be transmitted to the control panel and gives out a signal telling the machine whether ice is full and when it’s time to stop making ice.

How Does the Infrared Sensor In Ice Makers Work?

Normally, the infrared sensor will be working to sense the ice level. Once the ice is full in the basket, the machine will continue to make ice until it piles up on the infrared road, which will stop the infrared light to emit or receive. Therefore, the sensor will then send a current signal to the machine that the ice bin is full and the control panel receives the signal and the light is on.

Why Does My Countertop Ice Maker Stop Making Ice Cubes

If ice accidentally falls on the infrared sensor leading to a blockage, the emitter or receiver is not working. At this moment, the infrared light cannot be emitted or received and the sensor sends a wrong indication that the ice is full and the machine naturally stops making ice. The light will change from “Making” to “Full”. In fact, the ice in the basket is not full.

How to Troubleshoot the Portable Ice Maker Problems?

So what should you do when your particular ice maker won't make ice? Here are some simple countertop ice maker troubleshooting guides. If your portable ice maker isn't making ice or it doesn't have much ice in the ice bin, the first thing you have to do is to unplug the ice maker, open up the ice maker and check the ice. You can place the ice in the ice bucket. It would be better if you can find out any problem with your ice maker.

It’s easy to tackle this issue in one step. Just move ice away from the infrared sensor by hand or a soft cotton swap and the machine will run automatically. It's advisable to clean your ice maker so that your ice maker machine could continue making ice. If unfortunately, it’s still not working. Please don’t worry and feel free to contact GEVI customer service. We will reply to you promptly and offer you support as soon as possible.